summer shorts
WHAT IS IT?
Summer Shorts is the hottest new writing competition for kids. At Summer Shorts we are passionate about young people developing their creativity and story-telling skills and using their brilliant imaginations.
We're called Summer Shorts because the competition runs throughout July and August (the school summer holidays). We'd love kids to use a little bit of their time off to write something great and exercise their creative muscles!
To enter, you can either write a short story or poem.
Stories should be less than 750 words long. Poems, no more than 15 lines.
As 2020 is the first year of the Summer Shorts competitions, the theme of your story or poem should be The Beginning. For more information, see the How to Enter section. For writing tips, check out the For Writers part of the website.
Look out for the announcements about our judging panel!
WHY SHOULD I ENTER?
WE'VE GOT GREAT PRIZES! The winner will receive the 2020 Summer Shorts trophy plus £100. We'll pick one poem and one short-story as runners-up who will each a Summer Shorts medal. The short-list will all receive a Summer Shorts creative writing certificate. All the entrants will have their work read by our judging panel, which will include some of the best writers and journalists in the country - how awesome is that?
IMPROVE YOUR STORY-WRITING SKILLS. Don’t you wish you’d have written Harry Potter, the Cherub series or could sell 40 million books like Jacqueline Wilson? Writing competitions are a great way to practice your story-writing skills and keep your imagination well-oiled, whether you want to ace your English exams or have ambitions to be a famous writer. (Did you know that world-famous author Stephen King started off as a short-story writer?)
IT'S COOL TO BE CREATIVE! It's smart too. The CEOs of Nike and Ford both come from creative backgrounds and creativity is one of the top skills that employers look for. Applying for a job or a college place might seem a long way off now, but showing you have the talent and focus to write a story or poem and enter it into a national competition is going to get people's attention.
IMPRESS YOUR TEACHERS when you get back to school and feel super-proud that you've taken part in the hottest new writing competition for kids.
HOW TO ENTER
To enter simply write a short story less than 750 words or a poem which consists of less than 15 lines.
As 2020 is the debut year of the Summer Shorts writing competition, the theme of your short story or poem should be 'The Beginning.' Use your imagination. It can be a character arriving at a new school. Or the start of a holiday. It could even be the first step onto a new planet! If you want some writing tips or ideas about how to start, head over to the For writers section of the website.
All entries should be sent to Summer Shorts HQ. Please email your story or poem to hello@summer-shorts.com
Make sure your entry includes your name, age, and your parent, guardian or carer's email address, where we can contact you if you have won.
The closing date is Sunday 27th September 2020. Entries received after this date can not be accepted for the 2020 Summer Shorts competition.
See the Enter Here section of the website for more details and competition rules.
Good luck everyone!
ABOUT US
Summer Shorts was set up by Sunday Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist and former Prince's Trust/Marie Claire creative writing mentor Tasmina Perry.
'I set up the Summer Shorts competition because I'm passionate about fostering creativity in young people and nurturing a love of words and story-telling.Creativity is a skill that can be often overlooked in the school curriculum, but I believe is a vital quality to develop and use in the 21st Century.
Competitions are a great way to encourage people to sit down and create something. They can be fun, rewarding, even life-changing! Winning a writing competition changed my life and allowed me to switch careers from law to journalism and although not everyone wants to be writers, artists or designers, having creativity confidence will help kids become problem solvers, whether they want to be a dentist or a detective, engineers or event managers.
Meanwhile, I guarantee that anyone who finds time to sit down and write either a short story or poem for Summer Shorts will feel a deep sense of satisfaction when they have finished it and have a piece of creative writing to call their own.'
It's cool to be creative. Believe in the power of stories and enter Summer Shorts today.