Deb Fitzpatrick on how to inspire kids to write with the best children’s writing competitions around
Fremantle Press author Deb Fitzpatrick is a familiar face at many schools and writing workshops in and around Perth.
The author of six books for children and young adults, including the popular Spencer Gray series, she also recently led the StoryLab Young Writers Development Program at Paper Bird Children’s Books & Arts in Fremantle.
She said, ‘It’s very humbling to work with young writers. The work they produce can be staggeringly good, yet they sometimes have no idea of this until I given them my feedback. For keen young writers, there are several easy ways they can bring improvement to their writing, and I so enjoy sharing these with them and watching their creative growth.
‘Two key things for us adults to note are that young people are strongly connected to their imagination, and that they are also largely unhindered by a sense of having to write to a set of rules. These two things give them, in my view, an open-hearted, joyful approach to their writing that we oldies can only hope to emulate!’
To help you inspire your students, Deb and the team at Fremantle Press have produced a list of upcoming writing competitions for children and young adults over the coming months which you can download below.
‘I hope the young writers in your classroom feel excited and motivated to perhaps enter one of these competitions, a process which will help them develop their craft and the perseverance required for this journey into a creative life,’ said Deb.
Deb’s latest book, The Spectacular Spencer Gray, is available in all good bookstores and online at fremantlepress.com.au.
Click on the image to download this A3 poster to display at your school.
Additional competitions: