"An Urgent Message"
The theme of your story should be "An Urgent Message". Whether the message is about great events or something that matters to only one person - or animal (or anything) is up to you! Feel free to make it funny or serious, happy or sad - we just want to hear an original story about an urgent message.
The length of the story depends on which age category you fall into. Ask yourself what age you will be on the 6th November 2018 and that will tell you which of these categories you are in and the maximum length of your story:
7-11 500 words
12-16 1000 words
17-21 2500 words
WIN CASH PRIZES! SEE YOUR STORY PUBLISHED IN A REAL BOOK! BE PRESENTED WITH YOUR PRIZES ON NELSON'S FLAGSHIP IN A SPECIAL CEREMONY! RECEIVE A SCHOOL VISIT FROM OUR MAGNIFICENT YELLOW POST-CHAISE AND HORSES, WITH CARRIAGE RIDES FOR LUCKY CLASSMATES.
the 1st place prizes for each category are:
7-11 £100, special certificate, your story published
7-11 School Entry £100, special certificate, your story
published, post-chaise visit to your school
published, post-chaise visit to your school
12-16 £250, special certificate, your story published
17-21 £500, special certificate, your story published
1st place prizes include a trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyards for a presentation with family & friends. 2nd and 3rd prizes include book tokens. See Competition Terms & Conditions for the full list of prizes.
Competition launch on Spotlight, the BBC's regional news programme for the South West of England:
The competition is only open to individuals and schools from the counties along The Trafalgar Way: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey and South-West London, or to Sea Cadets and serving Royal Naval personnel under the age of 22 resident anywhere. Please see Competition Terms & Conditions.
The stories will be judged by a panel of amazing judges:
Dan Snow Historian and Broadcaster
Megan Rix Author
Peter Hore Author, Biographer, Journalist
Kathy Brown Director, The Trafalgar Way
Kate Jamieson Blogger, Adventurer, Nelson expert
The deadline is 1am on the 6th November 2018
So get thinking and writing!
Need inspiration? Read our specially commissioned story 'An Urgent Message' by Adam Preston.
Competition Now Closed!
Unfortunately the Autumn 2018 Story Writing Competition is now closed.
We are reviewing the applications and will announce a winner soon.
