Conditions of Entry and other information

Conditions of Entry

Students may write their short story on any idea that appeals to them.

  1. Stories by Year 3-4 students (Section 1) should not be longer than 500 words.
  2. Stories by Year 5-6 students (Section 2) should not be longer than 750 words.
  3. Entries should be typed in 12-point Georgia font, A4 page format, with pages numbered.
  4. One entry per student, please.
  5. All entries should include:
    • student’s name,
    • school,
    • year at school,
    • contact information:    phone and email
    • story title, followed by the story.
    • Optionally, include your pen-name, only if you do not wish your story to be published under your real name.
  6. Entries must be student’s own work, unpublished and not having won any other competition.
  7. Story line needs to be student’s own.
  8. Before sending an entry, students are advised to run a spelling check, check the word count, re-read the story checking for grammar, paragraphs and punctuation and re-read again to check if they are happy with their story.
  9. All entries need to be submitted as separate Microsoft Word or Google Docs documents and not as pdf or scanned documents. A number of stories can be sent by an adult, in one email.
  10. For Great Lakes region schools, entries should be emailed to tmas@tellmeastory.org.au by Thursday 30th March 23
  11. For Manning or Gloucester region schools, entries should be emailed to tmas_mn@tellmeastory.org.au by Tuesday 28th March 23
  12. Please note, stories that are deemed by the judges to have unsuitable content for primary school aged readers will not be admitted to the competition. Examples of unsuitable content include (but are not limited to): gratuitous violence, descriptions of gruesome imagery, psychological or physical cruelty, unresolved menace, or story ending that may cause fear or distress for young readers.

 Story writing is fun! Be as creative as you like.

Other Information

  1. Some tips to help you with your story writing:

Story Writing Tips – Tell Me a Story

  1. See Downloads for Checklists to help students edit their story before the submission.
  2. Please Note:  All personal contact information is kept confidential by Tell Me a Story competition organisers. The judges are only given access to submitted stories and grade at school.

Downloads

Checklist to help students edit their story Years 3-4

Checklist to help students edit their story Years 5-6