The Courtyard are delighted to be launching Kid Lit, a brand-new project for children aged 5 – 12.
Kid Lit is a children’s literacy project that aims to support the local community in promoting literacy, creative writing and writing resilience following an unprecedented year in children’s education.
“We’re so excited to be launching Kid Lit at The Courtyard and we can’t wait to introduce you to our two brilliant authors, Emma Read and Simon James Green.” Said Courtyard Education Team member, Lexi Myers, “The pandemic has had an enormous impact on our children’s education and so we’re pleased to be able to offer a project that supports literacy and creative writing. Kid Lit also aims to celebrate the talents of children in our community and allows them the opportunity to really explore their imaginations!”
The project includes a 500-word short story writing competition which will open for entries from 8am on Friday 7 May 2021 and will close at 8pm on Wednesday 14 June. There will be two categories for the competition, one for ages 5-8 and one for ages 9-12.
All entrants must pen an original, fictional story, no more than 500 words in length, and submit it via an online form which can be found at courtyard.org.uk/kidlit. Stories will be judged on their enjoyment rather than punctuation, grammar, and spelling to make it accessible for all abilities.
Competition winners will receive two tickets to The Courtyard’s Pantomime, Jack and The Beanstalk, a signed copy of either Life of Riley or Milton The Mighty along with a goody bag of treats. There are also prizes on offer for runners up in each category.
In celebration of National Writing Day, on Wednesday 23 June, renowned authors Emma Read and Simon James Green will each be hosting a free, online workshop via Facebook Live on The Courtyard’s Facebook page.
Emma Read’s workshop will begin at 10am and is aimed at KS1. The session will explore the art of storytelling and, using her Milton The Mighty books as inspiration, participants will work towards creating their own characters for a story adventure. Emma will also be hosting a Q&A and will announce the winner of the age 5-8 category at the end of her workshop.
Simon James Green will be online at 1pm, hosting a workshop for KS2 ages. In the workshop, Simon will show participants how to create their own funny stories, share his top tips for writing comedy, and read an extract from his bestselling book, Life Of Riley. Simon will announce the winner of the age 9-12 category at the end of his workshop.
For more information about Kid Lit or to submit a story, visit courtyard.org.uk/kidlit.