Creative writing competition 2024 – Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services

About the competition

The Tower Hamlets Creative Writing Competition is an annual event for schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for students aged six years to sixteen.

Open to pupils in subscribing schools OR to members of Tower Hamlets Idea Stores
Pupils in years 1 to 11 may enter
Categories for short stories and poetry

It has been run by Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service since 2011 with the aims of promoting wider reading and literacy, and to encourage young people to express themselves through the written word. Research carried out during the 2020 competition showed that pupils participating in the competition and in the author workshops benefited by gaining confidence in their writing ability and developing greater insight into the issues raised by the competition themes.

Theme for 2024 : DISCOVER

The theme for the competition this year is Discover. Writers can interpret this in any way they wish and there are countless options to choose from. We’ve collected some ideas together at www.towerhamlets-sls.org.uk/getwriting and will be adding to this over the term.

Prompts and a booklist to support the theme and provide ideas for all year groups will go live later this year
Promotional posters and flyers with writing prompts will be sent to all participating schools

QUICK LINKS

For pupils and parents : www.towerhamlets-sls.org.uk/getwriting : Ideas, prompts and other resources. Plus competition rules and what the judges will be looking for,
Entry form : Work can be submitted from February 2024
For schools – keep reading!

Register for the competition (Schools only)

Parents/ students entering via the Idea Stores do NOT need to register

In order to enter the competition, receive posters, entry forms and flyers, and take advantage of these free author workshops, schools need to:

enter the competition by “buying” it via the Services to Schools/ SLAonline platform (Creative Writing Competition 2024. Just £40 to subscribing primary schools to cover administration – discount applied on purchase)
email jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk letting us know who is to lead on running this event in your school.
use the form below to book your free writing workshops!

The Arts Council grant also enables us to publish a book of the winning entries.

Author Workshops

Fully-funded writing workshops for schools

We are thrilled to announce that Arts Council England has again awarded Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service with a grant to enhance our annual Creative Writing Competition with author-led creative writing workshops for schools, Idea Stores and home-educated children.

Information about the workshops

Important information

The author workshops are intended to provide practical creative writing skills to your pupils (and teachers!) including structuring a story and character creation. The workshops will relate to the theme of the competition but the skills learnt can be applied to other projects and lessons.

How will a visit to your school work?

It is our intention to arrange in-person author visits rather than virtual visits.

An author will be able to work with up to 2 groups of pupils during the time allocated to their visit.
These 2 sessions will be up to 50 minutes each and run one after the other with a short break in between.
An author or poet can also work with just 1 group for the visit duration as a more advanced workshop for older pupils – let us know in the additional details box in the booking form.
The school should suggest a date or (preferably) a range of dates during which you can host your visit. We will match you with an author based on your requirements and their availability.
Workshops should take place from January to March (world book day week is likely to be booked up very early on)
Each group of pupils can be up to the size of one class
Workshops can be for all ages from year 1 upwards
Groups can be of mixed ages, although there shouldn’t be too wide a gap between these ages in order to ensure age-appropriate content

Idea Stores

We are working with the Tower Hamlets Idea Stores to provide five workshops in public libraries between January and March. Dates and times to be announced.

If you have any questions, please email jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Poetry Slam Link!

Schools can also combine this competition with a performance poetry event! Give your pupils a confidence boost with a two-day intensive poetry workshop in association with the Poetry Society. This will prepare them for a half-day Slam performance where they’ll compete with other schools for prizes!

For more information see our Junior Slam page. The Junior Slam requires a separate registration.

Author workshop booking form

Your name

Your email

Your school

Book your visit

Please ensure that you've read all of the information above about how the visit will work!
Your author will work with two classes (back to back sessions) during their visit.
Please indicate below :
1. A range of dates that you can host your visit. *IMPORTANT* World Book Day Week is usually fully booked for most authors. If you select this week, please also select backup dates!
2. Whether you'd like workshops to focus on story writing or poetry
3. Details for the two groups with which they'll be working (year group and anything else we need to know). Alternatively, you can request that they work with just one class for the duration of their visit as an extended workshop. (indicate this in the text box below).
Authors will be selected based on availability on the dates you've selected and the year group of the pupils. If you decide to change to a different year group, please let us know as soon as possible so that a new booking can be arranged.

We can host our author visit on any of the following dates (specify times or AM/PM preferences if required)

I want the workshop to cover
Story writingPoety writing

Each group can be a maximum size of one class. Please let us know the year(s) present in each group and number if less than a full class size.
1st session year group(s)
2nd session year group(s)

Any other information (optional)

To prevent spam, please type CWC in the box (case sensitive)
Type CWC

Please ensure that the email you entered is correct. Your details will be passed to Authors Aloud UK who will contact you to finalise details of your booking. If no suitable authors or poets are available on your specified dates we'll let you know.

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