The acclaimed 2017 Wicked Young Writer Awards, created and sponsored by award-winning musical WICKED in association with the National Literary Trust, are announcing today the names of the 115 finalists in the running for the annual creative writing prizes. This year’s finalists can be found on the Awards website - www.WickedYoungWriterAwards.com, and represent young people from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Championed by Patron Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall, this year’s judges include former Labour MP, Ed Balls, ITV News Arts Editor, Nina Nannar and the acclaimed performance poet and writer Laura Dockrill. Author and illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon books, Cressida Cowell, returns as Head Judge for the third consecutive year, together with long-standing judges Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust and Michael McCabe, Executive Producer of WICKED. Anna Bassi, Editor of The Week Junior is also a guest judge for the FOR GOOD Award for Non-Fiction.
This year’s panel of judges reviewed and confirmed the finalists that sifting judges (teachers from both primary and secondary sectors) had selected. They then made their decisions on the winners who will be announced on 23 June 2017 at an awards ceremony at Apollo Victoria Theatre, home of the long running hit musical WICKED.
Jonathan Douglas said, “Every year I am moved by the incredible writing of the children and young people who enter the Wicked Young Writer Awards – and this year was no exception. Children tackled incredibly difficult subject matters with originality, creativity and an undeniable sense of hope, buoyed by the good that can come out of bad situations. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s awards and congratulations to the worthy finalists! We hope that the awards will continue to inspire children and young people to give their thoughts, ideas and passions a voice.”
Now in its 7th year, the Awards encourage young people aged 5-25 years to use writing as a way of expressing themselves, producing unique and original pieces of prose and poetry. Nearly 30,000 young people have entered the Awards since they began in 2009, with this year seeing the fastest growing level of entries to date. Over 600 primary and secondary schools and colleges entered this year’s competition from all over the UK, with a particularly impressive rise in entries for the 8-10 and 18-25 categories.
Amongst this year’s finalists were stories, poems and non-fiction writing that were consciously crafted and precise, although often bleak with dark and sometimes disturbing themes. The brave and honest writing showed an understanding for the importance of empathy and the need to give a voice to mental illness amongst the old or young. Highlighted concerns included showing kindness to strangers, looking for hope in adversity, the sadness of dementia, forced marriage and the value of education to help us feel compassion.
Playful and imaginative stories from the younger entries included an enchanted briefcase, life as human body cell, jousting, adventures with love, an underwater world where fish work together and a troublesome spot.
Hayley Leyshon-Brady, a primary school teacher from Oxfordshire and one of the sifting judges for the Awards, comments on the entries; “The entries were of an exceptionally high standard and the pieces that were shortlisted showed such incredible skill in involving the reader emotionally. The subject matter ranged from hidden rooms in grandparent's houses to being a Syrian refugee but all of these pieces engaged me from the opening line. The powerful language and phenomenal empathy demonstrated what a perceptive and creative group of authors these children are.”
WICKED YOUNG WRITER AWARDS
The Wicked Young Writer Awards, created by the award-winning musical WICKED, were set up to encourage and recognise excellence in writing, and creativity, and help develop literacy and writing talent in young people between the ages of 5 and 25. Since launching in 2010, over 25,000 young people have entered original and thought-provoking pieces of writing that consistently reflect the interests, concerns and deepest thoughts of young people, providing a first-look at the emerging voices of a new generation.
The Awards are separated into six categories, for entrants between the ages of 5-25. They allow young people from across the UK and Ireland to enter a piece of writing on a theme or subject of their choice. Young people are free to submit entries written at home or at school, and teachers are encouraged to enter writing on behalf of their pupils. Exclusive teachers’ resources can be found online including tips for inspiring and encouraging writing in the classroom.
The 2017 Awards sees the second year of the FOR GOOD Award for Non-Fiction, encouraging 15-25 year olds to write essays or articles that recognise the positive impact that people can have on each other, their communities and the world we live in. This category celebrates the WICKED: FOR GOOD philanthropic programme, which supports the work of multiple charities.
115 finalists from across the UK will see their work published in the Wicked Young Writer Awards Anthology, which will be published in association with Young Writers (www.youngwriters.co.uk). The 115 finalists are also invited to an exclusive ceremony at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, home to the musical WICKED since 2006, where judges and members of the WICKED cast announce who has won in each category.
Prizes include:
The overall winners from each category will win £50 book/eBook tokens, and the 5-14 year old winners will receive £100 worth of books for their school library kindly donated by Hachette Children’s Group, a subscription to young people’s current affairs magazine, The Week Junior and a bespoke WICKED workshop for their school.
Winners in the 15-17, 18-25 and FOR GOOD categories will also win a self-publishing package from Spiderwize and an exclusive writing experience with one of the Awards’ literacy partners. In addition, the winner of the FOR GOOD category will win a work experience placement at The Week Junior.
The three schools that submit the most entries will also win a Creative Writing Workshop for their school for up to thirty students delivered by WICKED’s education team.
All winners will win four tickets to see the London production of WICKED at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and an opportunity to meet cast members after the show along with an exclusive backstage tour
The Wicked Young Writer Awards is just one of the ways in which Wicked aims to engage and inspire young people. You can read more about their education work and find resources at: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk/education
NATIONAL LITERACY TRUST
One person in six in the UK lives with poor literacy. This holds them back at every stage of their life. As a child they won't be able to succeed at school, as a young adult they will be locked out of the job market, and on becoming a parent they won't be able to support their child's learning. Lacking these vital skills undermines their wellbeing and stops them making a full contribution to the economic and cultural life of our nation.
The National Literacy Trust is a national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. It works to improve the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK's most disadvantaged communities, where up to 40 per cent of people have literacy problems. Its research and analysis make it the leading authority on literacy. Because low literacy is intergenerational, the National Literacy Trust focuses its work on families, young people and children. For more information visit: www.literacytrust.org.uk
THE WEEK JUNIOR
The Week Junior is a news magazine for 8-14 year olds which encourages children to explore the world and develop their own opinions on the news and events shaping their future. From news to nature, science to geography, and film to coding, The Week Junior explores an extraordinary array of topics from around the globe. Written to engage a young person’s point of view, without spoon-feeding or patronizing, it explains events in a safe, accessible and inspiring way. For more information visit: www.theweekjunior.co.uk
ED BALLS
Ed Balls recently served as a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (2015/16) and as Visiting Professor to the Policy Institute at King’s College, London. He was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2011-15) and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. He was Minister for Financial Services (2006-07) and the Chief Economic Advisor to the Treasury (1997-2004), during which time he was Chair of the IMFC Deputies and G20 Deputy. While Shadow Chancellor he was co-Chair with Larry Summers of the Center for American Progress Inclusive Prosperity Commission. He was a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Economics at Harvard University (1989-90) and a leader writer and columnist at the Financial Times (1990-94). Ed studied economics at Keble College, Oxford and at Harvard Kennedy School. He is Chairman of Norwich City Football Club and, in 2016, was a contestant on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and has recently travelled the UK with Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour.
CRESSIDA COWELL
Cressida Cowell grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. She was convinced that there were dragons living on this island, and has been fascinated by dragons ever since. Cressida has written and illustrated twelve books in the popular How to Train Your Dragon series which has sold over 7 million copies worldwide, and is published in 38 languages. How to Train Your Dragon is also an award-winning DreamWorks film series, and a TV series shown on Netflix. Also, the author of picture books, Cressida has won the Nestle Children's Book Prize and has been shortlisted for many others. Last year she won Philosophy Now Magazine’s Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity. She has been an Ambassador for the National Literacy Trust for ten years. Cressida lives in Hammersmith with her husband and three children.
LAURA DOCKRILL
Named one of the top ten literary talents by The Times and one of the top twenty hot faces to watch by ELLE magazine, Laura Dockrill is a young, talented performance poet and writer who is a graduate of the BRIT School of Performing Arts. She has performed her work at the Edinburgh Fringe, Camp Bestival, Latitude, Bookslam and the Soho Theatre and on each of the BBC's respective radio channels, 1-6. She has been a roaming reporter for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, run workshops at the Imagine Festival on the South Bank, and is on the advisory panel at the Ministry of Stories.
NINA NANNAR
Nina Nannar is a British Asian journalist who is a correspondent for ITV News, specialising in arts and entertainment news. She frequently covers the Oscars and other major entertainment events. Interviewees include Daniel Craig, Karl Lagerfeld and Helen Mirren. She is a Patron of Norfolk Young Arts Festival.
ABOUT WICKED
Based on the acclaimed novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. For more information, including details of the production’s award-winning education programme, visit: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk
Through its FOR GOOD programme and other charitable endeavours, WICKED is proud to support the remarkable work of the following UK charities: Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA); the Cybersmile Foundation; the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity; Stonewall's ‘Education For All’ campaign; The Woodland Trust and the National Literacy Trust. For more information visit: www.WickedForGood.co.uk
