Chris Evans announced that BBC Radio 2’s 500 WORDS short story writing competition for children aged 13 and under is back.
He also announced that a number of new famous faces are set to join the competition judging panel – including CBBC and Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, who takes up the mantle of head judge.
As part of the competition, entrants have to compose an original work of fiction using no more than 500 words.
500 WORDS was first launched in 2011, in association with Hay Fever, the children’s programme of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.
Last year’s competition attracted over 74,000 entries, with famous people such as Justin Bieber, Prince William, Wayne Rooney, and Radio 2’s own Chris Evans making repeated appearances in the stories.
The writers of the top 50 stories will be invited to attend a broadcast of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show that will be broadcast live from the Hay Festival on Friday 31 May, 2013.
Chris Evans says: “When we launched 500 WORDS in 2011, we hoped to inspire young minds around the UK, and we were just astonished by the imagination and talent leaping off the page of the stories that flooded in. Last year’s competition saw a staggering 74,000 entries – more than twice the number of year one, so we have very high hopes for 2013. Let the creativity commence!”
Posted on Monday, January 21st, 2013 at 11:42 am by RadioToday UK