Do you have a young reader at home who is ready for some magic this half-term? Look no further.

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If you have a KS2 reader at home, join us at our FREE event at Frinton's McGrigor Hall between 11am-2pm on Thursday 26th October 2023 to embark on a storytelling quest like no other...

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The quest will teach you about heroes, villains, and how young readers can build their own fantasy world through writing and drawing, with help from special guest author ANDY RILEY, who will be on hand to help and share inspirations to his hilarious series King Flashypants and Action Dude. 

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Please note: children will be unable to attend the event without an adult present to accompany them. If you have any concerns or questions, please email enquiries@flitfest.co.uk. 

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There is also a short story competition, where young readers can enter their stories for a chance to win prizes! 

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Our theme this year is HEROES - you get to choose your hero and tell us about them! We are looking for creativity and originality and good story telling. Either complete short stories or narrative poems (which fit on one page of A4) are eligible. The deadline is Friday 13th October 2023. 

The winner (in the opinion of the judges) will receive a bundle of children's books, sponsored by The Book Service, Frating.
Two runners up will each be awarded a book.

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This is a service that is provided free by the festival, thanks to the continued support of local sponsors - including TBS - and loyal festival goers. We hope this helps to promote the love of literature amongst the young people of our community, and encourage the readers and the writers of the future.

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Over the years a number of our wonderful author guests have also kindly given their time for talks and activities with local schools. Many children’s authors and illustrators have visited our primary schools, as well as Tendring Technology College to talk about their work and their books with pupils. 

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For a list of authors who have talked at local schools, please see our Featured Authors section.

For more information about how to get your school involved, contact enquiries@flitfest.co.uk.

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'Heroes' Short Story Competition 

After the closing date for the competition, a longlist will be created by:
Anita Belli, The Author in the Classroom, who is an author and creative writing tutor
Gerald Hornsby, author and publisher
Final judging by our Guest Judge: Andy Riley, Children's Author and illustrator.

Prizes will be awarded at the Children's Book Festival hosted by Andy Riley on Thursday 26th October at McGrigor Hall, Frinton.

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See the terms and conditions below for further information about how to submit your entry.

Terms and conditions:
• Frinton Literary Festival 2023 Children's Writing Competition is only open to children in Tendring Schools.
• Entrants must be KS2 at a school in the Tendring district - under 11 years old
• Family members or close friends of the judges will not be eligible
Entries must be written legibly or printed, on one page of A4 paper
• Entries over this length, or in formats other than complete short story or narrative poem, will not be eligible
• Each entry must relate to the central theme HEROES
• Please supply the child's name, school and year group and age on the reverse of the page
• Stories must be submitted by the deadline - 13th October
• We are unable to offer personalised feedback for entries
• All entries must be ready for collection at the school's reception by Thursday 13th October. If the stories are typed, they can be submitted via email to: enquiries@flitfest.co.uk. They must also reach us by the deadline.
•Finalists will be announced on the 19th or 20th October 2023 on the Frinton Literary Festival website, and via the school, who will supply a letter to parents inviting them to the children's event on 26th October, for presentation of their prize. 
Our competitions are run and judged internally. Our judging team is comprised of professionals from the literary world.