The hunt is on for budding young authors

Sunday 07 April 2019

Young people with a flair for writing have just days left to bring their imaginations to life on paper as part of a Channel Islands-wide children's writing competition.

The competition, which is being run by Jersey and Guernsey's libraries, is a spin-off of the inaugural Children's Book Award, which asks children in Years 5, 6 and 7 to nominate and vote for their favourite book published in the last year.

The creative writing contest, meanwhile, will see competitors asked to produce a 150-word synopsis with a title, which will go under as a sequel to one of the shortlisted books.

Pictured: The four shortlisted books.

The books that made it to the shortlist for the public vote are: Ella on the Outside by Cath Howe, Kid Normal by Greg James and Chris Smith, Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone, and The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. The winner out of these entries will be announced at the award ceremony at Jersey Library on 21 June 2019.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for budding authors to let their imaginations run wild. We will be looking for new ideas which have a strong link to the original story and that introduce new characters or settings. We want the synopsis to entice us as readers without giving away the whole plot. We can’t wait to read the entries,” Elizabeth Hutchinson, Head of Schools’ Library Service in Guernsey, explained.

There will be a winner in Jersey and in Guernsey. In Jersey, the winner will receive a set of shortlisted books, along with tickets to the award ceremony and a book voucher. The Guernsey winner will receive a trip for two to Jersey, which includes flights and a hotel, all for the award ceremony in Jersey.

Ms Hutchinson added: “We wanted the Channel Island Children’s Book Awards to not only encourage young people to read more and try different authors and genres, but also to inspire them to write creatively and challenge their inner author. The generosity of our sponsor, Ravenscroft, means that we can run a creative writing competition with great prizes for the winners from both Bailiwicks.”

The final date for entries to the competition is 10 Aoril, and more information about the competition can be found by clicking here.