Enter BBC Young Writers' Award 2022 With Cambridge University

The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University (YWA) is now open for entries.

BBC Young Writers' Award 2022

The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University (YWA) is now open for entries.

Now in its eighth year, the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University invites all young people in the UK aged between 14-18 years to submit stories of up to 1,000 words.

Entries close at 9am (GMT) Monday 28th March 2022. For more details on how to enter, click here.

BBC Radio 1's Katie Thistleton is Chair of the BBC YWA. The Life Hacks presenter returns to the judging panel for the teenage award for the fifth time as it opens for submissions.

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Katie says: 

“It’s brilliant to be back chairing the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University. Discovering and celebrating new writing talent, seeing what young people want to say in their own unique way and giving them a voice, has become an annual highlight for me. Last year’s talented winner, Tabitha Rubens, had been shortlisted for the Award before and her success in 2021 was testament to the power of perseverance and the art of practice. However, it’s important to mention that this isn’t an Award for seasoned writers only. This competition is open to everyone and I’m eager to read submissions from young people who’ve never written a short story before. So go on, get writing – we can’t wait to hear from you.”

The shortlist for the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University will be announced on Radio 1’s Life Hacks from 4pm on Sunday 18th September 2022.

The announcement of the BBC Young Writers' Award winner will be broadcast live from an award ceremony at BBC Broadcasting House on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row from 7.15pm on Tuesday 4th October 2022.

Previous winners of the YWA are Brennig Davies (2015), Lizzie Freestone (2016), Elizabeth Ryder (2017), Davina Bacon (2018), Georgie Woodhea

d (2019), Lottie Mills (2020) and Tabitha Rubens (2021). Listen to Tabitha's winning story below.

Details About BBC Young Writers' Award 2022

Entry instructions

• Entry Dates

Submissions for the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 will be accepted from 9am (GMT) Thursday 13 January 2022.

The deadline for receipt of entries is (9am BST) on Monday 28 March 2022.

How to Enter BBC Young Writers' Award 2022

Submissions must be made by the writer.

Make your submission using the online Entry Form as early as possible before the deadline, with an adult’s permission if you are under 16 years of age.

If you are unable to access the online Entry Form, you can enter by post. Please read the relevant instructions below.

Instructions for Entering Online (Preferable Method)

1. Read the Entry Terms and Conditions below thoroughly to find out who can enter and what stories are eligible for the Award. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of all the Terms and Conditions.

2. Write and format your short story as per the following instructions:

One entry per writer

Written in English (with a Gaelic/Welsh version if appropriate – see Entry Terms and Conditions, clause 9)

A maximum of 1,000 words

Original fiction on any topic

Typed on a computer

Any font, 12pt, black

Double spaced

No page numbers

Include a front page which details the Title of Story and the Word Count

Do not include your name anywhere on the story (unless you are submitting a typeset file and it is unavoidable).

3. Save the short story as an Adobe PDF, with the Title of Story in the file name. (N.B. if the short story has already been published you can submit a typeset PDF file, but please remove the writer’s name or title). If your story has been typed into Microsoft Word you can save as a PDF by clicking File -> Save As, and then selecting .PDF from the dropdown menu underneath the file name field.

4. Complete the Entry Form online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/send/u97257088 including uploading your short story document.

Please note: Entries submitted successfully online will receive an automated acknowledgement on-screen; entrants will not receive an automated message to the email address provided.

Please note, in this Entry Form, you must:

Provide your name, gender, age, date of birth and nationality.

If you are under 16: Ask an adult ie your parent, guardian or teacher) to review your entry and agree to the Award Terms and Conditions, by ticking the check-box on the online form. The adult must provide their email address, telephone number and postal address (not the writer’s), their relation to the writer and the town/city and country in which the writer lives.

 For the Top 50 shortlisted entries, if permission to enter was given by a teacher rather than a parent or guardian, the BBC will contact the teacher and ask for confirmation of permission from the writer’s parent or guardian. Entries which have not been genuinely approved by an adult at the submission stage may be disqualified at any point in the judging process.

If you are 16 or over: You must agree to the Award Terms and Conditions by ticking the check-box and providing your email address, telephone number and postal address.

The personal data provided will be used for the purposes of administering the Award as outlined in the Privacy Notice - please see below.

Instructions for Entering by Post

1. Read the Entry Terms and Conditions below thoroughly to find out who can enter and what stories are eligible for the Award. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of all the Terms and Conditions.

2. Request a Postal Entry Form by sending a self-addressed envelope to Entry Form Request, The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University, The London Readings Unit, Room 6015 Radio Drama, BBC Broadcasting House, W1A 1AA. We will endeavour to send you a form within fourteen working days of receipt of your SAE.

3. Write and format your short story as per the following instructions:

One entry per writer

Written in English (with a Gaelic/Welsh version if appropriate – see Entry Terms and Conditions, clause 9)

A maximum of 1,000 words

Original fiction on any topic

Typed on a computer

Any font, 12pt, black

Double spaced

No page numbers

Include a front page which details the Title of Story and the Word Count

Do not include your name anywhere on the story (unless you are submitting a typeset file and it is unavoidable).

4. Print six (6) copies of the typed short story (single or double-sided on white A4 paper)

5. Fill the Entry Form in and send it with six (6) copies of the short story in the post to: The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University, The London Readings Unit, Room 6015 Radio Drama, BBC Broadcasting House, W1A 1AA.

Please note, in the Entry Form, you must:

Provide your name, gender, age, date of birth and nationality.

If you are under 16: Ask an adult (your parent, guardian or teacher) to review your entry and agree to the Award Terms and Conditions, by ticking the check-box on the online form. The adult must provide their email address, telephone number and postal address (not the writer’s), their relation to the writer and the town/city and country in which the writer lives.

 For the Top 50 shortlisted entries, if permission to enter was given by a teacher rather than a parent or guardian, the BBC will contact the teacher and ask for confirmation of permission from the writer’s parent or guardian. Entries which have not been genuinely approved by an adult at the submission stage may be disqualified at any point in the judging process.

If you are 16 or over: You must agree to the Award Terms and Conditions by way of ticking the check-box and providing your email address, telephone number and postal address.

The personal data provided will be used for the purposes of administering the Award as outlined in the Privacy Notice - please see below.

Important information

Entries not submitted in accordance with the Entry Instructions and Entry Terms and Conditions will not be eligible for consideration.

No entries can be returned.

Due to the volume of entries for the Award, there will be no acknowledgement of receipt for entries submitted by post. Entries submitted successfully online will receive an automated acknowledgement message on-screen; entrants WILL NOT receive an automated message to the email address provided.

If you have any questions about entering the Award, please email BBCYWA@bbc.co.uk. The Award administrators will respond as soon as possible. Please note that for any email correspondence to BBCYWA@bbc.co.uk, an automated reply will only be sent to the first email.

Entry Terms & Conditions

THE AWARDS

1. There will be five writers shortlisted for the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University. The five shortlisted stories are narrated by an actor and recorded for an exclusive broadcast on BBC. The stories are also published in an exclusive anthology dedicated to the Award. The five shortlisted writers are invited to take part in a creative writing workshop with a leading writer and a tour of BBC Broadcasting House, central London, followed by the Award ceremony which is broadcast live from the Radio 4’s flagship arts programme, Front Row. The five shortlisted writers will have the opportunity at the awards ceremony to meet leading writers, publishers, agents and broadcasters. Travel, accommodation, refreshments and special assistance as required are provided for each of the five shortlisted writers and an accompanying adult. Each shortlisted writer can invite a further three guests who are aged 14 and over to the Award ceremony (at their own cost). All writers will need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian or BBC chaperone.

2. There will be one winning writer of the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University. The winning writer will in addition have a special one-to-one mentoring session with an author.

ELIGIBILITY

3. The BBC Young Writers’ Award is open to UK residents, including residents of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, aged 14 to 18 years-old on the submission deadline (9am (BST) 28 March 2022) except the children or close relatives of employees of the BBC, BBC Group company, Cambridge University, or anyone connected with the Award or their direct family members. Proof of identity and eligibility may be requested. Entries must be submitted by the writer, with an adult’s permission (i.e. parent, guardian or teacher) if the writer is under 16 years of age. Writers can only enter individually and not as part of a writing team.

4. The story must not be more than one thousand (1,000) words. There is no lower word limit but the entry needs to be a story.

5. The story must be an original piece of fiction. Stories can feature well-known public figures from present day or from history (e.g. Taylor Swift or Charles Darwin) or can take place in historical eras (e.g. the Victorian era) or use real-life experiences as a creative springboard as long as the story is fictional. Fan-fiction will not be accepted. The writer guarantees that they haven’t used material or depicted events that actually took place or used the personal details of any living persons in the story. As the stories will be published, it is important that applicants do not include any personal details about themselves.

6. The story entered must either be unpublished; or be first published in print or scheduled for publication/broadcast after 1 January 2021. If the story has been adapted, extracted or extended from an existing piece of published/broadcast fiction by the writer, including a piece published/broadcast or scheduled for publication/broadcast after 1 January 2021, please indicate this on the Entry Form.

7. Writers can only enter individually and not as part of a writing pair or team.

8. Each writer may submit only one story. If more than one story is submitted, only the first story received will be considered.

9. Entries should be submitted in English, or if written in Gaelic or Welsh must include a translation

10. Writers must supply full details as required, and comply with all rules to be eligible for the Award.

11. Shortlisted writers are encouraged to attend the Award ceremony on 4 October 2022 (date is subject to change), and to also to take part in some press activity immediately following the announcement of the shortlist and the winner. Shortlisted and winning writers must wait until the official announcements have been made before they make their success publicly known, so they must not publish or otherwise let it be publicly known via online forums such as Twitter, Facebook etc. To do so runs the risk of their entry being disqualified, which may lead to the shortlist and winning story being revised.

12. The former winning writers and any story previously entered into the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2015, 2016 and 2017; the BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University 2018, 2019, 2020; or the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University 2021 are ineligible.

JUDGING

13. Entries are judged on the following guidelines:

- Quality of writing

- Originality, imagination and creativity

- Sentence structure and language

- Writer’s ability to tell a story, capture the reader and hold their attention.

14. The Award is judged in three stages:

Stage 1: All entries are read and judged anonymously by at least two readers against the Award reading guidelines. Readers are from a mixture of backgrounds, with literary expertise, and drawn from across the BBC and Cambridge University’s networks. The best fifty (50) stories will then be put forward to the five judges.

Stage 2: All five judges will together select a shortlist of five outstanding short stories submitted for the Award.

Stage 3: The judging panel will together discuss and agree on the winning story.

15. Shortlisted and winning writers will be contacted by email or telephone, either personally if the writer is over 16 or via the adult that approved the entry if the writer is under 16.

16. The shortlist is likely to be announced on 18 September 2022 and the winner on 4 October 2022 (dates subject to change). Both announcements will be published on the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ywa), and Cambridge University website. Please check back on the websites for updates. In addition, a list of stories highly commended by the judges may also be published on the website alongside the announcement of the shortlist. By entering the Award, the writer agrees to their name and the title of their story being published on the website in the event only of their story being shortlisted or commended by the judges.

17. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The judging will be fair and independent. The judging panel will be appointed by the Award Team and will be made up of a guest panel of five judges, including the chairperson who is a representative from the BBC. All judges are required to declare any financial interests in relation to any writers.

18. This award complies with the BBC’s editorial guidelines for Competitions, Votes and Awards. Any permitted reference to the Award by the winner and shortlisted writers will be outlined by the BBC. Please see: https://www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidelines/competitions-votes-interactivity Entries must be suitable for broadcast or publication by the BBC for audiences of all ages. For further information see BBC Editorial Guidelines. If the story has troubling content, the BBC may take advice from the NSPCC, and may refer to the relevant authorities in accordance with the BBC Safeguarding Policy . By submitting the Entry Form the writer guarantees that they or the story they’ve submitted will not bring the BBC into disrepute. To do so would result in disqualification. Ineligible, obscene or fraudulent entries will be automatically disqualified. Following standard industry practice, the Award team may undertake background checks (including searches on public websites and social media platforms) of the shortlisted finalists. Information discovered or that may have been disclosed by the entrants themselves will inform the decision as to the selection of the finalists. Disqualification will not be automatic but the decision is in the sole discretion of the BBC.

ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION

19. For entries submitted online, an Entry Form must be submitted at https://www.bbc.co.uk/send/u97257088 by 9am (GMT) on Monday 28 March 2022. If entries for the Award are submitted by post, then a Postal Entry Form and six (6) copies of the short story must be received at The BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University, Books, Room 6015 Radio Drama, BBC Broadcasting House, W1A 1AA by 9am (BST) on Monday 28 March 2022.

20. Entries sent in by post are not acknowledged, and the Award Team does not accept any responsibility for late, lost or damaged entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Entries submitted online will receive an automated acknowledgement. Entries cannot be returned, so remember to keep a copy

21. An adult who approves an entry for a writer shall be deemed by the act of ticking the check box and providing their contact details on the Entry Form, to have obtained the writer’s informed permission and approval of all terms and conditions contained in these Terms and Conditions and to have taken on the responsibility of guaranteeing and procuring the writer’s compliance with the terms and conditions set out here. If such adult has failed to do so, the Award Team may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and/or reclaim any award and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry.

22. The Award Team is responsible for administering the Award and will consist of representatives from the BBC. The Award Team can refuse entry to the Award for any reason it decides is reasonable. The Award Team reserves the right to cancel this Award at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

23. The writer understands and agrees that the BBC (or any of its affiliates or partners) is not responsible for any loss or damage in relation to this Award, to the fullest extent under the law.

24. These rules and the entry submitted shall form a contract which is governed by the laws of England and the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

COPYRIGHT

25. Writers keep the copyright in their stories but grant to the BBC and its licensees a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence for all uses in all media including, but not limited to, to perform, publish, broadcast, podcast and post the story online and on any other platforms yet to be envisaged.

26. Shortlisted stories may be published on the websites of the BBC, its partner Cambridge University, and national media or other content providers to celebrate your success and promote the award. Shortlisted stories may be published in an official BBC Young Writers’ Award booklet or Anthology. If this happens, the writer will be deemed to have granted the rights for such publication and distribution (including via electronic distribution such as Kindle, Kobo or Nook devices), and for future award publications. The rights for publication will be non-exclusive, with no bar on publication rights elsewhere. The writer retains the moral right to be identified as the author of their story. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by the BBC, to fulfil the Award and to complete the administration of this award. By submitting a story the entrant agrees that the BBC may in its sole discretion edit, adapt or abridge it for the sole purposes of broadcast and other activities set out above.