kids’ writing competition 2024
Now closed for 2024.
But please pop down to Farrells on Sat 17 August at 3pm for our winners announcement with special guest author Emily Gale!!!
We look forward to another comp in 2025!
It’s time to kickstart your imagination and get ready to write for our annual Kids’ Story Writing Competition as part of our Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book Week celebrations.
This year’s writing inspiration is a sentence prompt to be included in your entry:
“I closed my eyes and made a wish…”
What will you wish for? A new bike? Superpowers? To become a bird or a tiger? Perhaps a new robot to clean your room and do your homework? To be older or live in a different time? The possibilities for your wish are limitless, and the journey the wish takes your reader on are boundless. What will happen when your wish comes true? What might happen if it doesn’t?
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 21 July. Shortlisted entries will be notified in early August ahead of our Winners Announcement Event with special guest author Emily Gale in store on Saturday 17 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: “I closed my eyes and made a wish…”
- 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 our competition box 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 events@farrells.com.au with the Subject: Farrells 2024 Story Comp. Please use either Microsoft Word or PDF formats (Please no Google Docs).
- For emailed entries, please ensure you include your NAME, AGE / GROUP, POSTCODE, PHONE & EMAIL.
To get started on your story, check out these Top Tips for Young Writers from author Jane Godwin.