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Rachel Rooney and Joseph Coelho

Finish the Poem! Win a Prize!

Happy 2 October, AKA National Poetry day!

To mark this special day, we’ve got a lovely new competition for you, courtesy of Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, and poets Joseph Coehlo and Rachel Rooney.

All you have to do is finish one of these poems, started for you by Joseph Coehlo and Rachel Rooney, with ten lines of your own poetry!

The winner will receive a set of Frances Lincoln poetry books, including a copy of Rachel’s new anthology My Life as a Goldfish, and Joseph’s new anthology, Werewolf Club Rules.

Here are the first two lines from Wide Open – a poem in My Life As a Goldfish by Rachel Rooney:

“My magic eye sees the sticky beak of a baby chick
before the eggshell has broken…”

Here’s Joseph Coehlo’s poem-starter:

“The Robot slowly removed its batteries
and then…”

Good Luck

Create a profile or sign in to enter the competition!

Terms and Conditions

  • The closing date for the competition is 2 November 2014.
  • Winning poems will be available on this website from 10 November. Poems may also be published elsewhere.
  • Competition is open to UK and Eire residents only, and entrants must be aged 12 years or under. The judges’ decision is final.

Information for adults

Schools

Visit our School Zone to access free resources and Challenge ideas for your class.

Families

Visit our Home Zone, full of useful Challenge information for parents, grandparents and carers. For information about supporting reading in the early years visit our Pre-School Zone.

Libraries

Visit our Library Zone to find libraries near you running the challenge, and how to take part.