This year’s popular annual Write Stuff competition for the Bailiwick’s young writers is launched this month and the subject is The Journey.
The competition, which is organised as part of the Guernsey Literary Festival, is in its 11th year and last year entries topped the 1,000 mark for the first time. Entries came from no fewer than 21 schools, including from Sark, Alderney and Herm, and attracted home schooled entrants as well.
The judges are illustrator, author and character designer Dapo Adeola (pictured), Louie Stowell, who writes the Loki books about magic, gods and monsters (mostly), Pari Thomson, the author of the New York Times bestselling Greenwild series, and Dr Huw Lewis Jones, polar-exploring author and naturalist, who grew up in Guernsey.
As in previous years, there are four classes:
- Primary (years 3-6),
- Intermediate (years 7-9)
- Senior (years 10+),
- Writers with additional learning needs (ALN), split into junior and senior.
The competition is sponsored by Julius Baer and supported by Guernsey Literary Festival partners including the Guille-Allès Library, Aurigny, Guernsey Arts, Island Families and U&US.
The word ‘journey’ conjures up ideas of travel, which may be exciting, eventful, adventurous, disastrous, even life changing. It may suggest a metaphorical journey such as a transition; a life-changing experience leading to growth; it may be a journey through time and space; or it could be inspired by the writer’s own journey through life.
The title lends itself to myriad interpretations and genres: adventure, fantasy, historical, science fiction, a fictional memoir … the possibilities are endless.
The judges will be looking for originality, creativity, clarity, style and accuracy of language which will transport them with the writer on the journey.
There will be a cash prize of £50, a pair of Aurigny flights, Island Families membership and a trophy for the winner in each of the five categories, with £25 cash prizes for second and third places. Winners will also receive a signed book and an original illustration designed by Lynda Adlington, who has been commissioned to produce bespoke illustrations of the winning stories. The winning stories and illustrations will also be displayed at the Guille-Allès Library and local schools.
Up to five highly commended prizes will also be available in each category. Each highly commended winner will receive a £10 book token and a certificate as well as their story published on the website.
The competition closes on 7 March and the WriteStuff winners will be announced in May.
Alexandra McInnes, Managing Director of Julius Baer Guernsey, which has sponsored the Write Stuff for a number of years, said: “We were delighted with the number and quality of last year’s entries and we’re looking forward to a similar response this year.
“All of us go on journeys, whether to wonderful places in the world or important journeys in our lives and the great thing about The Write Stuff competition is that it gives young writers the opportunity to recreate their journeys for us. We can’t wait to read the entries and be involved with what is always a fantastic competition.’
