Award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Lauren Child MBE, will join a panel of expert judges for ‘Voices’, a national writing competition for children in care and young care leavers, now in its fifth year running.
Raised in Marlborough, Wiltshire, Lauren is best known for her book series’, including the Charlie and Lola picture books, the Clarice Bean series and the Ruby Redfort novel series. She has won several awards as both an author and illustrator including British Children’s Book of the Year and the Kate Greenaway Medal and her books have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. In 2010, Lauren was awarded an MBE for Services to Literature. She was also the 10th Waterstones’ Children’s Laureate, 2017-2019.
Speaking on the competition, Lauren said: “Writing stories can be empowering for a child, allowing them to communicate their ideas to the outside world and in the process understand themselves better. I am delighted to be a judge in this year’s Voices competition and support this wonderful initiative giving young people in care and care leavers a platform to express themselves.”
The Voices competition is run by Coram Voice, a charity that ensures the voices of children and young people in and around the care system are heard.
Voices is a one-of-a-kind platform for care-experienced young people to express their creative talents and to celebrate their voices.
The theme of this year’s competition is ‘Dreams’ and was chosen by care experienced young people. Entries can be in any written form including poems, short stories, raps or newspaper articles, with a 500 word limit. There are four age categories: primary school, lower secondary school (age 11-14), upper secondary school (age 15-17) and care leavers (age 18-25).
Brigid Robinson, Managing Director of Coram Voice said: “It has been fantastic to see the competition go from strength to strength and to read all of the remarkable entries we’ve received over the last five years.
“This year’s theme of ‘dreams’ is guaranteed to see more creative and inspiring written pieces from care experienced young people, reminding us all of their talent and resilience. We hope their stories will continue to improve understanding around their experiences and celebrate their achievements.”
Entries can be submitted on the Coram Voice website (coramvoice.org.uk/voices) until 12 February 2020.
