Ardoyne Youth Enterprise have teamed up with North Belfast writer Paul McVeigh to launch a children's story competition.
'Children of Lockdown' is open to all children and young people who live in Belfast and surrounding areas and is split up into three different age categories.
The categories are as follows:
- aged up to 11 – write a story or poem about life in Coronavirus-Land, or on any theme that inspires you. Maximum 500 words.
- 12 to 15 year old – write a short story inspired by your experience as a young person in Covid-19 times, or imagining a post-Covid-19 world – or on any theme that inspires you. Maximum 750 words.
- 16 to 24 year old – write a Covid-19 inspired short story – or a story on any theme that inspires you. Maximum 1,000 words.
The competition will be judged by Paul McVeigh, and the winning stories will be published on Ardoyne Youth Enterprise social media and website.
Paul is the author of The Good Son, a novel about growing up in the 1980s in North Belfast.
He said: "I can’t wait to read your stories. Lockdown Belfast style. I wonder what stories about it you can come up with. Could you have imagined this happening? What can you imagine now? What other ways do you think the world could change? What do you think the future holds for these children of lockdown?"
Each category will have an overall winner who will receive a special reading by Paul McVeigh for their school, youth group or a group of their choice (for the over 16s, Paul can offer a personal one hour mentoring session if they prefer). They will also take home a £40 book token from No Alibis bookshop for themselves, donated by Paul and a family ticket to Belfast Zoo for the under 12 winner; voucher for 2 under 16 + 1 adult visit to Titanic Museum for 12 to 15 winner; a copy of ‘the Good Son’ and cinema (or drive-in cinema) tickets for the over 16 winner.
There will be additional prizes for second and third place in each category, donated by Ardoyne Youth Enterprise, Ardbone Festival, Bright Ideas North Belfast and New Lodge Arts.
Catherine Couvert from Ardoyne Youth Enterprise, said: "This year, children and young people have been living in a strange world, as weird as some of the stories they read in children’s books and young adult fiction, whether fairy tale, sci-fi, adventure, utopia or horror story. We think this is the perfect time for them to be inspired to write a story of their own."
All stories to be submitted to communication@ardoyne.org by Sunday September 27 at 5pm and entrants must include their name, an email address, phone number, postal address and age. Under 18s will need parental consent to publish their story.
