Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition is awarded annually in the United Kingdom to six winners of a writing competition for under 19s which works alongside the Branford Boase Award. Both awards are dedicated towards the remembrance of Henrietta Branford (author) and Wendy Boase (editor), who both worked together in the past but sadly they both died in 1999 due to cancer.

Winners are invited to London to the celebration party where the Branford Boase Award is given where they can meet authors, publishers, agents and editors. The competition has been running since 2000; the same year Branford Boase Award was started.

Winners

2006

The challenge for 2006 was to continue a story-opening written by Meg Rosoff, who last year won the Branford Boase Award with her novel "How I Live Now". The judge was Kate Jones of Young Writer Magazine. Jacqueline Wilson presented certificates and prizes for winning the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition.

Winners included:

* James Falgate (12)
* Becci Fearnley (16)
* Kane Kushner (12)
* Ciara O’Neil (7)
* Ramona Pulsford (7)
* Rebecca Walters (11)

2005

The challenge for 2005 was to continue a story-opening written by Mal Peet, who last year won the Branford Boase Award with his novel "Keeper". Jacqueline Wilson presented certificates and prizes for winning the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition.

Winners included:

* Gemma Renyard (10)
* Arielle Bennett (15)
* Matthew Main (11)
* Sarah Mooney (15)
* Hannah Wann (12)
* Kirsty Angove (15)

2004

The challenge for 2004 was set by Kevin Brooks, who won the Branford Boase Award 2003 for his novel "Martyn Pig". He wrote an opening for a story. In it he described a child waking up and finding a world of total silence. The task was to explain what had happened.

Winners included:

* Lewis Green (10)
* Becki Lavender (11)
* Rosie Price (11)
* Simeon Mitchell (12)
* Ella Gee (15)
* Jessica Wright (18)

2003

The challenge for 2003 was to write about a first time - real or imaginary.

Winners included:

* Samantha Gillogly (14)
* Molly Beck (12)
* Saskia van Berkel (13)
* Jenny Wholley (14)
* Lyndsey Morton (15)
* Naomi Lever (16)

2002

The challenge for 2002 was to write a story of no more than 500 words using a "starter" written by last year's Branford Boase Award winner Marcus Sedgwick.

Winners included:

* Jonathan Chapple
* Katherine Davidson
* Miriam Dowle
* Gemma Jones
* Joe McKay
* Gregory Stevens

2001

The challenge for 2001 was to write a short fantasy story of no more than 3000 words which followed on from one of two paragraphs selected from The Crystal Mask, written by last year's Branford Boase Award winner Katherine Roberts.

Winners included:

* Katie Boswell
* Ben Cardy
* Tara Knudsen
* Alice McNamara
* Kate Shipton
* Elizabeth Sunter
* Laura Tisdall

2000

The challenge for 2000 was to either write a review of any one of her books, write an appreciation of all her books and of her as a writer, write in role as a character from one of her books or write another episode to a Henrietta Branford story. Polly Carter, Henrietta's younger daughter presented the prizes for the 6 winners of the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition.

Winners included:

* Zoe Alexander
* Phoebe Bown
* Kirsty Chan
* Lorna Coward
* Abbie Todd
* Zora Laattoe

External links

* [http://www.henriettabranford.co.uk/Welcome/HB.html Henrietta Branford homepage]
* [http://www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk/BBA/bba_start.html Branford Boase Award homepage]