The search for the UK's best young writers starts now
Every child has a story to tell. This summer, we want to hear yours.
Atom Learning's Young Author Award is back for 2026, and this year we're asking children aged 7–11 to write about something truly personal: an unforgettable gift.
This year's theme: An Unforgettable Gift
The prompt is simple: "It wasn't what I expected..."
But the stories it could unlock are anything but. It might not have looked like a gift at all: something they could feel but not hold, from someone they knew well or barely noticed, given without any idea of how much it would mean.
Wherever the story takes them, we want to hear it. In just 500 words, children can bring their gift to life and share what made it unforgettable.
We're looking for aspiring writers, not perfect wordsmiths. All voices are welcome.
New for 2026: entries are written inside Atom Home
This year, the Young Author Award moves fully into the app. Children write and submit their story through a dedicated creative writing page inside Atom Home, completed in one sitting. There are no external uploads and no documents to attach.
How it works:
1️⃣ Log into Atom Home
2️⃣ Go to the Tests page
3️⃣ Select Creative Writing tests
4️⃣ The Young Author Award test will be included as an option in this list, click to add to your child’s to-do list
5️⃣ Head to the Learn page and select the Young Author Award test from your to-do list to open the entry page
6️⃣ Your child writes their 500-word story in one sitting and submits it when they're done
Not yet on Atom Home? Start your free trial to take part.
We made this change to make the competition as fair as possible for every child who enters. In a world where AI tools are everywhere, we wanted to create a space where every story is genuinely the child's own. The entry page automatically sets a 500-word limit, and children have 1 hour to write their entry directly in the app.
It also gives every entrant the chance to experience Atom's creative writing tools first-hand.
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