The competition is organised by the Whitby Lit Fest and in partnership with NYC Libraries, the National Literacy Trust, and local schools, and is free to enter.
Eligibility is limited to local children resident in the school catchment area of Whitby and surrounding villages. The geographical reach includes the coastal villages between Staithes and Robin Hood’s Bay/Fylingthorpe, and the moorland villages within the Esk valley up to Danby, including Goathland, and includes anyone attending schools in this area, or home schooled.
Age restrictions apply and are limited to children being in either Key Stage 1, 2, 3, or 4 on 6th November, 2025.
Entries will be judged separately for each of the four Key Stage categories.
Entries must be submitted online via the Whitby Lit Fest website by a parent/guardian, teacher, club leader or another responsible adult. In the case of a third-party adult submitting on behalf of the child, parental permission must be obtained first, and they must have been provided with a copy of the rules. Evidence may be requested for any of the above.
In addition to the four age categories, there will be two writing options, one for poetry and the other for a short story. Children can choose to enter one or both. ‘Inspirational people or persons’ is the topic/theme from which all stories or poems should be at least loosely connected.
Entries for poems should not exceed 40 lines. Entries for Short stories: up to 300 words for KS 1, or between 300 and 500 for KS 2, 3, and 4.
Entries must be submitted in English.
On submission of an entry these T&Cs must be accepted by checking the tickbox on submission.
Entries open at 09;00/9am on Saturday 27th September and close at 21:00/9pm on Friday 24th October. Please don’t leave it to the last minute to submit in case of computer slowdown or technical errors. Entries will only be judged if received within the submission window.
Entries must be written solely by the named entrant, must not be a collaboration, must not be plagiarised, and not be produced with AI assistance.
Entries cannot be returned so please ensure that a copy is retained by the entrant.
Unsuccessful entrants will be notified but no feedback can be given.
Entries must not contain obscene or offensive language and must not be defamatory or deemed unsuitable for publication or for a child audience. Any such entries may be disqualified.
Entrants retain the copyright to their submissions but agree that Whitby Lit Fest may publish or broadcast them on all media platforms, and that they may be available to read on their website for a period of up to 3 years. Only the entrant’s name, age and story/poem title would be published alongside the work,
During the judging process, all poems/stories will be anonymised.
All short-listed entrants will be contacted prior to an Awards event being held on Saturday 8th November at 2pm and will be invited to attend, together with up to 3 family members. Winners in each category will be announced at the ceremony and invited onto the stage for prize-giving. Their poem/story will also be read out at the ceremony.
Winners and runners up will receive prizes of book stacks, and a certificate.
All competition entrants/attendees at the final awards ceremony hereby give permission to be filmed/photographed for use by Whitby Lit Fest on their website or associated social media platforms.
Whitby Lt Fest reserves the right to disqualify any entry which breaches these Rules, and the judges’ decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into.
Whitby Lit Fest reserves the right to withdraw the competition at any time if deemed necessary or if any circumstances arise beyond its control.
