Children’s Writing Competition in association with Michael Rosen and Walker Books UK

We are launching a fantastic new writing competition for children and teenagers in association with Michael Rosen and Walker Books UK.

The Missing by Michael Rosen is the true story of Michael’s search for his relatives who went missing during the Second World War. When Michael was growing up, stories often hung in the air about his great-uncles; one was a clock-mender and the other a dentist. “They were there before the war”, his dad would say, “and weren’t after”.

For many years, Michael tried to find out exactly what happened; he interviewed family members, scoured the internet, pored over books and travelled to America and France. 

The story he uncovered was one of terrible persecution. It inspired Michael’s writing for years after and we hope this competition and reading the book inspires you too.

How to play

To enter the competition you need to write a story that you have discovered about 1 of your family relatives or ancestors.

The competition opens on Monday 1 February. Any entries received before Monday 1 February will not count.

All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday 28 February 2021. 

You must be aged 5 to 16 to enter.

Your story must be no more than 500 words. Entries over 500 words will be disqualified.

If you have one, please include an image of the person you are writing about. Your story will still be judged fairly if you do not include an image.

How to submit your entry

Please email Library Events with your story and your:

• name
• age
• contact details (email address and phone number for you or your parent).

Your details will only be used to contact you if you are a winner.

 

What you can win

We will select our best 10 entries. From the top 10, Michael Rosen will then select the winning 5.

The 5 winners will each receive a copy of Michael’s book, The Missing.

Tips to help

You can order a copy of The Missing from our via our Select & Collect service

To find out about your own relatives, you can use family history site Ancestry for free with your Barnet library card and PIN.

Find out how to use Ancestry from home by downloading our guide (PDF, 134 KB) or watch our video