BBC's 500 Words 2024 writing competition opens

Posted on Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Category: Get Creative

BBC's 500 Words 2024 writing competition opens

500 Words is now open for entries, and you have until 9pm on Friday 8 November 2024 to submit your stories of up to 500 words.  There are two age categories: 5-7 and 8-11 year-olds.


All children need to do is write a story they would love to read in 500 Words or less. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked - it's all about creativity!

50 finalists will be invited to go to a grand final at Buckingham Palace in February next year, where the bronze, silver and gold winners in each category will have their stories read out by celebrities.  


There are also lots of prizes to be won, including a bundle of books for each winner. The gold winners also win 500 books for their school library.  The winning stories will also receive an original illustration from Dapo Adeola, Nigel Parkinson, Lydia Monks, Momoko Abe, Rob Biddulph or Yasmeen Ismail.


To support children of all abilities and backgrounds to take part in the competition, each school that enters a story and receives 50% free school meals or more is entitled to a £50 National Book Token and three £10 book tokens for their pupils.



The stories


500 Words advises, "We want children to have fun writing their stories, be as creative as they can and make us laugh, cry or just be blown away by what we are reading. Children are encouraged to write a story they would love to read themselves. Over the years there have been incredible stories submitted."


Children can only submit one story each. There are very few rules on 500 Words but here are some things to remember.  All the stories must:
Be 500 words or less (title is not included in the number)
Be written by an individual and not a group
Be a child's own original idea
Be prose, not rap or poem


Stories must not:
Give any personal details of the child, including their name
Recount an historical event (but they can use a real person or historical character as a source of inspiration)
Be created, written or developed by AI


Stories will be judged on the following criteria:
Characterisation
Plot
Originality
Language
Enjoyment


Here's a live lesson from BBC Teach, including guidance from three of the judges, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Charlie Higson, who breakdown the marking criteria for 500 Words' stories, which you can play in class or at home to kickstart story writing.


Further content provided on the 500 Words website includes learning resources for ages 5-7 and 7-11, to help breakdown story writing into a step by step process;  interviews with authors Nathan Bryon and Elle McNicoll;  and animations and learning content from World Book Day, Oxford University Press and Pobble.


50 finalists will be invited to the grand final event where the six winners will be revealed and the stories will be read by superstar celebrities. Every story which is submitted (excluding the winners) will be entered into a random draw and one child will be invited to the final, along with their parent/carer. They will also receive a bundle of books and their school will receive 500 books, as well as a Literacy Wall Art installed by Promote Your School.


The judging panel includes Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon and Frank Cottrell-Boyce, as well as singer-songwriter, Olivia Dean,


What are the prizes?
- 50 shortlisted finalists will be invited to the grand final at Buckingham Palace in February and will receive a £20 National Book Token.
- The gold, silver and bronze winners of both categories will win themselves a bundle of books:
Gold winning stories will receive the height of Sir Lenny Henry in books
Silver will win the height of Her Majesty The Queen in books
Bronze winners will the average height of a child relevant to their age category in books
- The gold winners' schools will also receive 500 books each for their school library.
- Each winning story will have a framed illustrated cover from Dapo Adeola, Nigel Parkinson, Lydia Monks, Momoko Abe, Rob Biddulph or Yasmeen Ismail.
- These illustrations, along with their stories, will also be included in a special 500 Words winner's book, which will go home with each bronze, silver and gold winner, in both categories.