Deadline for Specsavers children's writing competition
With the deadline fast approaching, Specsavers has issued a final call for aspiring young authors to get creative and enter its short story competition. The nationwide competition celebrates Specsavers’ sponsorship of the Junior and Senior Irish Children's Book of the Year categories at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2021.
Inspired by a cartoon drawing of a magical mystic, children are being asked to create a short story, no longer than 500 words, beginning with the sentence; ‘I can see you’re going to have the most amazing adventure...’
Author and musician Niall Breslin (Bressie) teamed up with Specsavers this year to encourage budding authors to get creative and enter. As an author of multiple books, including two children’s books, Bressie is encouraging kids to put pen to paper for the Specsavers competition.
He says: ‘This competition is a great way for kids to let their imagination run wild. Writing isn’t about having the best grammar or spelling; it’s about having something to say that means something to you. I would encourage all parents to get their kids involved in this competition as it’s a great way for children to express themselves and they might win something for their school too.’
Specsavers Ireland chairman Kerril Hickey says: ‘In a year that has been so difficult and seen so much change, we are delighted to continue in our sponsorship of the children’s categories at the An Post Irish Book Awards this year and host our annual short story competition. Children have the most wonderfully creative imaginations that should be encouraged so we are very excited to see what magical tales these budding authors conjure up.’
Bressie’s top tips for writing a short story:
1.Focus on the task at hand, put away your laptop, turn off the TV and get your copybook and pen out. Create an environment for yourself that you can be creative in and remove all distractions.
2.Be creative and take inspiration from the world around you. Think of moments in your life that mean something to you and think about how they made you feel and go from there. Often the best stories are inspired by the characters we surround ourselves with.
3.The most important tip of all is to believe in yourself. Too often we can shy away from a challenge. But if you believe you can win then that’s half the battle. Best of luck.
The competition is open to children and teenagers up to 14 years of age with a closing date of November 26. The winner of each category will win €500 for their school library along with all the shortlisted children’s titles for 2021. Entry details can be found online at Specsavers.ie. All entries should be posted to, Specsavers Short Story Competition, c/o WHPR, 6 Ely Place, Dublin 2, or submitted online at www.specsavers.ie/irish-book-awards.