Tamworth Story Competition

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Posted 2021-03-03 by Tony Collins ⇒ follow

Thu 04 Mar 2021 - Sat 01 May 2021

Calling all young story writers in the Staffordshire town of Tamworth. Local youngsters aged between five and 19 are being invited to grab their writing pens and get creative, as Tamworth's story competition returns for 2021. As the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a first national lockdown in March last year, Tamworth Borough Council's Arts and Events and Assembly Rooms teams combined to help people entertain their families at home. This included sharing links, websites, and downloads, as well as the launch of a story competition in April 2020 across three children's age groups. The first competition was viewed a success after attracting more than 40 entries, so the Arts and Events team in partnership with the Tamworth Herald, Tamworth Literary Festival, WH Smiths and Tamworth Library, have set a second story writing challenge for children in the town. The competition was being launched on March 4 to coincide with World Book Day.

To take part in the competition, children have to write a maximum 500 word story using a topic of their choice, but it must include 'Tamworth' somewhere in the tale. This year there will be four age groups spread throughout the competition, for children aged 5-9; 10-13; 14-16 and new for this year, an older age group of 17-19 years. 'Tamworth' does not just have to appear as the town the story is set in - it might, for example, be the name of a ship such as HMS Tamworth, or the Tamworth Army Regiment in a foreign country, or an animal named 'Tamworth'. The idea is to be creative and link back in some way to the town. The launch date of the competition is March 4th, in line with World Book Day. All entries have to be submitted by May 1st, with prizes up for grabs for all age groups including iPads, vouchers, and theatre tickets as well as the winning stories being shared with local media.

Adey Ramsel, Theatre, Artistic and Events Manager for Tamworth Arts and Events and Assembly Rooms, said: "We are excited to launch this story competition for the second year running and look forward to receiving your entries. We had a brilliant response last year during the first national lockdown, so we are hoping that even more children of all ages will engage in exploring ideas and thinking about how they can grab the attention of the reader. The competition will run till May 1st, giving everyone plenty of time to prepare their best work. The winners will receive some fantastic prizes including local media coverage. So get writing and discover the hidden author in you today."