Over the Summer holidays, children have been invited to write a short story. The competition has been set up with Good Housekeeping Magazine in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.

To enter, parents or guardians need to submit their child’s story on the theme of Christmas. This is a chance for children to let their creativity run wild and come up with something really original and exciting.

The competition is split into four age categories: seven and under, eight to 10-year-olds, 11 to 13-year-olds and 14 to 16-year-olds. Those aged seven and under are invited to send in a drawing and a few sentences, while those in the other three categories can submit up to 500 words on a Christmas theme of their choice. Each age category will be considered separately by our panel of judges, who will be looking for the most creative entries in each group. Winning stories will be published in the December 2023 issue of Good Housekeeping and each category winner will also receive £100 worth of book tokens.

What to send: Send us your child’s story of no more than 500 words (this can include a drawing if your child is seven or under) on the theme of Christmas. Please include the name of the parent or guardian, the name and date of birth of the child, the age category being entered and a mobile or daytime contact number for the parent or guardian.

Send your entry here: [email protected] by 31 August 2023. In the email, please include the following information:

• Parent or guardian’s name
• Parent or guardian’s address
• Parent or guardian’s postcode
• Parent or guardian’s mobile or daytime telephone number
• Child’s name
• Child’s date of birth and the category being entered