Stranger Sagas - winners announced 😍

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A strange noise... a normal day that gets turned upside down... a mystery waiting to be solved... What will your students write about?

Stranger Sagas invites your students to unleash their imagination by writing a mini saga, a story told in up to 100 words. The short format means every word counts, helping students focus their ideas, sharpen their vocabulary and gain confidence in their writing. Even the most reluctant of writers will surprise you!

The postcards offer visual and written prompts to spark inspiration and can be used as story starters; your students can explore their own ideas; or you can set a theme to tie in with your current learning. They can write in any genre and on any topic, so whether they write a thrilling mystery, a creepy encounter or a funny twist, the only limit is their imagination (...and the word limit😏).

Every student has the opportunity to see their work published in a book, and there are fantastic prizes up for grabs for students and schools.

Stranger Sagas is an engaging and flexible activity, guaranteed to hook your students. Download your free resources now, and soon you'll have a classroom full of students who are motivated and eager to write.

If you'd like more printed entry forms, posters or postcards, request as many as you need from the Printed Resources tabs on this page and we'll send them out to you free of charge.

[Rules] =>

Only one entry per student.
No limit to the number of entries per school.
Teachers please submit your entries together where possible! If more than one teacher is entering, please use one Teacher Entry Form per teacher. They can still be sent together.
Ask your students to write their story, ensuring their name, age and school name are included. (First name only or initials can be used if necessary. )
Entries can be scribed/typed by an adult if necessary.
Work can be on the entry form, an A4 sheet of paper or typed (on a computer or in the Online Writing Portal).
100-word limit.
If a story starter/ending is used, it must be included in the 100-word limit.
Students' stories must be their own work!
Please note on the entry if there is anything we need to take into consideration when reading the work.
UK entrants only.
Free to enter.
Ideal for 11-18 year-olds, but students outside that age range are welcome to enter.
Copyright remains with the author.

[School Prizes] =>

The school that submits the best overall set of entries will win £1,000 and Young Writers' Award of Excellence!

PLUS every participating school receives a free copy of the book their students feature in!

(Remember, you receive 1 free copy for every 30 entries you submit! E.g. 1-30 entries you receive 1 copy, 31-60 entries you receive 2 copies, etc)

[Student Prizes] =>

5 winners will each get an £100 Amazon gift card and a trophy.

Plus every entrant receives a bookmark and all writers whose work we'd love to publish will get a certificate of merit.

(School & student winners will be chosen from entries submitted in the Autumn Term 2025. The prizes will be sent in the following term.)

[Tips] =>
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A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Stranger Sagas competition.

We loved reading all of the entries we received.

[Winner Word] => [Schools/Clubs] => Schools [Thumbnail] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761744996-5023-StrangerSagas_PageIcon.jpg [Background] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1762256922-324-StrangerSagas_Background.jpg [Logo] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761744996-2790-StrangerSagas_Logo.png [Independent Intro] =>

A strange noise... a normal day that gets turned upside down... a mystery waiting to be solved... What will you write about?

Stranger Sagas invites you to unleash your imagination by writing a mini saga, a story told in up to 100 words. The short format means every word counts, helping you to focus your ideas, sharpen your vocabulary and gain confidence in your writing.

The postcards offer visual and written prompts to spark inspiration and can be used as story starters or you can explore your own ideas. You can write in any genre and on any topic, so whether you write a thrilling mystery, a creepy encounter or a funny twist, the only limit is your imagination (...and the word limit😏).

Every entrant has the opportunity to see their work published in a book, and there are fantastic prizes up for grabs, including £100 Amazon gift card for our favourite 5 stories.

Download you entry form now, and see where Stranger Sagas takes you.

How To Enter

Email you entry along with your name and full address to: [email protected]

Upload your entry at www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/enter.

Post your entry along with your name and full address to:

Young Writers Stranger Sagas
Remus House
Peterborough
PE2 9BF

Closing date: 19th December 2025

[Independent Rules] =>

Only one entry per person.
Write or type your story (or an adult can scribe/type it), ensuring your name, age and address are included. (Initials or first name only can be supplied if necessary.)
Work can be on the entry form or an A4 sheet of paper or typed.
Stories must be your own work.
Please note on the entry if there is anything we need to take into consideration when reading the work.
100-word limit.
UK entrants only.
Free to enter.
Ideal for 11-18 year-olds, but young writers outside that age range are welcome to enter.
Copyright remains with the author.

[Independent Prizes] =>

5 winners will each receive a £100 Amazon gift card

Plus every entrant receives a bookmark and all writers chosen for publication will get a certificate of merit.

(Winners will be chosen from entries submitted in the Autumn Term 2025. The prizes will be sent in the following term. Independent entrants are eligible for student prizes.)

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[Letters Sent Date] => 2026-03-02 [Letters Sent Satus] => [Books Published Start Date] => 2026-03-09 [Books Published End Date] => 2026-04-20 [Books Published Status] => [Winners Announced Date] => 2026-05-01 [Winners Announced Status] => [How to Enter Image] => [Video Placeholder] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761744996-7057-StrangerSagas_VideoThumbnail.jpg [School Prize] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1729239193-671-10004.png [Student Prize] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761745113-4212-Amazon100giftcard.png [Banner Background] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1762256922-1657-StrangerSagas_BannerBackground.jpg [Banner Logo] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761744997-4940-StrangerSagas_BannerLogo.png [Share Image] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1761744997-8598-StrangerSagas_PageIcon.jpg ) [date_created] => 2025-10-29 13:29:44 [last_updated] => 2026-06-02 14:27:05 [sort_order] => 22 [incoming] => 0 [live] => 1 [archived] => 0 [deleted] => 0 )

This contest is now closed.

🏆

Winners Announced!

Congratulations to all the winners! The results for this contest have been published.

View Winners

Open contests can be found here.