TAF2021 CHILDREN’S SHORT STORY COMPETITION
THE TAF FOR KIDS
CHILDREN’S SHORT STORY COMPETITION
2021 THEME: SCENE OF THE CRIME
Winners of the 2021 Children's Short Story Competition Announced
Hearty congratulations to the winners of our 2021 Children's Short Story Competition - Scene of the Crime:
Ruby Stephenson (QLD) (Open to age 16),
Enzo Sztejman (VIC) (Years 5 and 6),
Stephanie McGrath (QLD) (Years 3 and 4), and
Asha Oliver (VIC) (up to Year 2).
For a full list of winning and highly commended entries, please click here.
Certificates and prizes will be sent to all winners, and certificates to all entrants, in the week of 25 October 2021.
We’re pleased to announce the TAF2021 Children’s Short Story Writing Competition theme – SCENE OF THE CRIME.
Competition Opens: Monday 28 June 2021 - start work on your story today!
Entries Due: 6 pm SUNDAY 10 OCTOBER 2021
This year’s competition is being conducted entirely online to ensure it is COVID-19 safe.
The competition is open to young writers everywhere. Children (to age 16) who normally live in the Huon Valley, full time or part-time, are encouraged to enter.
SOLVE IT WITH SCIENCE!
Dusting for fingerprints.
Footprints under a window ledge.
Fibres under fingernails.
Solving crimes isn’t just about chasing criminals. It’s also about crime scene investigation (CSI) and forensic science: investigating, collecting and analysing clues left behind at a crime scene.
This year’s Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival theme is CSI: Tasmania, so we’re asking our young writers to create a story set at the scene of a crime.
It can be as small as a stolen pen, or as huge as a murder, as long as there are clues left at a crime scene and your detective, sleuth or investigator uses them to solve a crime, mystery or puzzle.
CATEGORIES
Up to Grade 2 - up to 250 words
Grades 3 and 4 - up to 500 words
Grades 5 and 6 - up to 2000 words
Open to the age of 16 (i.e. the entrant may be any age up to 16 on 31 December 2021) - up to 3000 words
PRIZES
The entries chosen as the winners in each category will be announced on the website on Monday 25 October 2021.
Winners will receive certificates and prizes by email.
A prize of a $50 book voucher will be awarded for each category.
WHO CAN ENTER?
While children (of any age up to 16 on 31 December 2021) who normally live in the Huon Valley, full time or part-time, are encouraged to enter, there are no limitations on the location of the young writer.
In 2020, we received entries from a number of Australian states, as well as one from Georgia (the country).
We’d love to see entries from outside Tasmania again in 2021.
HOW TO ENTER
As per our 2020 competition, this year’s competition will be conducted entirely online to ensure it is COVID-19 safe.
All entries, consisting of an entry form and the story in a Word document, must be submitted by 6pm Sunday 10 October 2021 by email to:
felicity.lemon.tarwf@gmail.com
Please see below for full terms and conditions.
ENQUIRIES
Please direct any enquiries (not entries) to the Chair of TARWF’s 2021 Children’s Short Story Competition, Tansy Rayner Roberts, at:
RESOURCES
A range of resources is provided below.
Please note that all resources provided will be for parents, guardians, teachers and older independent writers.
Parents and teachers will work with younger children to help them understand the material at an age appropriate-level.
The most important tip is to start today!
Slideshow
For a step-by-step guide to writing a short story for this competition, please view the slideshow below.
It explains the competition and how to approach writing a mystery short story with a CSI theme.
This slideshow is for parents, guardians, teachers and independent young writers.
Prepare to Write Your Story
Some important things to think about include:
Who is the main character in your story?
· Are they a police detective, a private eye, an amateur sleuth or a forensic investigator?
What is your main character investigating?
· To what case does the crime scene belong?
Where is the crime scene?
· Where is the scene of the crime and what does it look like?
What happened at your crime scene?
· You might not reveal this in your story until the end, but as the writer you should know who did what to create the crime scene.
What science are you going to use?
· To enter this competition, your story must include some form of scientific analysis as part of a crime scene investigation.
· What details, clues or evidence does the crime scene contain that your main character will use to solve their case? Fingerprints? Paw prints? Invisible ink? Mud spatter?
· How will your main character find and analyse those clues to help them solve their case?
· How will they use science to do that? Will your main character understand the science themselves or will an expert in your story explain it to them?
The flow of your story
Most stories have a beginning, a middle and an end.
It’s good think about:
· What is your main character trying to do at the beginning of your story?
· What helps them along the way to do that?
· What gets in the way of them doing it?
· Where does their story end? Do they solve their case? Does a criminal get away?
Theme – for more advanced writers
· Is there a reason you want to write this story?
· Do you want to write a story about honesty or integrity or loyalty? Or maybe the excitement of a good investigation?
· How do you want someone who reads your story to feel, or what do you want them to think about, when they finish reading it?
Read Other Stories for Inspiration
This is a list of books that contain detectives or sleuths solving crimes, mysteries or puzzles.
Some of them, marked with an asterisk, also contain some form of crime scene investigation or forensic analysis.
Reading one – or more – might give you some inspiration for your story.
· Andi Boggs series by Amanda Flower, ages 6 to 8: Andi Unexpected , Andi Under Pressure , Andi Unstoppable
· Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, ages 12 to 18 (Australian)
· A Clue for Clara by Lian Tanner, ages 6 to 8 (Tasmanian)
· Cinnamon Stevens series by Pauline Hosking (Australian)
· *Dying to Tell Me by Sherryl Clark, ages 10-14 (Australian)
· EJ12: Girl Hero series by Susannah McFarlane, ages 6 to 8 (Australian)
· Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer, ages 10-14
· *Escape from Passing Winds (A Private Detective Series for Kids Book 1) by Blair Denholm, ages 9 to 12 (Tasmanian)
· Every Breath series by Ellie Marney, ages 12 to 18 (Australian)
· The Finder by Kate Hendrick, ages 12 to 18 (Australian)
· Friday Barnes, Girl Detective series by R.A. Spratt, ages 9 to 12 (Australian)
· The Girl in the Mirror by Jenny Blackford (Australian)
· The Girl with the Gold Bikini by Lisa Walker (Australian)
· A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson, ages 12+
· JJ Halo series by Juliette Davies (Australian)
· Juno Jones series by Kate Gordon (Tasmanian)
· Kensy and Max series by Jacquie Harvey, ages 9 to 12 (Australian)
· *Lizard’s Tale by Weng Wai Chan, for ages 9+ (New Zealand)
A teaching resource for Lizard’s Tale, which won New Zealand’s 2020 junior fiction book award, may be found here:
http://static.booktopia.com.au/pdf/9781925603910-1.pdf
· Murder Most Unladylike Mystery series by Robin Steven, ages 9 to 12
· Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene, ages 6 to 8
· Phyllis Wong series by Geoffrey McSkimming (Australian)
· A Pocketful of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson, ages 12 to 18 (Australian)
· Skullduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, ages 9 to 12
· Stella Montgomery Intrigue series by Judith Rossell: Withering-by-Sea , Wormwood Mire, Wakestone Hall, ages 9 to 12 (Australian)
· Trixie Belden series by Julie Campbell Tatham, ages 6 to 8
· Truely Tan series by Jen Storer (Australian)
· Virals by Kathy and Brendan Reichs – both the first book in a series and the name of the series, ages 9+
For further inspiration, click here to read the shortlisted and winning entries from last year’s competition!
CSI For Kids
Please find links to resources on crime scene investigation (CSI) methods and forensic analysis below.
This information can be used as a jumping-off point for teachers, parents/guardians and older students alike.
· Forensic Science (BTN):
https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/forensic-science/10531992
· CSI : Who Did It? (PBS Learning): https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/idptv11.sci.life.gen.d4kcsi/crime-scene-investigation/
· Forensic Science and CSI for Kids (Home Science Tools):
https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/about-forensic-science-csi-for-kids/
· Crime Scene Investigation Articles (Kids Ahead):
http://kidsahead.com/subjects/10-crime-scene-investigation/articles
Mystery Writing For Kids
· For a fantastic guide to helping kids write a mini-mystery, click here.
· For one fourth grade teacher’s guide to teaching mystery writing to her class, click here.
DATES AND FACTS TO REMEMBER
For Parents, Guardians and Teachers
Dates for Teachers and Homeschooling Parents/Guardians to Note
· The competition opens from Monday 28 June, one week before Tasmania’s Term 2 break.
· If you wish to include the competition in your Term 3 plan, there are links above to resources for both CSI-for-kids and mystery story writing for kids. You may find items that are age appropriate for your class.
· A reading list of books for various ages that include crime scene investigation is also provided. Please use your own judgement as to which books may be appropriate for your class.
· For Tasmanian teachers, the last day to finalise entries from children at schools is the last day of third term, Friday 24 September.
· The last day for submitting entries is the last day of Term 3 break, Sunday 10 October 2021.
Dates for Parents/Guardians and Independent Young Writers to Note
· The competition opens from Monday 28 June, one week before Tasmania’s Term 2 break.
· You’re free to work on entries for the competition at any time, of course, but if you wish to include it as a planned activity in the Term 2 break (Saturday 3 July to Sunday 18 July) or Term 3 break (Saturday 25 September to Sunday 10 October), there are links above to resources for both CSI-for-kids and mystery story writing for kids. You may find items that are age appropriate for your child.
· A reading list of books for various ages that include crime scene investigation is also provided. Please use your own judgement as to which books may be appropriate for your child.
· Please remember that the last day for submitting entries is the last day of Term 3 break, Sunday 10 October 2021. We advise submitting a day ahead of the deadline.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. All entries must be submitted by email.
To: felicity.lemon.tarwf@gmail.com
Subject: CHILDREN’S SHORT STORY COMPETITION
Due Date: 6 pm Sunday 10 October 2021
As this is a COVID-19 safe competition, it is being held entirely online. No paper entries will be accepted.
All emailed entries must have two attachments: an entry form and the story.
2. Fill out the form by typing into the document online with an Adobe PDF reader, or print out Page 1 and fill it in, then scan it or take a picture of it with a phone and email it to us with the attached short story.
If you’re unable to fill out the form, please see Page 3 of the form.
3. Stories must be typed, using Times New Roman 12 pt font. Please submit your stories as Word documents.
You must not have your name or the child’s name anywhere in the story document, only in the entry form. Entries will be judged anonymously.
If your child is not able to type their story, you may enter their handwritten story by scanning it to create an electronic document (PDF).
Scanned documents must be clear and legible. Documents that cannot be read easily will not be considered.
4. There is a limit of two stories per child, each to be submitted separately.
5. Shortlisted and winning entries may be published on the TARWF website.
6. There is no cost to enter.
7. There will be no extensions.
You are strongly encouraged to submit stories ahead of time, not at the last minute.
As good writing practice, you should aim to finish your story at least one week before the deadline and only revise/edit it in the last week.
While there are no extensions, if you try to email in an entry before 6 pm Sunday 10 October and something goes wrong with your computer or internet connection, please don’t worry.
Take a screenshot or photo to show the time on the screen and what has gone wrong and contact us to let us know.
We hope you enjoy writing your stories.