The Queen, who is a champion of literacy and literature, sent her poem to Sir Lenny, who is one of the judges, to read at the launch of 500 Words, an annual competition that encourages children to use their imagination and write the story they would love to read in 500 words or less without worrying about spelling or punctuation.
“I send this letter, dear Sir Lenny,
to ask you kindly if there’s any
chance you might today at Breakfast
tell your viewers of a contest,
which inspires imagination,
creativity, celebration,” she wrote.
“The call, you will, I’m sure, have heard:
“Send us your Five Hundred Words!”
If you’re aged from five to seven,
or from eight up to eleven.
write your story, send it in:
you could be the one to win!
“Any subject, any style:
make us marvel, make us smile,
make us think – and think again.
You have until November 10.
The hunt is on. We seek a star.
The best of luck.
– Camilla R”
The competition, supported by BBC Teach, was launched live on BBC Breakfast yesterday at a primary school in Abergavenny. Some 50 finalists will be invited to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace in February 2024 at the grand final and have their stories read out by famous faces.
Primary school aged children from across the UK can submit their own original short story from today until 8pm Friday November 10.
The gold winners in the two age groups, 5-7 and 8-11, will receive not only the height of Sir Lenny Henry in books but also 500 books for their schools.
Silver winners will get the height of Camilla in books, and bronze winners will receive the average height of a 7 or 11 year old in books.
Since the competition first launched in 2011, it has received over a million entries from children of all abilities.
Sir Lenny will be joined on the judging panel by award-winning and best-selling authors Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson and former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman.
