Young Writers - A poetry odyssey 2007

Strepsy

I really hope you can offer some guidance over this. I have just received a letter through the post telling me that my oldest DD has been selected for her poem to be published in a poetry book. It says that her teacher sent this off. It has a certificate and a leaflet for half price off a subscription to Wordsmith magazine and an order form to order advance copies off this poetry book at £12.99 plus £2.35 postage each :eek: I was really excited to start with but now I'm not so sure. I also don't want DD to be upset if I say it's just a scam and we won't be ordering it. I'm kind of concerned why her teacher would put pupils up for this too tbh.

Here's the website link http://www.youngwriters.co.uk/03_competitions/2007_a_poetry_odyssey.htm and it actually does say this 'Although we refer to ‘2007: A Poetry Odyssey’ as a competition we consider this a creative writing experience and will, where possible, endeavour to include as many pieces as we can.' so it doesn't even sound like a competition at all really, it sounds like they'll just get as many peoples as possible in to make money?

black-saturn

My boyfriend enters writing competitions similar to this. If he has become the winner or the runner up he usually gets a letter to say his short short is in so and so book and he has to buy the book if he wants to have his glory. Is the certificate one to say she's won?

I think it depends on whats in the book. If every child who enters poem is in the book and the publisher wants to make money out of every parent buying the book because their offsprings work is in it then I would call it a scam. If however there was just a select few who's poems have been published it's more of a prestigious thing and if it were me I probably would buy the book for my DD for xmas (I might even think about keeping the whole prize a secret until she opens it on xmas day). Having said that I think if you have won they should send you a book for free.

AnnieH

I would have a word with her teacher and see if she has put your dd up for a writing comp first of all...

cpu

My lad had his poem published in the 2006 book. His school submitted pupils' work for consideration and his was one of only 2 that were accepted.

As far as I'm aware, many schools submit their pupils work for inclusion in the Young Writer's Scheme, although I would have thought the kids would be aware of it? Having said that, my lad 'forgot' the teacher had told them all about it.:rolleyes: Also it was months after the event when we heard anything about it and another 6 months after that when we got the book.

Strepsy

Spoke to daughter about it now, she did know about the competition. Apparently she read the poem to me which I vaguely remember but thought it was a school competition. She has English tomorrow so she's going to show her teacher her certificate and try and find out who else was submitted and if everyone who submitted is going to be published.

If this was a genuine competition and she's won on merit then I'll be really chuffed but I can't help thinking that it's a money-making scheme. It's over £15 to order a copy, I just want to get to the bottom of it before parting with that amount. I know it doesn't sound much but it is right now. I'm only spending about £60 each on my older 2 for Christmas this year, if I had £15 to spare it would go on an extra present not on lining the pockets of opportunists.

Thanks for your comments.

cpu

I understand your concerns Strepsy but I looked on the cost as a necessary evil to see my lad's name and work published. Given the amount of schools that submit work and the amount of pupils involved, I think it's an achievement and worth the cost. (But bad timing around Xmas.)

merlinormartin

hi strepsy, my sister "won" a similar thing through her school. My mum paid about £12 for the book but i think u got some discount if you bought more than one copy, the book was a standard size paper back but my sister was over the moon coz it had her name etc so well worth the £££

welshcakes

When my teenagers were youngsters, I recall having quite a few books similalar to the offer you describe. I paid out for the first two books published but then it became obvious to me that it was simply a sales ploy. I got to thinking how all the contents had been provided free by the children whose parents then went out and bought the books guaranteeing a pretty hefty profit for the publishers.

It really is a matter of what value you put on seeing your child's work in print. If this is your main drive, did you know that it's possible to have your own books published for a fee?

I know someone who wrote their life story and had about 20 hardback (and nice quality) copies made to give away to their grandchildren etc. It's more expensive of course but if your child is a talented writer, is in the long run a much cheaper way of getting all their stories, poems etc published in one hard back that has their name on the front as the author (and illustrator if they want to design their own front cover).

slinks

"Although we refer to ‘2007: A Poetry Odyssey’ as a competition we consider this a creative writing experience and will, where possible, endeavour to include as many pieces as we can."

hmmmmm....

their school gets a copy - you could always moneysave and ask if you could photocopy his work rather than buy the whole book and maybe frame that page with his name on.

fabwitch_2

This is fine, my daughter suscribes to wordsmith mgazine and has had loads of her poems and stories published in various books and has won lads of prizes for her writing as I have too. If your chld is interested in writing then wordsmith certainly keeps their interest up and it is a great confidence boost for your child when they see they work published either in the magazine or a Book or the internet.

Prudent

I am not sure schools should be entering children's poems for this without asking the parents first. It is lovely that you daughter has won, she obviously wrote a good poem. However if a parent can't afford the book a child may feel knocked back and disappointed. I went through a stage when I simply couldn't have found the extra cash to buy this for my daughter and would have felt terrible about saying no. To me this is a money making opportunity for an unscrupulous company. You have been put in a very awkward position Strepsy.