Category Archives: Competition

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything

November 10, 2020 2:02 pm ,

Adapted from A Short History of Nearly Everything, this stunningly illustrated book from the extraordinary Bill Bryson takes us from the Big Bang to the dawn of science, and everything in between.

Perfect for ages 8 to 80.

Ever wondered how we got from nothing to something?
Or thought about how we can weigh the earth?
Or wanted to reach the edge of the universe?

Uncover the mysteries of time, space and life on earth in this extraordinary book – a journey from the centre of the planet to the dawn of the dinosaurs, and everything in between.

And discover our own incredible journey, from single cell to civilisation, including the brilliant (and sometimes very bizarre) scientists who helped us find out the how and why.

Penguin

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson was published just as I was coming to the end of my Geological Sciences BSc and I *adored* it. So much so, I bought 3 copies to give to my best friends on the course. I’ve read a number of Bryson’s books for grown ups, he’s got this amazing skill to write on just about any subject and make it fascinating, funny, informative, and understandable without patronising readers. So I was really excited when I saw that he had rewritten this particular title for younger readers and begged Penguin for a copy. They very generously not only sent me a copy but also said I could host a competition for 3 TeenLibrarian readers to win a copy too*! Just comment with your email address if you would like to be in with a chance of winning one (comments will remain hidden).

I’m loving looking through this adaptation, it really does still contain nearly everything, this time brilliantly illustrated by Daniel Long, Dawn Cooper, Jesús Sotés, and Katie Ponder. The design of the book is really appealing and it is a wonderful introduction to just about every aspect of science and technology.

*UK only, I will contact winners on 1st December 2020

Posted in: Books, Competition, non-fiction, Reviews

Margate Bookie Fireside Chats

October 28, 2020 12:45 pm ,

Margate Bookie have been organising literary events around seaside town Margate since 2015, but this year they’ve gone online and everyone’s invited! They run festivals and workshops and creative courses for a range of audiences, and in November they’re hosting Fireside Chats with some fabulous guests lined up, follow that link to see all the booking details, but I wanted to highlight two events that TeenLibrarian readers might be particularly interested in:

I will be watching the New Voices panel – I had a great time reading the books longlisted for the Diverse Book Awards this year and am looking forward to hearing more from the team behind it! I’ve been given an extra ticket for both this and the ‘Love with Dean Atta and Richard Skinner’ event, so if you would like to be in with a chance of winning a free ticket for either, just follow the links:

Click here for a chance to win a ticket for the New Voices chat.

Click here for a chance to win a ticket to the Love chat.

Booking is also open for their fab sounding Christmas event!
Posted in: Competition, Events

The Spellslinger series by Sebastien De Castell

October 24, 2019 9:00 am ,



The game of war is always rigged . . .
Kellen and Reichis are settling into their lives as protectors of the young queen. For the first time Kellen feels as if he’s becoming the kind of man that his mentor Ferius had wanted him to be. Even Reichis has come to appreciate having a noble purpose – so long as no one minds him committing the occasional act of theft from the royal treasury.
But thousands of miles away a war is brewing that the Argosi always warned could destroy the continent. An unexpected source brings word that there’s one way Kellen can prevent a hundred years of bloodshed, and all it requires is a little murder . . .
Now Kellen and his sister Shalla find themselves on opposite sides, and neither love nor loyalty can protect them from the choices they must make.

Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell, HotKey Books
Crownbreaker is the 6th and final book in the Spellslinger series

I failed to keep up with this series after the first two, I loved them but then CKG got in the way, but I’m regretting that now as the 6th and final book was published this month. HotKey Books have very kindly offered a full set of the books as a prize for a TeenLibrarian reader, so I set up my very first Rafflecopter giveaway! Follow the link to enter, and good luck!

Sebastien De Castell



Posted in: Books, Competition, YA

The Author of Tomorrow Award

January 9, 2017 11:59 am ,

The Author of Tomorrow Award is designed to find the adventure writers of the future.

Run in partnership with a number of non-governmental organisations dedicated to improving global literacy levels, it is open to anyone aged between twelve and twenty-one who has completed a short piece of adventure writing in English.

To enter the Author of Tomorrow Award

The author must be aged between twelve and twenty-one years of age (on 1 January 2017).
The piece of short fiction entered must be between 1500 and 5000 words.
The submitted work must, in the opinion of the judges, fall within what can be defined as adventure writing (using the definition provided here).

The author must provide

An electronic copy of their piece of short fiction
A short synopsis of their work
A scanned copy of their birth certificate

Closing date

Entries can be submitted from the 31st of October 2016 until the 23rd of January 2017. Any story submitted after the deadline will not be eligible for entry.

The winning author will receive £1,000 pounds sterling and a framed certificate.

Full details are available here:

http://www.wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org/awards/author-of-tomorrow

Posted in: Competition, News

GIVEAWAY: The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

November 3, 2016 10:57 am ,

The latest book in Ben Aaronovitch’s best-selling Rivers of London series is now available!

Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of PC Peter Grant or the Folly, even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But Lady Ty’s daughter was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favour.

Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the house and dangerous, arcane items are bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean. But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about.

He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week . . .

How to win a copy:

Ben’s publisher Gollancz has very kindly given me three copies to give away to celebrate the launch. So if you would like to win a copy of this amazing book all you have to do is tweet me! (I am @mattlibrarian on Twitter) Say something like “I would like to win a copy of The Hanging Tree!” or words to that effect using the hashtag #THTgiveaway so I can keep track of entries.

The competition will close at 5pm on Friday 4th November, all names will go into a hat and the winners will be announced on Monday 7th November.

Posted in: Books, Competition

The Guardian Young Critics Competition 2015

July 14, 2015 11:09 am ,


If you are aged 18 or under and love reading, or you run or are part of a school book group, then you should enter the Guardian’s young critics competition – and here’s how:

All you need to do is submit a review (maximum 500 words) on one of the books long-listed for the Guardian children’s fiction prize 2015. The prize for 10 individual winners is a complete set of the long-listed books plus book tokens and an invitation to the Guardian children’s fiction award party on 19 November 2015. The group winners will get 10 copies of each of the long-listed books, the chance to come to Guardian’s education centre and make their own newspaper and up to 20 members of the winning book group are invited to the awards party.

The deadline for entries is 30 October 2015, so you’ve got all summer (and some) to read one of the books. Great for new school book groups that don’t start until September!

There are two ways to enter:

1. You can enter on your own by filling out form on the Guardian Young Critics Competition page including your review of a Longlisted Book.

Or:

2. you can enter as part of a school group if you and at least three other students from your school all submit reviews. The school that is judged to have the strongest overall group of entries will win a prize – there will also be one runner up prize in this category. In order for a submitted review to be entered as part of a school group, that review must be submitted, either online or by post, together with at least three other reviews by other eligible students from the same school.

The prizes

The 10 individual winners will each receive a complete set of the eight longlisted books, plus a £20 National Book Tokens gift card and an invitation to attend the award ceremony at the Guardian on 19 November 2015.

The winning school will be invited to spend a day at the Guardian Education Centre: up to 30 students (chosen by the winning school’s Head of English, or equivalent) from the winning school will have the chance to edit and print the day’s news at the Guardian Education Centre in London. In addition, the winning school will receive 10 complete sets of the eight long-listed books, a £150 National Book Tokens gift card as well an invitation for up to 20 pupils to attend the ceremony in London on 19 November. The runner up school will receive a complete set of the eight long-listed books.

For full details and to enter the competition follow this link:

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jul/10/guardian-young-critics-competition-2015-enter

Posted in: Competition, News, Reviews

The Write Stuff 2015

March 23, 2015 1:55 pm ,

The Sunday Times in partnership with international best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford is asking girls to write a short, fictional story with a central theme of ‘friendship’.

Barbara Taylor Bradford, international bestselling novelist:
“Friendships are hugely exciting but also can be complicated, and sometimes difficult.
All sorts of things can happen between friends – from rivalry, jealousy and competitiveness right through to someone undertaking an amazing act of kindness that helps a friend in a time of need. Whatever the scenario, there must always be a resolution to the story to satisfy the reader. If you don’t have trouble or a problem, you have no drama and you don’t pull in the reader. The theme can be quite dramatic in a personal way. It has to have emotions and real feelings.”

Barbara Taylor Bradford and The Sunday times are asking girls to write a short, fictional story with a central theme of ‘friendship’.

It should run to a maximum of 1,000 words, not including the title and be submitted online by Friday 3 July 2015.

For full details of the competition and to enter, follow this link:

The Write Stuff

Posted in: Competition

Changing hearts and minds: Stonewall writing competition for young people aged between 14 and 17

March 2, 2015 4:52 pm ,

Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality charity, has launched its first Young Writers’ Competition.

The theme of the competition is Changing Hearts and Minds.

Everyone taking part will be asked to compose a short story or poem which explores this theme in relation to the lives of LGBT people in the UK. You may want to write about the challenges still faced by the LGBT community or maybe you’d like to explore how society can help to improve the experiences of LGBT people.

The prizes
One person in each category will win 150 pounds of book tokens and will have their poem or short story published on The Guardian Children’s Books website for everyone to see!

Two runners up in each category will win £50 of book tokens.

The Judges

SJ Watson – The publishing rights to SJ’s debut novel Before I Go To Sleep have been sold in 42 different countries around the world. It has gone on to be an international bestseller and successful feature film starring Nicole Kidman.

Dean Atta – Dean is a writer and performance poet. He won the 2012 London Poetry Award and was named as one of the most influential LGBT people by the Independent on Sunday Pink List in the same year.

Ruth Hunt – A self-proclaimed ‘super-fan’ of LGBT Youth Fiction, Stonewall’s Chief Executive is really looking forward to reading your poems and short stories!

Rules
The competition is open to anyone who will be aged between 14 and 17 on the closing date which is 22 May 2015. You can enter one category, or both – the choice is yours!

Competition details

Age group: 14-17 year olds
Categories: Short story (fiction) and poetry
Theme: LGBT equality: Changing hearts and minds
Word count: 1000 words maximum
Deadline for entries: Friday 22 May
Winners announced: Monday 15 June
Submission details: Email entries to youngwriters@stonewall.org.uk or post entries to: Stonewall Offices, Tower Building, York Road, London SE1 7NX

For full details follow this link: Stonewall Changing Hearts and Minds

Posted in: Competition

Young Romantics Prize

January 5, 2015 4:14 pm ,

Young Romantics is a new prize for poems and short stories inspired by the Romantics. It gives young writers between the ages of 16 & 18 the opportunity to win a week-long Creative Writing Course with Arvon at one of their famous residential centres working with practising writers

Entrants can submit up to 2 poems and 2 short stories.
All entries must be on the theme of Lost Angels.
Poems must be no more than 20 lines
Short Stories must be no more than 1,000 words.

The competition closes on the 13th March.

For full details and to enter the competition follow this link:
http://www.keats-shelley.co.uk/young-romantics-prize

Posted in: Competition, News

First Story National Writing Competition

October 15, 2014 8:35 am ,

First Story is very excited to announce the launch of its annual National Writing Competition!

Students from state schools across the country are invited to submit 850 words or less of poetry or prose on the theme of ‘Home’ – what does home mean to them? Is it a place, a smell, a taste, a group of people?

This year we are delighted to offer the fantastic prize of a residential Arvon creative writing course for the winners. We will also publish all the shortlisted pieces in a collected anthology, and hold a special prize-giving ceremony at LSE in 2015.

The competition will be judged by five acclaimed writers: Anthony McGowan, Bernardine Evaristo, James Dawson, Kate Kingsley and Laura Dockrill.

Teachers will run the first stage of the competition within schools, and then send 3 top entries to First Story before the deadline on Friday 5th December 2014. The first 100 teachers to get 50 entries within their school will be given £100, and £30 in book tokens will be given to every school to be awarded to the top three winners within each school.

Four stories from each key stage (KS3, 4 and 5, twelve stories in total) will be selected by First Story from the final entries submitted by each school, and then the five judges will pick a winner for each key stage. One winner overall will be selected, with the results announced in a prize ceremony at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) in early 2015. The three key stage winners will each be offered a places on an Arvon residential writing course in March 2015. And on top of that, they get to invite 3 friends to come on the course too, and bring the teacher who entered their piece along with them.

Teachers can also enter themselves, in a separate contest: 4 top teacher pieces will be chosen, and a final winner, selected by the judges, will also get a place on the Arvon course.

For full details and resources please visit this page:

http://www.firststory.org.uk/2014/09/24/first-story-national-writing-competition/

Posted in: Competition, News