Creative writing competitions can provide children with some motivation for writing a story, poem or play. Many public libraries and schools library services run local creative writing competitions. There are also plenty of national creative writing competitions for children. Here are some of them:
BBC Radio 2 500 Words
This is a short-story writing competition for children. Entries can be submitted up until the 22nd February 2018. Children can choose to write about any theme or subject and their story cannot be more than 500 words. Teachers and librarians can also sign up to play a role in judging the competition. There are also lesson plans available to download on the website. The competition final will be broadcast live from Hampton Court Palace on BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Friday 8th June.
Wicked Young Writer Awards – aged 5 – 25
This writing competition is open to children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 25. There are six different age categories which include 5 – 7 years old and 8 – 10 years old. Children can write about any theme and there is a 750 word limit. There are writing activities and lesson plans available for teachers on their website. Entries can be submitted up until the 12th March 2018.
Foyle Young Poets Competition
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is aimed at writers aged between 11 and 17. The competition is free to enter and the winning poems are published in the Foyle Anthology. The website includes teaching resources relating to writing poetry and lesson plans for some of the winning poems from previous years. Poems can be written on any theme and entries for the 2018 competition can be submitted from March.
Betjeman Poetry Prize 
This is a poetry writing competition for 10 – 13 year olds. The poems must be written on the theme of ‘place’. Entries can be submitted until the 31st July 2018. Teachers who enter a class join a prize draw to win a poet visit to their school. There are also lots of teaching resources and lesson plans available on their website.