For the fourth year running, the West End’s most magical, green-tinged musical is on the search for budding young writers as submissions open for 2013/2014’s Wicked Young Writers’ Award.
Spearheaded once again by the hugely successful children’s author Michael Morpurgo, the award aims to link the important message at the centre of Wicked with a competition to inspire young people between the ages of five and 25-years-old to use their writing to look at the life a little differently, just as the characters in Wicked learn to do.
Split into five age categories, children are invited to submit anything from a poem to a short piece of fiction before 31 March 2014. 100 shortlisted entrants will then be invited to a special event at the Apollo Victoria theatre and see their entry published in the Wicked Young Writers’ Award Anthology. The winners announced from each category will also win a certificate signed by Morpurgo and the award’s patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, a copy of the Anthology, £50 of books tokens and £100 worth of books for their school library donated by Hachette Children’s Books.
Joining Morpurgo on the judging panel is Wicked’s Executive Producer Michael McCabe, Director of the National Literacy Trust Jonathan Douglas and acclaimed writer Dean Atta.
Speaking about the scheme, judge McCabe said: “As Wicked continues in London and also embarks on its first ever UK & Ireland Tour, I am hugely excited at the prospect of engaging even more young people with this fantastic creative writing scheme and delighted that this year we have been able to extend the geographic reach to include Ireland as well as the UK.”
Adding to the excitement, Morpurgo described himself as “delighted” to be a part of the annual awards, commenting: “We all have a story to tell or a poem to sing. The problem is finding the voice to sing it. The Wicked Young Writers’ Award, with teachers and parents, helps to inspire so many young people to write passionately and from the heart, and to celebrate their own unique voice.”
Last year’s competition saw finalists produce such intriguingly entitled stories as The Monkey And The Octopus and By A Pool Somewhere In Hawaii. The prize-giving event was attended by Wicked stars including Ben Freeman, Gina Beck and Louise Dearman, the latter of which can be seen giving an introductory pep talk on www.wickedyoungwriters.com where you’ll also find full information on how to enter, as well as helpful tips and videos.