Borehamwood teacher’s story shortlisted for success!

Shayna Evans calls on community support as public voting for children’s story-writing competition opens   

A newly-wed trainee teacher from Borehamwood has beaten hundreds of entries to be shortlisted in this year’s Munch Time children’s story writing competition. Shayna Evans, 29, is one of 10 regional finalists from across the country who now need your vote to win the top prize of £1,000 in the annual search for a budding children’s author.

Her story ‘Here Comes the Aeroplane’ can be seen and voted for at www.munchtime.co.uk from 1st July. The rhyming tale features Munch the Cow as she tries lots of new flavours and is aimed at parents wanting to encourage their fussy eaters to eat a more varied diet.

Shayna said: “I am thrilled my story has been shortlisted. I thought the competition looked fun and sat down for 20 minutes and the next thing I knew I had 200 words, the story just flowed.“

The competition, by Munch Bunch® yogurts, is in its fifth year and is supported by the National Literacy Association. It aims to highlight and celebrate the importance of stories and creative time between young children and parents, and gives amateur writers the opportunity to shine.  A previous Munch Time winning author has subsequently secured a publishing deal and established successful careers in writing. The winner won't be the only one to win a cash prize, three runners up will also receive £500.

In a recent survey* of parents with children under five, Munch Bunch found that more than a quarter of UK parents harbour ambitions to write a children's story.  It also revealed 8 out of 10 admit struggling to entertain their children, with over 70% citing running out of ideas, or feeing too tired or too stressed as reasons.

Munch Time judge and chair of the National Literacy Association, Ray Barker, says:

" Reading with your child is a beneficial and easy way to entertain and we want parents to help foster a love of stories with their children as early as possible. It's been proved time and time again that children who are introduced to the joy of sharing books and stories at an early age will be at an advantage when they start school. Making reading fun is so important too and the great thing with Munch Time is that it allows parents to discover great new stories to read with their young children.”

Vote now for your favourite Munch Time entry and also receive an opportunity to win a prize at www.munchtime.co.uk.  Voting will conclude at midnight on Thursday 1st August with the winning story unveiled shortly afterwards - watch this space for the announcement!

Fans of Munch Time can also be part of the story writing competition count down on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/munchtimestory

Snoozzze at the Zoo! Competition time!

 

To enter via email - please send your answers to hertfordshire@abcmag.co.uk

Competition Entry - Terms and conditions

This competition is not open to employees of Paradise Wildlife Park Ltd. or Parkside Leisure Ltd. The winning voucher can only be redeemed from November 1st 2012 to April 30th 2013. Apartments are subject to availability. Apartments are not suitable for disabled people or wheelchair users. The voucher is valid for 2 adults and up to 4 children. This offer is not redeemable for cash and cannot be exchanged for any other offer or product. The voucher is non-transferable and cannot be sold. This voucher cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

ABC competition entry terms and conditions apply.
Rules: The act of entering any competition will be taken as acceptance of these rules. The closing date for all competitions is Friday 15th October unless stated otherwise on the competition. Only one entry per competition per person is permitted. Unless otherwise stated the winner(s) will be drawn out of the hat. No responsibility is accepted for analogue entries which are lost, delayed or damaged in the post. No responsibility is accepted for email entries which are lost, perceived as spam or contain attachments. Computer generated and/or automated entries will not be accepted as this is not 'in the spirit' of ABC competitions.

Illegible or incomplete entries will not be accepted. No cash alternative to any prize is offered. All winners will be notified by post or email and asked to collect thier prize from a central collection point unless stated otherwise on the competition. The editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Unless stated otherwise in the competition, each separate entry should be by email as explained on the competition page, or on a postcard (or simlar) clearly marked with the competition name, together with your name, address and telephone number and sent to the relevant ABC Magazine County address as found on the Contact us page

ABC Magazine.