Children’s Author To Judge BBC Radio 2 500 Words Competition

Eeeek! I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be one of the judges in the 500 Words story writing competition on BBC Radio 2!

I’m thrilled to be involved in this fantastic short story competition for children. Now in it’s tenth year, the writing contest has inspired over three quarters of a million stories from budding young authors.

I’m looking forward to judging entries in the 5-9 age group category and will be receiving my batch of stories in March 2020. As part of a judging panel of fellow wordsmiths and bookworms, I will be marking each story on originality, characterisation, plot, language and enjoyment.

After an initial judging round, 50 stories across two age categories will be shortlisted, before six winning tales are chosen by the final judging panel. There will be bronze, silver and gold winners in both the 5-9 and 10-13 age group categories. Each winner will receive an abundance of books and a one-of-a-kind illustration of their story, created by an amazing UK illustrator.

The 500 Words final will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 in June 2020. Make sure you tune in to Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show to hear the winning entries being read by famous authors and celebrities. I can’t wait!