The Anglian Learning Writing Prize 2021

The Anglian Learning Writing Prize 2021

We are delighted to announce the launch of ‘The Anglian Learning Writing Prize 2021’, an exciting creative opportunity for all of our pupils. We are grateful to Morgan Sindall, Sawston, who are supporting us on this project.

We invite all of our secondary school pupils and sixth form students to submit work across these categories:

• Creative non-fiction (i.e. writing on travel, food, sports, science, memoir, biography, to name just a few)
• Fiction
• Poetry
• Comic Strip / Cartoons

All entries will be judged by a group of award-winning, published writers, who are also graduates of the Creative Writing MA programme at the University of East Anglia: Ben Kinsella (Fiction), Yin F Lim (Non-fiction), Freya Dean (Poetry), and Peter Goulding (Comics/Cartoon strips).

Winners of the individual writing categories will be offered a mentoring session with literary editor Freya Dean.  The winning entries and all shortlisted entries will be published in The Anglian Learning Writing Prize Anthology 2021.  This anthology will be published in both print and digital formats and all shortlisted pupils will receive their own personal copies of this publication along with a certificate.

A special art category

We are also seeking a design for the anthology’s cover in the distinct ‘Anthology Cover Design’ category. The winning design will be printed on the cover of the anthology and runners-up will have their work published inside.

Guidelines of how to enter:

1. You must be a current pupil at an Anglian Learning Secondary School or Sixth Form.
2. All written work entered must not exceed 500 words.
3. Extracts from longer works will be accepted, as long as the extract can stand alone, in which case you may include a short contextualising paragraph at the beginning of the work.
4. All written work must be submitted as a Word document, sent as an email attachment.  Please include page numbers on your work if applicable.
5. Please do not include your name on the entry itself, in order that work can be judged anonymously.
6. Hand drawn cartoons and comic strips should be scanned or photographed and submitted as an email attachment in .jpg, .png or pdf format.  However, you must also keep your original work as this will be required if your work is chosen for publication.
7. Designs for the Anthology Cover Design category should be completed on A4 paper.  Hand drawn work for this category should be scanned or photographed and sent as an email attachment in .jpg, .png or .pdf format.  Original work must be kept as it will be required if the work is chosen for publication.
8.  Any work completed digitally for the Comic strip / Cartoon or Cover Design categories should be submitted in .jpeg or .png format as an email attachment.
9. You may submit up to three different entries.  These can be within one category, or across multiple categories, but each one must be submitted separately.
10. All pupils whose work is shortlisted will be given a publication consent form which will have to be completed before their work can be published.
11. All work may be subject to light editing.
12. All entries must be submitted from school email accounts and sent to writingprize@anglianlearning.org
13. In the body of your email you must include the following information: Your Full Name; Year Group; School Name;  The category for which you wish your work to be entered: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Comic / Cartoon Strip, or Anthology Cover Design.  The following declaration: “I confirm that this entry is all my own work, signed _______ .” (Give your full name.)

Entries must be received by midday on 12 April 2021.  Prize winners will be contacted and announced by 11 June 2021.

We hope to receive many entries from pupils across our academies – good luck!