Are you a young person with a knack for writing? Or does your kid love telling stories? We've got prizes to give away to Luxembourg's next generation of authors!
Note: submissions are now closed for this year's edition. We will be back in the coming weeks with a public vote to choose this year's winners.
Back in 2023 we happened upon a post in a Facebook group for parents, asking for places where young authors could get their stories published. Given that we love writing and storytelling, we immediately sprung to action, teamed up with Ernster, and kicked off the first annual Young Authors Contest. You can still check out the finalists' stories right here!
While we had high hopes, we were still astounded by both the number and quality of the submissions we received - not to mention the number of votes cast on the finalists!
Naturally we had to run the contest again this year - and we're taking things up a notch, as this year we will also hold a prize ceremony, and perhaps offer a few additional surprises for our young authors along the way..
That's in addition to the fact that, like last year, the top stories as selected by a panel of book nerds (we love those; we are those) will be transformed into captivating audio 'books' (very short ones, mind!) available for the public to listen to and played on Today Radio!
Now, how does this actually work, you ask? On to the details!
Prizes
Ernster have provided us with perfect prizes for Luxembourg's literary youth: vouchers to be used in any of their shops! Since we have two age categories (more on that below), we're going to have two winners, two second places, and two third places, for six total prizes.
First prize is a €125 voucher
Second prize is a €75 winner
Thirdprize winners both win €50 vouchers.
Age categories
We have two age categories for this contest, as it seemed a bit unfair to have the littlest authors competing against ones who may be twice their age.
The first category is for children aged up to 11 (including 11-year-olds).
The second category is open to authors aged 12-16.
The contest structure
Submissions are open from today (see rules below), 1 July until 1 August.
Once submissions close, our esteemed jury will shortlist five stories from each age category.
These are our finalists, and they will be recorded and played on radio plus available for listening and reading on RTL Today.
There will be a public vote from 1 September until 8 September (one week!) to crown the winners of this inaugural children's writing contest.
The winner will be announced at our prize ceremony, which will be held on the weekend of 16-17 November, at Walfer Bicherdeeg, and of course on RTL Today and Today Radio!
Contest rules
The rules are simple: We are looking for short stories written by young authors, and there is no particular theme to which they have to adhere. So long as the stories spring from their minds, they can be entered into the contest!
The rules are:
- Only stories written by the contestant can be entered into the contest;
- Stories have to be a maximum 300 words in length and written in English;
- Stories have to be submitted by the contestant's parents - we will ask for a parent's contact details as well;
- No AI stories, no stories written by parents, and no copying from stories published elsewhere (unless written by the contestant);
- Only one story per contestant can be submitted.
How do I submit my (child's) story?
It's simple! Just fill out the form below, where you can either copy-paste the text or upload a Word/PDF document, whichever you prefer.
Make sure to read out terms and privacy policy.
Note: submissions are now closed for this year's edition. We will be back in the coming weeks with a public vote to choose this year's winners.
