Are you a budding writer who’s fascinated by food? If so, then this is the competition for you. The Week Junior is hosting the Young Food Writer of the Year 2020 competition, in partnership with The Guild of Food Writers. Established in 2008, it is the only national food writing competition that is aimed at children and young people up to the age of 18.
How to enter
To be in with a chance of winning, write a short story around the theme of “Food and Heroes”. The hero could be anyone you want – a friend or relative, a sports person, a historical figure, or someone fictional. Whoever it is, write about what role food plays in their life.
For example, do you have a heroic family member who whips up the perfect recipe to make you feel better when you’re sick, or to fuel your hardest challenges? Or perhaps you could imagine a dream feast between your favourite superheroes. Whatever it is, we want to hear all about it!
The competition is divided into three different age categories, each with their own word limit.
- 10 and under – 250 words
- 11-14 – 500 words
- 15-18 – 750 words
There will be a winner and a runner-up in each category. Please include the word count at the end of your story, this includes the title of the piece. GOOD LUCK!
When you’ve finished your story, send it by email to food_and_heroes@theweekjunior.co.uk or to The Week Junior, Dennis Publishing, 31-32 Alfred Place, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7DP by 8 July. All entries must include your name and age, as well as the address, email address and phone number of your parent or guardian.
What you can win
- An invite to the prestigious Guild of Food Writers Awards ceremony in October. There will be a tea party beforehand to give prizes out.
- £100 book token per category winner.
- A bundle of cookery books per category winner.
- A certificate per category winner.
- Name in the awards brochure per category winner.
- For the 10 and under and 11-14 category winners: The winners’ stories will be featured in The Week Junior. They'll also win a visit to The Week Junior office and a year’s subscription to The Week Junior.
- For the 15-18 category winner: The winner’s story will be featured in delicious. magazine. They'll also win a visit to the delicious. office to meet the team and see the test kitchen in action, and a year’s subscription to delicious. magazine.
- One runner up per age group will win a £25 book token and will be invited to the October awards ceremony.
The Judges
Karen Barnes
Stefan Gates
Sherry Ashworth
Lisa Faulkner
Kalpna Woolf
Lorna Wing
Felicity Cloake
Felicity Capon
Ben Isaacs
Terms and conditions
The Week Junior competitions are open to those aged 18 and under on 31 August 2020 who are residents of the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, except employees of The Week Junior, Dennis Publishing and any associated companies and their families.
The Week Junior will not share your personal details with third parties. The Week Junior will only use personal details to contact the competition winners and to arrange delivery of your competition prize. Further details about how we manage the data you provide can be found at dennis.co.uk/privacy-policy.
No responsibility can be accepted for entries that have been lost or damaged in transit. The Week Junior will not enter into any correspondence. Proof of emailing will not be accepted as proof of delivery and no responsibility can be accepted for any technical failure or for any event that may cause the competition to be disrupted or corrupted. Entries must be received before 11.59pm on 8 July. Entries received after this time will not be accepted.
All winners will be notified accordingly by 5 August via the parent/guardian’s contact information provided with the entry. No cash alternative for any prizes will be offered. The winner may be required to partake in media activity relating to the competition. The winning entries will be published in The Week Junior magazine and on the Guild of Food Writers website, and by entering the competition all entrants give permission for their writing to be published online. Copyright of the writing remains with the entrant. Entries cannot be returned to senders.
The prize(s) described are available at the date of publication. Events may occur that render the promotion or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond Dennis Publishing’s control, which may at its discretion vary or amend the promotion and the reader agrees that no liability shall be attached to Dennis Publishing as a result thereof. If the winners of the competition are unable to take up a prize for any reason, the Editor-in-chief reserves the right to award it to an alternative winner, in which case the first winner chosen will not be eligible for any share of the prize whatsoever.
The judges' decision is final and it is a condition of entry to any competition that the entrant agrees to be bound by these rules whether they be published or not, and that the decisions of the Editor-in-chief and judges on any matter whatsoever arising out of or connected with the competition are final.
No purchase of the magazine is necessary.
Entries must state the word count to include the title.
The competition is divided into three age groups. Entrants must be within the age range on 31 August 2020:
- 10 yrs and under (maximum of 250 words)
- 11–14 yrs (maximum of 500 words)
- 15–18 yrs (maximum of 750 words)
Entrants must be available in October 2020 (date TBC) to attend the winners' ceremony in London accompanied by an adult, unless they are 18 years old. Travel expenses at a standard train fare or petrol equivalent at 45p per mile in the UK to London will be paid for each winner plus one adult.
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- Relevance to the theme
- Food content
- Structure
- Originality
- Language
One entry per person. No joint entries.