Calling all UK based young writers and poets aged 8 to 15. You are invited to submit your work for our new children’s anthology inspired by the objects and history cared for by the Corinium Museum in Cirencester – and help raise funds for a community children’s project!
In collaboration with the Corinium Museum, we’re inviting you to write a poem or short story about a moment in the past. We recommend visiting the museum to get ideas! You might find an idea by thinking about the story behind an Iron Age tool or a Roman pot, or a bead from an ancient necklace or a bone, or even a pebble used as a fishing weight. The object itself may be at the centre of your idea, or the modern day story of the people who found it. Or perhaps your story or poem is about someone like you, visiting the museum and finding a surprise …
Your story or poem should relate to the past in some way … but how it relates is up to you.
Some useful resources:
Featured objects – Corinium Museum
Artefact Showcase from the Corinium Museum — Google Arts & Culture
Corinium Museum 3D models – Corinium Museum
This book will be launched in late 2024.
We are a collaborative publisher, so authors of successful submissions will be asked to make a small contribution towards the cost of publication.
Royalties from the sale of this children’s anthology will be donated to a children’s project working to improve support and access for vulnerable children in Gloucestershire – in collaboration with the Corinium Museum and a Cirencester charity, details tbc.
What are we looking for?
Short stories of up to 1000 words, and poetry of any length. There is no minimum word count.
This is a history themed anthology, inspired by the work of the Corinium Museum. We always love stories about mystery and magic, real places and true memories, fairy tales and adventures.
The past is important for this collection, so think carefully about how to relate your story to an object in the museum’s collection, the museum itself, or a period of history that you really love.
Your theme might be spooky, or funny, or place an unusual twist upon a common theme. You might explore adventure or mystery or even tell a tale based on true life.
Some suggested keywords for your piece might be: history, unearthed, lost, found.
Submissions should not have been previously published. This means that the work should not have appeared in any form in publications, journals, serials, on blogs or social media.
Schools are welcome to submit on behalf of their students, with appropriate permissions!
Exclusions:
Although danger and mayhem are often found in adventures, the story should not be too violent. Very dark horror will be excluded sorry – we scare easily!
We do not accept work which contains AI generated text.
About the finished book:
Each of our titles is creatively produced to reflect the subject, and this anthology will be beautiful inside and out and suitable for a young readership.
This book will feature a number of black and white illustrations. Young artists between the ages of 8 and 15 are welcome to submit an illustration with or without a written work.
We publish in paperback and ebook.
All contributing authors will receive a copy of the finished book delivered to a UK address.
What to submit:
You can submit up to 2 short stories or poems. Please make your submission by email in Word format. We can also accept .pages files.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself in your covering email. Please give your full name and your age.
And please give a contact name and email for a grown-up who can be contacted by us. This can be a family member or guardian or a teacher. You should also include a postal address so that we can send you a copy of the finished book if your submission is accepted for publication.
Submitting your story is taken as confirmation that you are happy for us to publish your work in this collection.
Submissions are open:
DEADLINE: 8 August 2024
Terms and Conditions:
Our decision to offer a publishing opportunity is final.
If we notify you that one or more of your submissions has been accepted, you will be asked to pay a contribution to the cost of publishing this book. Costs for this publication are still being finalised, but rest assured that you will have plenty of time to ask any questions you may have at the next stage. If submissions are made by a school, the school will be invited to pay a single fee to cover all entries from the school.
Submitting your work is taken as confirmation that you are giving us permission to publish your work if your story or poem is accepted for publication.
Authors must be aged between 8 and 15 at the time of submitting their work. They must be UK based, or be able to provide a UK postal address to receive their copy of the finished book.
We take your rights as the author of your work very seriously. Your work will not be shared with any third party without your agreement. If your submission is unsuccessful, you can ask for your work to be deleted from our system at any time.
We do not accept work which contains AI generated text.
The author contribution: this is collaborative publishing so authors of successful submissions will be asked to contribute a share of the publishing costs, on a per author basis (rather than per accepted work) payable at the point of accepting our publishing offer. There is no reading fee.
Costs for this publication are still being finalised, but rest assured that you will have plenty of time to ask any questions you may have at the next stage. Schools will have the option of paying a single larger sum to cover all entries from their school.
Please be aware that we reserve the right to select multiple works from some authors and single works by others. Each work will be assessed on its individual merits. We will not be able to give feedback in this instance.
Royalties: 50% of net returns from the sale of this book will be donated on your behalf to a children’s project working to improve support and access for vulnerable children in Gloucestershire – in collaboration with the Corinium Museum and a Cirencester charity, details tbc.
We publish in paperback and ebook.
Are you a grown-up writer?