The Scottish Book Trust and Waterstones are supporting Aberdeen-based Charity, Befriend a Child, to launch a competition that will encourage children to get creative with their reading and writing skills this summer.
Starting July 13, Befriend a Child is inviting the children it works with to submit a written story consisting of either 40 sentences or 40 pictures. Stuart MacBride, famous for his Aberdeen-based crime novels, Stevie Connor, who was awarded Waterstones' Children's Bookseller of 2014 and Ruth Grindley, from the Early Years Team at the Scottish Book Trust will judge the competition after the deadline on August 7 and announce the winners at Waterstones on August 18 along with Claire Cotton, a member of Befriend a Child’s board of trustees. The Scottish Book Trust are kindly donating a collection of books to each winner across the age categories, 4-7, 8-12 and 13-16.
Befriend a Child provide a 1:1 befriending service for underprivileged and disadvantaged children in Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire, currently working with over 300 local children each year. This year sees the charity celebrate its 40th Anniversary.
Jackie Hothersall, CEO at Befriend a Child, said, “What better way to celebrate Befriend a Child’s 40 year history of working with disadvantaged children in the local community than to engage and encourage their own creativity this summer. We are grateful to the Scottish Book Trust and Waterstones for supporting this competition and look forward to reading all the stories.”
Ruth Grindley said, “I’m delighted to be on the panel for Befriend a Child’s 40th Anniversary writing competition this summer. It’s great to be a part of something that encourages young people to get creative and engage with others through their writing.”
After the winners are announced a selection of entries will be put on display at Waterstones until the end of August.