Atom Learning Young Author Award 2025
Atom Learning
Young Author Award 2025
UK creative writing competition for ages 7–11
Falling Into The Story
“I turned the page, and the room disappeared. Now I'm inside the story...”
Atom Learning’s Young Author Award invites children to experience the magic of truly getting lost in a book – quite literally. One moment they are reading quietly, and the next… the page glows, the world spins, and suddenly, they are inside the story.
What world have they landed in? Who do they meet? What happens next?
Using just 500 words, children can let their imagination run wild and build a story around this exciting twist.
"Whether it’s a hidden kingdom, a faraway planet, or an enchanted forest, the only limit is their imagination."
Key dates
Competition opens
15th May 2025
Competition closes
25th June 2025
Winners announced
9th July 2025
How does the competition work?
The Young Author Award is Atom Learning’s annual summer creative writing competition — a celebration of imagination, originality, and the voices of tomorrow. Budding young writers can showcase their storytelling skills and be in with a chance to win amazing prizes.
Entrants can submit a creative response to the prompt in no more than 500 words. All entrants must be aged between 7 and 11 on the day the competition closes. Submissions must be written by the child and must not be supported by an adult or AI. We’re looking for aspiring writers, not perfect wordsmiths!
Exciting prizes to be won
1st Place Winner
A magical 1-night family trip to Disneyland Paris (for up to 4 people, worth £2,500)
6 month free Atom Home subscription
The winner’s story will be transformed into custom-illustrated cover art, printed and shipped to their door!
Three Runners-Up:
A custom illustrated digital cover of their story
£50 book voucher
3 month free Atom Home subscription
Special Awards
A 3 month free Atom Home subscription will be awarded to each winner of the following category:
Best Plot Twist
Most Creative
Most Inspiring
Inspire your child with a free writer’s kit
To help every young author get started, we’re offering free downloadable Writer’s Kits! Simply fill out the form links below to receive:
Story structure guide
Vocabulary builder list
Writing checklist (including key dates)
Examples from previous winning entries
Top tips for planning and writing a story
Why enter?
Unleash their creativity.
Give your child the freedom to create their own world, develop original ideas, and express themselves through storytelling, building vital creative thinking skills along the way.
Strengthen their writing skills.
Writing their own story will help your child practise planning, structuring and editing (all essential literacy skills!) while boosting their self-belief as they see their ideas come to life.
Celebrate their talents.
From magical prizes like a trip to Disneyland Paris to the pride of seeing their story turned into a book cover, the competition offers unforgettable experiences that will inspire them for years to come.
Unleash their creativity.
Give your child the freedom to create their own world, develop original ideas, and express themselves through storytelling, building vital creative thinking skills along the way.
Strengthen their writing skills.
Writing their own story will help your child practise planning, structuring and editing (all essential literacy skills!) while boosting their self-belief as they see their ideas come to life.
Celebrate their talents.
From magical prizes like a trip to Disneyland Paris to the pride of seeing their story turned into a book cover, the competition offers unforgettable experiences that will inspire them for years to come.
Unleash their creativity.
Give your child the freedom to create their own world, develop original ideas, and express themselves through storytelling, building vital creative thinking skills along the way.
Strengthen their writing skills.
Writing their own story will help your child practise planning, structuring and editing (all essential literacy skills!) while boosting their self-belief as they see their ideas come to life.
Celebrate their talents.
From magical prizes like a trip to Disneyland Paris to the pride of seeing their story turned into a book cover, the competition offers unforgettable experiences that will inspire them for years to come.
Ready to see where their imagination takes them?
FAQs
Terms & Conditions
There will be one winning entry for the Atom Learning Young Author Award, 3 prizes for judge-selected runners-up, and one prize per winner of each ‘Special Award’ (3 in total). All children must be aged between 7–11 at the point of close on 25th June 2025.
The winner of the 1st place entry will win a one-night trip to Disneyland Paris for a family of four. The trip must be taken before 25th June 2026, excluding the Christmas holiday period (1st December 2025 – 2nd January 2026). Travel from the UK, accommodation and park entry expenses will be covered, and families will also receive full board for the duration of their stay which provides three meals a day per person. The 1st place winner will also receive a custom-illustrated book cover of their entry, which will be shipped and printed to the address provided on their entry form, and a 6-month free subscription to the online learning platform Atom Home.
Three runners-up will each receive a custom-illustrated cover of their story, which will be supplied as a digital file, a £50 book voucher, and a 3-month free subscription to Atom Home.
Each winner of the “Special Award” (one for Best Plot Twist, one for Most Creative, and one for Most Inspiring) will receive a 3-month free subscription to Atom Home.