Make ’em laugh! 2025 Henrietta Branford Writing Competition opens

For young people who enjoy writing stories!

 The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is now open.

The competition aims to find and encourage writers of the future, something author Henrietta Branford was always keen to do. Anyone under the age of 19 can enter the competition.

Make ‘em laugh!

This year’s competition is inspired by 2024 Branford Boase Award winner Nathanael Lessore, whose book, Steady For This, is laugh out loud funny. The judges are looking for stories, poems, song or rap lyrics that will make them laugh. They can be inspired by real life events (like many of the incidents in Nathanael’s books) or entirely fictitious.

Nathanael Lessore says, ‘My top writing tip is: listen. If I find something funny, I immediately make note of it. Try that, enjoy writing and good luck in the competition!’

Six winners will receive signed copies of each of the books shortlisted for the 2025 Branford Boase Award. Their stories, poems, song or rap lyrics will be published on the Branford Boase Award website.

The closing date is Friday 30 May 2025.

Chairing the Award is Prue Goodwin, freelance lecturer in literacy and children’s books. Prue taught in primary and middle schools for over twenty years before becoming Director of INSET for the Reading Centre at the University of Reading. She is retired now but still speaks at conferences, offers advice to publishers, and volunteers in libraries and schools.

Full entry instructions, terms and conditions are available here.

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition is supported by ALCS and Walker Books, who are both also sponsors of the Branford Boase Award.