BBC 500 Words: Do you have a story to tell?

BBC 500 Words has returned for another year

Do you have a story that you want to share with the world?

Perhaps you're brimming with creative ideas, you're often thinking up new worlds full of mystery and wonder, or you just love letting your imagination run wild.

Well, if that sounds familiar and you love stories... then this is for YOU!

BBC 500 Words - the UK's biggest story writing competition - is back for another year.

Read onto find out all about it and how you can get involved...

The writing competition invites children between the ages of five and 11 across the UK to submit the stories they would love to read in 500 words or fewer.

There's no need to worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, as the competition is all about how creative you can be.

The official judging panel for this year includes authors Malorie Blackman and Francesca Simon, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Comic Relief's Sir Lenny Henry, actor and comedian Charlie Higson, and will be chaired by One Show presenter Alex Jones.

What could you win?

Queen Camilla will be supporting the competition once again

There are some amazing prizes up for grabs this year.

50 finalists will be invited to a star-studded grand final in February 2026, which will be supported by Her Majesty Queen Camilla.

The grand final will be held at Windsor Castle, where the bronze, silver, and gold winners in the 5-7 and 8-11 year-old categories will be crowned.

Each winner will have their story read aloud by a celebrity on TV and will receive a huge bundle of books.

The gold winners in each age category will also receive 500 books for their school library.

The event will be shown as part of a special 500 Words programme with The One Show in early March 2026.

The prizes don't stop there. The six winners will have their stories brought to life by some of the best children's illustrators in the UK and published in a special 500 Words winners' book.

The BBC 500 Words 2024 winners with Her Majesty The Queen, judges and celebrity readers

"I love 500 Words. It's a celebration of children's creativity, a chance for kids aged 5-11 to write any story they like," said author and 500 Words judge Francesca Simon.

"I've been a judge since 2014 and reading the finalists' fantastic stories is one of the highlights of my year."

Each of the top 50 finalists will have their story published on the 500 Words website.

One additional entry will be selected at random from all the non-winning entries to attend the final.

The lucky entrant will receive a bundle of books and their school will also receive 500 books and literacy wall art.

How can you enter?

Have you got an epic story you're desperate to tell?

BBC 500 Words opens on Tuesday 23 September, and all stories must be typed and submitted by an adult by 9pm on Friday 7 November 2025.

For more information, you can visit www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500-words or just click the link here!