Are you a keen writer? Do you love food? If so, then we have the perfect competition for you. The Week Junior is hosting The Guild of Food Writers’ Young Food Writer of the Year 2021 competition. It is the only national food writing competition that is aimed at children and young people up to the age of 18, and has been running since 2008.
How to enter
To be in with a chance of winning, write a short story around the theme of “Food Discovery”. You can explore the theme in any way you want. You could write about how you discovered your favourite or least favourite food – perhaps it was offered to you by a friend, family member, or at school.
Maybe you discovered how a certain food was grown or what it looked like in its natural form on a trip to a farm. You may have discovered new flavours, textures or aromas when you went on holiday, or perhaps when you were experimenting with ingredients in the kitchen. Opportunities to discover new foods are all around us every day, and trying something new can be exciting – even if you don’t like it at first! We want to hear all about your most memorable food discovery.
The competition is divided into three different age categories, each with a different word limit:
- 10 and under – 250 words
- 11-14 – 500 words
- 15-18 – 750 words
The judges will choose a winner and a runner-up in each category, based on the stories’ relevance to the theme, food content, structure, originality and use of language. Your story needs to be written without the help of an adult. Please include the word count at the end of your story, and send your entry by email to competitions@theweekjunior.co.uk by 30 April 2021. All entries must include your name and age, as well as the address, email address and phone number of your parent or guardian. Good luck!
What you can win
- An invite to The Guild of Food Writers’ virtual tea party where you’ll have the chance to speak to the judges – with a hamper of tea and cakes sent in the post to enjoy.
- Recognition of your outstanding work will be featured at The Guild of Food Writers Awards Ceremony on 23 June.
- A £100 book token per category winner.
- A certificate per category winner.
- For the 10 and under and 11-14 category winners: The winners’ stories will be featured in The Week Junior, and they'll also win a year's subscription to The Week Junior.
- For the 15-18 category winner: The winner’s story will be featured by delicious. magazine.
- One runner up per age group will win a £25 book token.
The Judges
Karen Barnes – Lead judge
Stefan Gates
Lisa Faulkner
Sam Goldsmith
Sherry Ashworth
Kalpna Woolf
Lorna Wing
Felicity Capon
Ben Isaacs
Terms and conditions
This Week Junior competition is open to those aged 18 and under on 30 April 2021 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 30 April. Entries received after this time will not be accepted.
All winners will be notified accordingly by 31 May 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 30 April 2021:
- 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 on 23 June 2021 to attend the virtual winners' ceremony.
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- Relevance to the theme
- Food content
- Structure
- Originality
- Language
One entry per person. No joint entries.