Write a children's story and you could win £2,000

Story of the Year

Every child loves a good yarn and for the third year we are in search of the best new short stories for six- to nine-year-olds.

The deadline has been extended from Monday, 1 May to Tuesday, 9 May, so you have just over a week to get that magical tale finished.

There is a £2,000 prize for the winning entry and £500 each for the two runners-up.

The top 10 entries will be printed in a specially produced anthology by Scholastic Children's Books. Professional writers are welcome to enter, but we are particularly keen to encourage new talent.

Your story should be 1,500 to 2,500 words long. You may enter only once, and entries must be made by the writer, not on his or her behalf. Entries must be typewritten, double-spaced and on one side of the paper only. We regret that stories cannot be returned, so please take a photocopy. The stories submitted must be unpublished elsewhere. We will not accept stories with illustrations.

The first page of your entry must consist only of your name, address, daytime and home telephone numbers. The story should start on a separate sheet, with no name on any of the pages, so that it can be judged anonymously.

Send your entries to: Story of the Year competition, P.O Box 3908, London NW1 OAQ.

Please do not send entries directly to the Independent or Scholastic Children's Books.