Competitions - 2010
Young Writers' Competition 2010 -
What I Read This Summer
The Chiswick Book Festival has joined up with ChiswickW4.com to run a Young Writers' Competition. Called 'What I Read This Summer', the competition invites
anyone under 18 to write a sparkling review of a contemporary (21st Century) book.
Terms & Conditions
- The competition is open to anyone under 18 to write a sparkling review of a contemporary (21st Century) book.
- Entries must be between 300 and 500 words.
- There are two age categories - under-14 and under-18.
- The three best entries will receive prizes and will be published by ChiswickW4.com and the Chiswick Book Festival website.
- Entries close at 5pm on Friday September 17th 2010.
- The judges' decision is final and no entries can be returned.
Please send your entry, marked 'What I Read This Summer', to the Festival Administrator, Dinah Garrett, either by email at or to PO Box 31497, London W4 1QF. Please enclose your name, address, phone number and age and date of birth.
Calling all budding playwrights!
English Heritage and Chiswick House & Gardens Trust are looking for talented writers to create a short sketch based on a historical view of Chiswick gardens. From the scene of grand balls to a place of healing as a Victorian mental asylum, Chiswick House in west London has had a long and varied history. 
Now, English Heritage and the CHGT are looking for an alternative take on Chiswick’s past.
Ten signs have been installed in the recently-restored gardens, each showing a historical view of Chiswick. Empty golden picture frames above each sign capture how the same view looks today. These images should provide the inspiration for your sketch: perhaps you can reveal what secret the two Victorian ladies are sharing in one picture or maybe you can explain what has caused a group of rabbits to dance in another….
Rules Your sketch should be designed to be listened to – like a radio play – and can take any form you like – e.g. song, poem, play, reminiscence – but should be no longer than 3 minutes in length when read aloud. If you would like sound effects, please include them in the script.
There are three categories of entry, and you can choose to base your sketch on either of the images in each.
- Under 18s
- Long-necked visitors
- The artist admires his handiwork
- Residents of Chiswick
- Parklife
- A sporting tradition
- Adults
- An audience of oranges
- A place of healing
Prizes The winners in each category will have their piece professionally recorded, alongside established playwrights, as part of the new audio trail for visitors to Chiswick. They will also win an English Heritage membership and hamper.
Please indicate which category you wish to enter and provide your name and address (and age if entering the under 18s category). Send your entry to:
Or by post to: Chiswick Competition, English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square,
138-142 High Holborn, London, EC1N 2ST
The closing date for entries is 31 August 2010.
You can see last year's competition winners below:
Competitions - 2009
Festival Book Review Competition 2009
16-year-old Lucy Byford has been named as the winner of the Festival Book Review Competition. She's won a £20 book card from Waterstone's, the sponsor of the event: picture and details.
The Chiswick Book Festival Treasure Hunt 2009
Oliver Simkin, Amari Orr Deas, and Lara Orlandi are the winners of the Treasure Hunt in Turnham Green Terrace. They have each won an Usborne book from Trotters, the sponsor of the event. Thanks to Trotters, to Waterstone's and to all the firms in the Terrace who displayed children's book covers in their windows.
In addition, the Chiswick Book Festival is supporting other creative competitions linked to this year's writers and charities.
Ealing Arts Poetry Competition 2009
Last year's Ealing Arts Poetry Competition was judged by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and reached its climax at the Ealing Literary Festival, opposite St Michael's Church. This year's competition is being launched at the Chiswick Book Festival, as the centrepiece of the Poetry in the Church session on Saturday afternoon, at which last year's winners will read their poems.
The 2009 competition will be judged by the distinguished author and poet Kit Wright. The deadline is October 23rd. You can find out more about it, and print off an entry form, at the Ealing Arts & Leisure Poetry page.
Divine Poetry Competition 2009
Divine, the fairtrade chocolate company owned by cocoa farmers, has just announced the eighth annual national Divine Poetry Competition in association with Christian Aid. This year the mouthwatering theme is “…if I owned a chocolate company...” and the guest judge is top author Anthony Horowitz - who is the opening speaker at the Chiswick Book Festival.
This popular nationwide competition attracts thousands of entries each year and is open to all ages. The deadline for entries is Monday 21st December and the winners of the Divine chocolate prizes will be announced at the end of January 2010. Full details here.
Divine has also kindly provided thank-you gifts for each of the speakers at this year's Chiswick Book Festival.
The Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition 2009
InterAct Reading Service - one of the Chiswick Book Festival's charities - has launched its second short story competition to find a writer in residence. The deadline is Monday December 21st 2009 and stories should not exceed 1,000 words. Full rules here.
InterAct is a registered UK that uses professional actors to provide a live and interactive reading service in hospitals and stroke clubs. One of its patrons is the distinguished crime writer Ruth Rendell. For further information about its work and the short story competition, please visit its website: www.interactreading.org