Six talented young writers, winners of the 2022 Henrietta Branford Writing Competition.
Six talented young writers aged between 10 and 16 are the winners of this year’s Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for Young People.
Entrants were asked to complete a story begun by last year’s Branford Boase Award winner, author of Orphans of the Tide, Struan Murray. His starter paragraph is full of possibilities: an empty house, fireworks suddenly frozen in time, a figure moving in the garden. It clearly caught the imagination of young writers, attracting over 500 entries.
Struan was hugely impressed by the six winners. He says, ‘The quality of the writing really impressed me. These young writers have come up with brilliant ideas and their passion for storytelling leaps off the page. They should all be very proud of themselves.’
Competition judge, Prue Goodwin adds, ‘I love reading and I love stories, too, so being asked to judge a story competition seems a perfect task for me. However, this year there were so many stories that I almost felt overwhelmed. But there can only be six winners. After re-reading and much deep consideration, the six were chosen, but congratulations to everyone who submitted an entry.’