The Lockdown Diaries
‘The Lockdown Diaries’ is a writing competition for 14-19 year olds across Lancashire. The aim is to find out more about what individual thoughts, experiences and ideas young people have come up with during lockdown.
We want young people to produce a piece of writing (it could be a poem, short-story, journal entry, speech or something completely different) that is inspired by your experience of being in lockdown. It doesn’t have to be about something real, it can come from your imagination or be inspired by something you have seen or heard.
Entries can be submitted via our website https://lancashirefutureu.org.uk/the-lockdown-diaries/ or through a teacher.
Completing a piece of writing is great practise for school subjects like English, and also helps you develop skills that make you more employable, like communication. It also gives you the opportunity and encouragement to do something creative and use your imagination. But as well as these great benefits, The Lockdown Diaries is also a competition, so there is a PRIZE! The author of the best piece of writing will be awarded an Amazon Kindle, so they can download and read hundreds of books and magazines of their choice! The top ten pieces of writing will also be published in a special edition anthology, which all finalists will receive their very own copy of.
The guest judge for the competition is Philippa Holloway.
Philippa Holloway is an author and teacher, specialising in fiction. Her short stories and travel writing have won competitions and been published in the USA, Canada, Australia, Africa and Europe. She is the Writer in Residence at Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker and she has worked with artists and writers on special features and commissions for various publications. She teaches English Literature and Creative Writing at Edge Hill University, and during lockdown co-curated a global literary writing project that has reached over 100 countries worldwide (https://100wordsofsolitude.wordpress.com/).
Philippa Holloway said
“I am absolutely thrilled to be invited to judge this competition. The pandemic lock-down has affected everyone in so many different ways, and I believe it is vital that we take time to think about, and process, its impact. Writing about the situation can help us understand it, and ourselves, more clearly. I can’t wait to read stories by the young people of Lancashire and to hear what it means to them.”
Dr Emma Deeks, senior coordinator at Future U added
“We know that for many young people, having to stay home and miss out on normal things like school and seeing friends has been difficult, but it has also provided an opportunity to experience different things and have more time to spend thinking and creating.
We wanted to design a project that allowed young people to express this creativity and potentially inspire them to pursue a career within the creative industries!
My own background is in English Literature, so I am passionate about the possibilities creative writing can offer young people, and I am really looking forward to reading all of the entries!”