Do you want them to join the 2008 judging panel, attend the award ceremony in London and meet the shortlisted authors?

Do you want to get involved with the National Year of Reading? Booktrust, the independent national charity that encourages people of all ages to discover and enjoy reading, is launching a short story competition for teenagers aged between 11 and 16. You have until Monday 28 July 2008 to encourage your pupils to submit their stories. Last year over 2,500 young people entered and we hope for even
more this year.

Pupils are asked to write a short story (in no more than 500 words) on the theme of ‘My Great Escape’ to link into June’s National Year of Reading theme of ‘Reading Escapes’. The stories should be gripping, imaginative and dramatic. They might like to think about escaping from a dangerous situation, or how about escaping into imaginary worlds?

The best four entrants win the opportunity to join the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008 judging panel in November and help decide on the best book of the year.

The four winners will also attend the award ceremony on Tuesday 18 November in London where they will get to meet the 2008 shortlisted authors.

The winning stories and the five runners up, who will receive a complete set of the 2008 shortlisted books, will be published on www.bookheads.org.uk a website dedicated to teenage reading.

The deadline for entries is Monday 28 July 2008 and the four winners will be contacted in the second week of September when the shortlist will be announced.