COMPETITION ENTRY CHECKLIST
Before you send your entry please check that:
- Your name doesn’t appear on your piece of writing, but DOES appear on your email.
- In the subject line of your email, you have included your name, name of the competition, name of your story and the age category you are entering (8-12, teen or adult). (The age category is THE AGE OF THE WRITER not the age of the target readership)
- Your entry is double spaced, 12 point type with three centimetre margins all round.
- Each paragraph starts on a separate line.
- You have checked your entry for spelling and grammar mistakes, and missing words.
- Your entry is written in English and does not exceed 500 words.
- Your entry is NOT a picture book or written in verse.
- You are sending your entry to Dee*at*Deescribe*dot*com*dot*au
Please leave any questions in the ‘comments’ section of this page.
Please feel free to share this competition with others and let them know about this site.
2nd QUARTER – DISPLACEMENT AND BELONGING WRITING COMPETITION
CLOSES 30th JUNE 2012
Displacement and the need to belong are things we often feel during the course of our lifetime.
We might feel these things because we have moved to a new country, town or school. It could be because relationships have changed within our own family – our parents have a new partner or we have to go and live with someone else. Something traumatic or different could have happened in our lives to make us feel like we no longer belong in the same way we used to. It could be that our whole society has changed for some reason. (The Hunger Games)
There have been so many fabulous books written for kids on the subject of belonging and displacement. Books like Morris Gleitzman’s (Boy Overboard and Girl Underground), Amra Pajalic’s (The Good Daughter), Wendy Orr’s (Nim’s Island and Raven’s Mountain) and Susanne Gervay’s (Ships in the Field) just to name a few. Many books in the fantasy genre also fall into this category – books like Harry Potter.
Our Second Quarter writing competition is now open and the THEME for this competition is belonging and displacement. Your submissions must be fiction but they can be in any genre (although picture books are excluded from this particular competition).
THE COMPETITION
This is a FREE competition so no entry fee is payable.
Entries will be accepted in the following categories:
- Children aged 8 to 12
- Teens aged 13 to 17
- Adult category aged 18 and over
Unfortunately due to the large number of entries we have been receiving, entries are now limited to one per person
THE PRIZES
Once again, prizes awarded in each category will include books and 5 page manuscript assessments.
All children and teens who enter will receive a certificate even if they are not a major prize winner.
SUBMISSIONS
Please make sure your submission follows these guidelines:
* Submissions must be no longer than 500 words
* Do not include your name anywhere on the submission but please include the name of the story
* All entries must be in the following format:
- 12 point type…Arial or Times Roman
- Double spaced (between the lines)
- A4 sized paper
- 3cm margins all the way around
* Please email your submission to Dee*at*Deescribe*dot*com*dot*au
* All emails should include the following information in the subject line:
- Name of writer
- Name of story
- age category being entered
- “Belonging story submission”
This competition closes 30th June, Australian time
Happy writing and good luck:)
Dee
1ST QUARTER – FANTASY WRITING COMPETITION 2012
Welcome to our First Quarter Writing Competition.
Popular Australian author, Felicity Pulman is our featured author this month and she has kindly agreed to donate two of her books as prizes. As well as these great prizes there will be other books and manuscript assessments to win!
In keeping with the theme of Feclity”s books, this month’s competition is Fantasy Stories of 500 WORDS OR LESS.
You can enter the first part of your story or the whole thing but whatever you submit, it must be 500 WORDS OR LESS.
WHO CAN ENTER:
There will be three categories in the competition:
- 8-12 year olds
- 13-17 years
- adults
On your covering email, please advise which category your are entering.
THE PRIZES
- Manuscript assessment of your 500 word story plus an additional 500 words.
- Great books
COST TO ENTER
- FREE: There is no cost to enter this competition
HOW TO ENTER
1.Submit a 500 word fantasy story you have written or the first 500 words of a fantasy story.
2.You MUST submit it in this format:
- all entries must be written in English
- 12 point type…Arial or Times Roman
- double spaced (spacing between lines)
- A4 sized page
- 3cm margins all the way around your page
3. Submit your entry by email to Dee@deescribe.com.au
4.Please put “Fantasy Story Submission” in the subject line of your email. In the subject line please also include ‘your name’ and the ‘name of your story’.
5. Competition opens 1st January 2012 and closes 31st March (Australian time)
All works must be unpublished. The judges decision is final.
Happy writing and Good Luck!
Dee:)
Writing Classes For Kids has some great competitions planned for 2012.
Originally, I was going to run a monthly competition, but judging by the feedback I’ve had, writers prefer to have a couple of months to get their entries ready so I’m going to be running quarterly competitions instead.
Each competition will be based on a theme and we will feature authors on the blog who write relevant work.
For example our January Feature Author is Felicity Pulman who writes fabulous fantasy books and is generously donating two book prizes for our writing competition.
Below I’ve outlined our competitions for the year to give keen writers advance warning and the chance to enter every competition.
2012 WRITING COMPETITIONS
The competitions will be run in quarters to avoid confusion amongst writers who want to enter from around the world.
1st Quarter - January 2012 to 31st March 2012 – THEME: Fantasy
2nd Quarter - April 2012 to 30th June 2012 – THEME: Displacement/belonging/refugees
3rd Quarter - July 2012 to 30th September 2012 – THEME: Using Fact in Fiction
4th Quarter - October 2012 to 31st December 2012 – THEME: Journeys
Each month will feature fabulous authors and we’ll have blog posts and writing tips to fit each theme.
Prizes will include free books and manuscript assessments.
Feel free to spread the word about these competitions…and teachers feel free to encourage keen writers in your class to enter
1ST QUARTER – FANTASY WRITING COMPETITION 2012
Welcome to our First Quarter Writing Competition.
Popular Australian author, Felicity Pulman is our featured author this month and she has kindly agreed to donate two of her books as prizes. As well as these great prizes there will be other books and manuscript assessments to win!
In keeping with the theme of Feclity”s books, this month’s competition is Fantasy Stories of 500 WORDS OR LESS.
You can enter the first part of your story or the whole thing but whatever you submit, it must be 500 WORDS OR LESS.
WHO CAN ENTER:
There will be three categories in the competition:
- 8-12 year olds
- 13-17 years
- adults
On your covering email, please advise which category your are entering.
THE PRIZES
- Manuscript assessment of your 500 word story plus an additional 500 words.
- Great books
COST TO ENTER
- FREE: There is no cost to enter this competition
HOW TO ENTER
1.Submit a 500 word fantasy story you have written or the first 500 words of a fantasy story.
2.You MUST submit it in this format:
- 12 point type…Arial or Times Roman
- double spaced (spacing between lines)
- A4 sized page
- 3cm margins all the way around your page
3. Submit your entry by email to Dee@deescribe.com.au
4.Please put “Fantasy Story Submission” in the subject line of your email. In the subject line please also include ‘your name’ and the ‘name of your story’.
5. Competition opens 1st January 2012 and closes 31st March (Australian time)
All works must be unpublished. The judges decision is final.
Happy writing and Good Luck!
Dee:)
Hi Dee, I’m feeling a touch of trepedation about entering; reckon the 8 yo have a better chance. But excitement over rules, so I’m gonna have a go! Love your new site and venture. It’s brilliant, so useful and benefical especially for young aspiring writers. I’ve linked it to my Kids page on my blog, as I so often get asked by school aged kids how they should go about writing ‘their’ book. Thank you for this tremendous boost for them. Dimity
Hi Dimity,
Thanks for dropping in. It’s okay, you don’t have to compete in the 8 yo category:) So glad you are going to enter and thanks for your lovely comments about the blog and for adding it to your Kids’ page.
I really appreciate your support.
Happy writing:)
Dee:)
Dee, Question: How many times are you permitted to enter the First Page comp? Curious, Dimity
Hi Dimity,
You can enter as many times as you like.
Dee:)
Any type of story Dee?? Picture story all the way through to adult novels?
P.s, i like this heeheehee
Yep Kelly,
Any type of story…but just the first page:)
Glad you like it.
Dee:)
Dee! Pls disregard my msgs and emails to you! For some reason I wasn’t notified of your replies here so thanks…will get back to the first pages now! Cheers Dimity
Just checking, do you insert your submission as an attachment or in the actual email?
Hi Joshua,
It’s fine if you send it as an attachment.
Cheers
Dee
Just wondering, is it just one word document A4 page because I’ve got a prologue that’s about one and a half and I want to submit it.
Hi Joshua,
Unfortunately, it is just one A4 page. That makes it fair for everyone because then they will be submitting the same amount.
When I enter competitions like this I always submit the first page of the manuscript rather than the prologue. Judges want to see how you start your story. They won’t expect to know everything about your story from the first page. They want to meet your characters and see how you introduce them. They want to know what happened to start this story off for your character. They want to get an idea of what sort of story it is and where the story might be heading.
I recently wrote a post for this blog about 10 tips for writing a great first page (http://writingclassesforkids.com/10-tips-for-writing-a-great-first-page/) You may find it helpful.
If you have any other questions please let me know and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Good luck with your competition entry. I look forward to reading your first page.
Dee
Hi Dee
I’ve been lurking on this blog for a while and feel inspired to enter your comp – but I’m confused. The comp rules state a 500 word piece as the entry limit, but when double spaced in 12 point font, I’ve got a little over 2 A4 sized pages.
When you responded to Joshua, and said it was limited to 1 x A4 sized page, were you referring to a different comp?
Please help, I dont want to forfeit by not following rules.
Jo
Thanks for your enquiry Jo,
My response to Joshua was for a previous ‘first page’ writing competition where only the first page could be submitted.
For this comp, two pages is fine as long as it’s less than 500 words.
Sorry for the confusion.
I look forward to reading your entry.
Dee
Aha!
I should have figured it out from the date of his entry.
Ok, gotta go get something ready to submit.
Jo
Hi Dee, I might have missed it but have the Nov Comp results come out yet? Curiously yours Dimity
Hi Dimity,
So many fantastic entries in the writing comp. Judge’s report and results out in next couple of days.
Dee:)
G’day Dee,
)
Thanks for posting the intended themes list for your quarterly comps. Great ideas with lots of scope for everyone. Ques: Is the average wc for subs going to be 500 for each comp? Keen to get something on paper (after a good long think about it naturally
Cheers Dimity
Hi Dimity,
The average subs will be 500 words but they don’t have to be the entire story – they can be an extract.
I am also hoping to run a picture book competition at the blog at some stage.
Happy writing:)
Dee
Hi, I live in Dubai . Can I enter the competition ?
Thanks for your enquiry, Venika,
You can enter from anywhere in the world as long as your entry is in English.
Happy writing:)
Dee
Hi Dee,
I am 10 yrs old and want to enter this competitions badly but are the prize books suitable for children?
Thanks so much!!!
P.S. This is the first reasonable kids writing competition I have found so far!
Hi,
All the book prizes in the children’s section are suitable for children. Good luck with your writing.
Dee:)
Hi, if we don’t win, do we get a certificate of participation?
Hi Petrina,
Yes, you will receive a certificate of participation.
Happy writing:)
Dee
O ya, by the way, when will the results for the ‘Fantasy story’ competition be out?
Hi Petrina,
The “Fantasy Story” competition closes on 31st March. It usually takes two to three weeks to judge all the entries. So results will be announced mid to end of April.
Happy writing:)
Dee
One more question… often in comps the judges don’t want the names of the entrant on the actual manuscript. What is your policy? Just doing my formatting now, and don’t want to make any mistakes.
Thanks, Cate
Hi Cate,
Thanks for asking. Your name shouldn’t be on the actual manuscript, but the name of the story should be. Can you please also include the name of your story in your covering email.
Thanks and good luck:)
Dee
Hi Dee,
I am a bit unsure, as I am 11 years old, what a manuscript assessment is. Is it when a proffesional edits your work? Also, do the books that are the prizes have to be written by Felicity Pulman? I am concerned that if I win that i won’t even be able to read the book until I am twenty!
Thanks,
Eva
Hi Eva,
A manuscript assessment is a professional edit. Not all the prizes are books by Felicity Pulman. The books are chosen to suit the age of the winners. I know I am getting back to you pretty late as I have been out all day so if you send me your entry tomorrow, that will be fine.
I look forward to reading your story.
Dee:)
Hi Dee,
Good luck to all the entrants. Fantasy is such a popular genre, I’m guessing you’ll get a tonne of entries.
Still, I’ve taken the plunge and submitted! Phew!
Silly me, I didn’t see the last comment in this thread prior to submitting, and realise I left my name in the header. Duh – it’s a comp – of course it should be anonymous. Should I resubmit with a version minus my name?
Thanks Jo,
I have to admit we’ve had a lot of entries. I’m glad you took the plunge and submitted. It’s fine to leave your name in the header. I actually prefer it so I can match the stories up to the people who sent them.
I prefer not to have author names on the entries themselves.
No need to resubmit.
Happy writing:)
Dee
Sorry I meant results. The link to the results
Hi Marie,
The results will be announced on this blog http://writingclassesforkids.com in about two weeks.
Dee:)
Hi Dee,
Just checking if this is right for the 2nd Quarter writing competition. The story can be longer than 500 words but you only want the first 500 words submitted? Or the total number of words for the complete story must be 500 words or less?
Have just found this website and it’s great.
Thanks,
Rachel
Thanks for your question, Rachel,
You’re right, the story can be longer than 500 words but the part you submit must be no more than 500 words.
I’m glad you like my site.
Good luck with your submission:)
Cheers
Dee
Hi Dee,
Just another question about the belonging and displacement writing comp. Should the story be aimed towards children or can it be a story written for adults?
Thanks,
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
Your story doesn’t have to be for children. It can be for adults.
Happy writing:)
Dee
This competition, in my opinion, is fair and creative. It has greatly inspired me. Thanks, Dee! Just one question – can we email it to the same address as we did for the first quarter?
Yes Reena,
All entries for all writing competitions are this blog can be emailed to Dee*at*DeeScribe*dot*com*dot*au
Happy writing:)
Dee