kids’ story writing competition 2026

Every great story begins with a simple idea…

Kids, grab your pens and let your creativity shine in our Annual Kids’ Story Writing Competition!

Dream big, write boldly, and share the wonderful worlds inside your imagination…

This year’s writing inspiration is a sentence prompt to be included in your entry:

“The sound became louder & I realised it was…”

What will you make of this sound? Where is the sound coming from? What kind of sound is it? Do you recognise the sound? Can you see what is making the sound? Is the sound otherworldly? The possibilities for this sound are limitless, and where the story takes your reader is boundless.

There are SO many ways you could use this prompt to inspire your story or just work it in with another idea you may already have. We can’t wait to see what you come up with…

All entries must meet the Entry Guidelines (listed below) and be submitted no later than Sunday 26 July. Shortlisted entries will be notified in early August ahead of our Winners Announcement Event with special guest author, Fiona Wood, in store on Saturday 22 August at 3pm. There will be Farrells Book Vouchers up for grabs as prizes and winning entries will be published here on the website. You can check out our winners from last year here.

Please stick to the below Entry Guidelines to make sure your story counts!

Entry Guidelines:

Open to Mornington Peninsula residents only.
Entrants must fall into one of the five entry age groups from Prep through to Year 12. Sorry, no grown ups allowed!!
- Lower Primary: Prep to Year 2
- Middle Primary: Years 3 and 4
- Upper Primary: Years 5 and 6
- Lower Secondary: Years 7 to 9
- Upper Secondary: Years 10 to 12
Entries may be in picture story, poetry or short story formats and must incorporate this year’s sentence prompt: “The sound became louder & I realised it was…”
The exact words of the prompt may be adjusted to fit within your story (eg. tense change), as long as the idea is clearly included.
Word limits apply to short stories and only entries within the limits will be read, so practice your editing skills!
- Primary level: 2 pages / 1000 words
- Secondary level: 3 pages / 1500 words
Hard copy entries can be dropped in store. Please ensure you complete an entry form to go with your entry – print one HERE or collect one in store.
Electronic entries can be submitted to [email protected] with the Subject: Farrells 2026 Story Comp. Please use either Microsoft Word or PDF formats (Please no Google Docs) – our preference is for PDF.
For emailed entries, please ensure you include your NAME, AGE / GROUP, POSTCODE, PHONE & EMAIL.

Fiona Wood

about the author

This year we have award winning children’s author Fiona Wood joining us for our Winners Announcement event on Saturday 22 August at 3pm.

Fiona Wood is a three-time CBCA award-winning author. Her books include Six Impossible Things, Wildlife, Cloudwish, How to Spell Catastrophe, and, with Cath Crowley and Simmone Howell, Take Three Girls. Her novels are published internationally. Fiona has also worked as a screenwriter. She lives in Naarm Melbourne.

Fiona’s new middle grade novel The Boy and the Dog Tree is a heart-lifting tale of friendship, courage and belonging. In store now.