Short story competition
03 July 2009 02:38
There’s not a toad, a rat or a badger to be seen in the winning entries to a competition launched by the River & Rowing Museum www.rrm.co.uk to write a short story inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s classic book The Wind in the Willows.
Announced today (15 June) at a special prize giving ceremony at the Museum – the winning entries cover everything from the credit crunch to issues of global warming; teenage angst through to juvenile pranks, with something for everyone - from tots through to terrible teens!
Launched last October to celebrate the 100th birthday of Kenneth Grahame’s famous novel, the competition invited writers to re-frame the story for the 21st century and attracted hundreds of exciting entries, presenting new and imaginative insights into this much-loved story and transporting it to a contemporary riverside setting.
The winning entries were chosen by a panel of award-winning children's writers led by Beverley Birch, Senior Commissioning Editor at Hodder Children’s Books. All ten shortlisted entries are available to download FREE from www.rrm.co.uk - so bedtime stories need never be boring again!
And the winners are…
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First Prize: Sarah Burnett
For Pike: How to survive predators, parents and other disasters – a contemporary tale of childhood exploration, sibling rivalry and daring discovery proving that a sense of imagination and adventure will conquer all – even the credit crunch!
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Second Prize: Lydia Fulleylove
For Rose Petal Message – a hypnotic and mysterious story of teenage love as two friends swim together in dangerous water with unknown consequences…
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Third Prize: Tim Ellis
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For The Expedition – turning Toad Hall upside down, this quirky story for younger readers appoints the weasel as Lord of the Manor as they head upstream to discover why the water has stopped flowing and the river has run dry…
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Sarah Burnett, first prizewinner said: “The challenge of this competition was to take the essence of this magical story and turn it into something even more relevant to a children’s audience today. Children will always be inspired and captivated by the river and its promise of adventure. I wanted to mix this with the very real concerns of our time – adult issues that really impact upon our children. Many of the stories I loved as a child were about children who overcome fear or loneliness or a sense of being lost; I wanted to write something like those stories, but in the context of today.”
Beverley Birch, Short Story Competition Judge and Senior Commissioning Editor at Hodder Children’s Books: “What we liked about the winning entries was the way that they all captured, in very different ways, the spirit of the river and a sense of its magic as well as the essence of childhood, adventure and discovery. These are not stories about children, but for them – never underestimating their capacity for subtlety and irony.”
Paul Mainds, Trustee and Chief Executive, River & Rowing Museum: “Congratulations to Sarah, Lydia and Tim. They have taken inspiration from this great treasure of children’s fiction to create exciting, new and pertinent stories for today’s young readers. They have turned Grahame’s classic novel on its head to deal with a variety of contemporary issues, especially the environmental problems affecting our rivers and the wildlife surrounding them. It underlines the power of the river to inspire people in so many ways. Perhaps one of these stories will become a national classic in years to come.”
The River & Rowing Museum is a national museum with a strong regional focus, attracting over 100,000 visitors a year. And at just £7 (£5 for children) for admission for a whole year – it’s a complete bargain! The Museum houses the UK’s only permanent exhibition dedicated to The Wind in the Willows as well as galleries exploring the ecological, environmental and leisure uses of the River Thames as well as the international sport of rowing – areas close to hearts of the characters in Wind in the Willows.
About the Authors:
Sarah Burnett was born in Dorset and spent many long summer holidays playing by the river Stour. She studied Japanese and Law at Cambridge, and worked as a financial journalist in London, before moving to Brussels and then Edinburgh. She's written many types of publication, from guidebooks to websites, on subjects from shortbread to credit cards, but 'Pike' is her first attempt at a children's story, She now juggles copywriting and editing, with - in no particular order - family, hens, dog, piano practice and running.
Lydia Fulleylove is currently completing an Arts Council funded cross arts project, Wild Places, at HMP Albany, Isle of Wight, where she has worked as writer in residence from 2004. She have published poems and stories in magazines and anthologies and has received a Writer’s Award from ACE to work on a first poetry collection. Lydia has also published creative writing/literacy materials for young people for the Isle of Wight Education Directorate and for Nelson Thornes. While working on a creative writing degree, she became especially interested in writing for young people and in radio drama.
Tim Ellis was born in London and grew up in Manchester. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at eighteen and completed twenty-two years service, leaving in 1993 having achieved the rank of Warrant Officer Class One (Regimental Sergeant Major). Since then he has worked in higher education as an associate lecturer/tutor and consultant, and secondary education as a senior manager. He currently works as Head of Behavioural Sciences in a secondary school. He has a PhD and an MBA in Educational Management from Lincoln University and an MA in Education from Anglia Ruskin University. He lives in Essex with his wife and five Shitzus. His main interests are reading and writing fiction.
Prizes
First prize: £500 and a Real Writers (www.real-writers.com) appraisal
Second prize: £200
Third Prize: £50
Judges:
The judging panel is made up of award-winning writers for children and young adults - Beverley Birch (Rift), S.I. Martin (Jupiter Williams), Paul Bryers (Kobal from The Mysteries of the Septogram), and Sarah Mussi (The Door of No Return)
About Wind in the Willows:
Wind in the Willows was first published in 1908. It focuses on four anthropomorphized animal characters: Ratty, Mole, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger and is set in a riverside setting on the River Thames. It is often seen as a commentary on class dynamics in British society with the four main characters representing the upper, middle and lower classes but also focuses heavily on the themes of the river. The mild mannered, water loving Ratty is still hugely popular and is the character to whom the famous phrase "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" is attributed.
Wind in the Willows at the River & Rowing Museum.
The River & Rowing Museum is home to the UK’s only permanent exhibition on The Wind in the Willows. The exhibition recreates the timeless E H Shepard illustrations from Kenneth Grahame's famous novel – from Mole’s home to the dangers of the Wild Wood!
Summaries of all of the shortlisted stories are included below.
Dam Busting (Lisa Anne Sainsbury, Surrey)
Adventure eco-story: 'Stolen! Your river? Don't be insane Eddie Driscoll, rivers can't be stolen...' Amidst an invasion of DEFRA assessors, Eddie and Bernard attempt to destroy the dam on Maggie Turpin's fiercely guarded land, but the beavers can't be so easily defeated.
The Eastern Bank (Ziggy Evitts, West Sussex)
In a world of CCTV, DNA swabs and identity theft, fast-talking Snake and Ratty encounter the river-police in their journey across the water to find a safe bank for Snake's money.
The Empty River (Jackie Slater, Leeds)
Futuristic story of a young girl 'Mole' and her family, who set off with the other villagers for the sea as the rivers all run dry. On the way they tell each other stories about the time long ago when it used to rain.
The Expedition (Timothy Ellis, Essex)
Turn-around at Toad Hall! The weasel is lord of the manor - Lord Windsor and his voleservant Quigg head upriver to work out why the water's stopped flowing. Story for younger readers with subtle quirky humour.
Jake's Amazing River Adventure (Derek O'Connor, Buckinghamshire)
Cross-generational adventure: Jake's father has left. But his grandad’s still around, and he reminds Jake of Ratty, and his two old friends are very like Badger and Toad for that matter. Fiction and fact become fused as Jake travels with them up the river.
The Journey (Jane Garth, Sheffield)
Teenage adventure fantasy: Kayleigh is sick of being told to manage her behaviour. Looking for some peace alone she takes a boat and meets Rush and Fax, two river-children on their own great adventure – their journey to the sea.
Pike: How to survive parents, predators and other disasters (Sarah Burnett, Edinburgh)
A story of adventure and discovery: Emily and Tom move with their parents to a house with an extraordinary river in the garden. While their parents worry about money, they spend the summer exploring the river and its dangerous dark depths.
Rose Petal Message (Lydia Fulleylove, Isle of Wight)
Hypnotic, mysterious story for older readers of teenage love on the verge of adulthood as two friends swim together in dangerous waters.
Download the full story here
Thyme Island (Simon Dore, Berkshire)
Time-slip mystery story: Benny discovers an old pot in the river mud and meets Letty, a child living through the fierce summer of 1665, who turns out to be 'an oddly familiar stranger'.
The Trouble-Free Troubles of Great Nephew Toad (Derek O'Connor, Buckinghamshire)
Toad's great-nephew tries hard to get into trouble like his famous ancestor, but he just can't match him for bad behaviour no matter how hard he strives – the police will insist on trying to help him out...