Introduction to the Competition
As a platform to showcase storytelling and poetic talent while championing a noble purpose, the Open Writing Competition invites you to illuminate the intricate experiences that link children with illness. Through this event, organized by the Borders Writers' Forum, both aspiring and established writers can submit their works in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting children and their families during tough times.
The Sick Kids Friends Foundation: A Beacon of Support
The Sick Kids Friends Foundation is instrumental in providing comfort, assistance, and joy to children facing health challenges. Through their work, they have brought smiles and relief to countless families, making hospitals feel more like home.
Calling All Writers: Make a Difference with Your Creativity
If you are a writer, whether your work has graced bookshelves or it's waiting to emerge into the spotlight, this competition is your stage. Open to both published and unpublished authors, submissions are welcomed across all genres, including children's fiction. With an intriguing theme and the chance to contribute to a heartfelt cause, this is your opportunity to pen your thoughts and emotions into a narrative or a poem.
Shop with the Sick Kids
By participating in the competition, you also contribute to a fun and fulfilling way to support the charity. Providing unique thematic merchandise, shopping with Sick Kids Friends Foundation is another avenue through which your words and generosity can have a tangible impact.
A Thematic Focus: Illness and the Child
This competition’s theme, Illness and the Child, calls for thoughtful and sensitive exploration into the lives affected by this profound subject matter. Whether it's through the eyes of an ailing child, an adolescent dealing with a sick relative, or the reflections of an adult caregiver, your writing should forge a deep connection with the child's perspective on illness.
Competition Details
Entry Format and Submission Guidelines
Flex your literary muscles within a framework designed to bring out the best of your abilities. Enter your work as a poem, distilled into a powerful concoction of up to 60 lines, or as a short story, woven intricately with a narrative thread not exceeding 3000 words.
Prizes: Recognition and a Token of Artistry
Impress the panel, comprising esteemed judges Ron Butlin and Professor Ian Campbell, and you may emerge victorious with not just bragging rights but an exquisite piece of Borders Art Glass – a beautiful, tangible testament to your literary triumph and contribution to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.
Content and Compliance: Ethical Storytelling
Take heed of the responsibility accompanying your entry. Stories should uplift, provoke thought, and empathize without crossing the boundaries into the realm of defamation or inappropriate content. Adherence to the submission rules is imperative to qualify for the competition.
Judgement Day: Anxiously Awaiting the Winners
Post submission, the judges' scrupulous eyes will peruse your work, with winners announced at the end of May. Not only will the champion pieces be celebrated online, but there’s also the potential for them to be read aloud at the esteemed Borders Book Festival, giving your words the audience they deserve.
For the Love of Art and Humanity
In literature, just as in travel, we embark on journeys that transcend physical boundaries. By entering the Open Writing Competition, you extend this journey far beyond the page, where the art of storytelling converges with the act of giving. The stories and poems crafted for this cause are trajectories that lead us through the landscapes of human resilience, courage, and compassion. They remind us that the world is an amalgamation of stories, each waiting to be told and shared, much like the destinations we yearn to explore and understand.