The awards initiative has launched for its 10th year giving primary and secondary students the chance to win tickets for their school or creative writing workshops.
Created by the producers of the musical, Wicked, in partnership with the the National Literacy Trust and supported by Michael Morpurgo and Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, the awards recognise excellence in writing and creativity in young people.
Open to 5-25 year olds, with various age categories, there are a host of prizes to win including tickets to see the musical at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre and a creative writing workshop. Students can write about absolutely anything and entries can include stories, poems, articles and scripts.
How to enter
The five age-categories available to enter are: 5-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-17 and 18-25.
The FOR GOOD AWARD for Non-Fiction is also open to 11-25 year olds encouraging them to write essays or articles that recognise the positive impact that people can have in their communities.
Original writing pieces can be submitted individually, or by a teacher, parent, carer or guardian on behalf of an entrant.
The deadline for entries is 2nd March, 2020. Click here for details about how to enter, there are also writing tips and resources as well as terms and conditions.
Entries will be judged by a panel of writers and authors including Head Judge, author, illustrator and Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Cressida Cowell.
Prizes to win
To celebrate the 10th year of the awards, there’ll be a special prize for the school with the most entries - they can choose between tickets to see Wicked the musical or a creative writing workshop for all students who entered.
Winners from each category will receive book tokens for themselves and for their school libraries. Those in the 15-17, 18-25 and FOR GOOD categories will also win an exclusive writing experience with one of the Awards’ literacy partners.
All winners will receive a VIP family experience at the West End production of Wicked, including tickets, an exclusive backstage tour and a meet-and-greet with cast members.
About the musical
Currently booking until November 2020, for its 14th year, the show has been seen by 10 million people since it first opened in 2006. It’s now the ninth longest running West End musical and 13th longest running West End show of all time.
Based on the acclaimed, best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked imagines an ingenious back story and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum’s beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Wicked’s educational team host a range of workshops for every Key Stage. For more information and to download a free lesson plan, visit www.wickededucation.co.uk
