kids’ story writing competition 2025

Our annual Kids’ Story Writing Competition has closed and all Shortlisted participants have been notified. Thank you to everyone who participated, it was another overwhelming response this year! We invite everyone to join us at our Winners Announcement Event on Saturday 16th August at 3pm in store, with special guest author Amelia Mellor! 

about the author

Amelia Mellor majored in Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne and has her Master of Teaching Primary and Secondary from Monash University. Amelia also worked as a nanny, tutor, grape-picker, copy writer, teacher and bookshop assistant; and written at studios at Glenfern in Saint Kilda, and the Old Melbourne Gaol. Some of her stories have been shortlisted for the Ampersand Prize and the Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers’ Contest. She also developed a manuscript through an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship.

The Grandest Bookshop in the World was her debut novel in 2020 and was inspired by the real Cole’s Book Arcade that was Melbourne’s crowning glory from 1883 to 1929. A multi-award-winner within Australia with more than 90,000 copies sold to date, and an Australian production company has optioned the novel for film. Amelia has gone on to publish another two books in this series, The Bookseller’s Apprentice (2022) and The Lost Book of Magic (2024). Amelia also has a new series Oceanforged coming soon, the first instalment called The Wicked Ship is due for release late July 2025.

After growing up on the Mornington Peninsula and spending some time living and teaching in Victoria’s Alpine Valley, Amelia now lives in Melbourne. She loves visiting schools and libraries, supporting literary events, and hearing from readers. When she’s not writing, Amelia enjoys drawing, going for birdwatching walks, and fussing over her garden and her fish tank.

This year’s writing inspiration is a sentence prompt to be included in your entry:

“As I opened the letter, a ticket fell out…”

What will you do with your ticket? Were there instructions in the letter? Who was it from? Where will this ticket take you? Will it take you deep into the Amazon? Will it take you into unchartered space? Or perhaps the ticket will take you into the future or the past, or some alternate universe? What might happen if you don’t go? The possibilities for your journey are limitless, and where the story takes your reader is boundless.

There are SO many ways you could use this prompt to inspire your story or just work it in with another idea you may already have. We can’t wait to see what you come up with…

All entries must meet the Entry Guidelines (listed below) and be submitted no later than Sunday 27 July. Shortlisted entries will be notified in early August ahead of our Winners Announcement Event with special guest author, Amelia Mellor, in store on Saturday 16 August at 3pm. There will be Farrells Book Vouchers up for grabs as prizes and winning entries will be published here on the website. You can check out our winners from last year here.