★ The ninth FABO Story competition for 2021 has finished and author Michele Powles has chosen a winner! Click here to read her report.
★ The final FABO Story competition for this year is a fun poetry competition. Enter now!
Click here to take a look at the schedule for this year’s competitions.
Pop-up Poetry Challenge
With Elena de Roo and Melinda Szymanik
Using any of the starters below, or one of the pictures as inspiration, write a poem no longer than 25 lines. (It can be as short as you want). It’s okay to be inspired by a picture and use one of the starters.
Have fun – there are no rules in poetry! Your poems don’t have to rhyme but they can if you want them to. They don’t have to tell a story or even make sense, unless you want them to. You can have long lines or lines that are just one word or something in the middle. You can even make up new words just because they sound good.
Read your poem out loud — listen to the words and the rhythm they make. How does your poem make you feel? What shape does your poem make on the page?
You have two weeks to write your poem, so there’s no need to rush! Take your time and send us the best poem you can write.
Send your poem to us by 7pm Friday October 1st (NZ time).
You can enter TWO poems (at most).
The winner of the competition will be announced on this website a few days after the competition closes.
Here are some poetry prompts to get you started on your poem – they could be the title, the first line, the last line or somewhere in the middle.
• The last polar bear
• Everything was melting
• I held the golden ticket
• The moon was a frown, upside down
• One cup of plain words
• I climbed until the sky turned inky blue
• It smelled of green
• As quiet as the tiniest whisper
• Like a shiny marble
• The boom of moon tubers*
(*You can change the spelling to “moon tubas” if you prefer).
You must:
1. EITHER use one of the poetry prompt lines somewhere in your poem,
2. OR write a poem using one of the pictures on this page as inspiration.
3. OR you can use BOTH a poetry prompt line and a picture to inspire you.
well done Taylor! i think you deserve it! your story was really good
Yes, I agree with you Winnie!
omg i love this site its so cool and i like to just sit at home and write cause of this site it is so good
Ah! It’s so sad that this is the last competition… I love these! Will there be more next year? Please, please, please say yes…
Yes, we usually run the competitions every year. 🙂
OMG I just noticed that it was melinda szymanik is judging the story and she came to my school. I actually didn’t remember her name but I remembered her book ‘time machine’
wow, I did not know there are so many people in this site!!!!
I just entered my entry. I really love this site, I’ve been using it since lockdown first started.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME SITE!
My question:
Can a story winner become one of the authors? Just wondering!
Hi there. We’re glad you’re enjoying the stories. Our judges are all published authors so perhaps in a few years we may see story winners becoming judges. We hope so! Good luck with your entry.
OK
Very exciting
And thanks for the information
Hope you enjoy your day
Can I participate in the competition if I am not a resident of New Zeland ?
You are very welcome to participate, but if you win we may not be able to send you a prize, depending on where you are.
Can the story be less than 500 or 550 words, or does it have to be exactly 500 or 550?
We prefer stories to be less than 500 words.
Is it okay if our story finisher is really short?
It can be as short as you like.
hi who was the winner of the one with the liberty in the room, with Marco and uncle Tobey, during lockdown?
You can read past Judges’ Reports on our blog: https://fabostory.wordpress.com/writing-tips/
Is it OK if I use names of my family? Also, I love this site. Another quick question – can I use published material that is in a book?
Thanks!
Hi there. You can use any names you like in your story, but please don’t plagiarise, which means that you can’t copy sentences or passages from anyone else, including published books. Your story should be in your own words.
Is there a way we can count how many words we have used, or do we have to count them ourself?
You could write your story in Microsoft Word or Google Docs which have counters that will tell you how many words you’ve written. Then copy it into the form on the website to send it to us.
how do we know how many words it is?
You could write your story in Microsoft Word or Google Docs which have counters that will tell you how many words you’ve written. Then copy it into the form on the website to send it to us.
Hi,
Are you allowed to do this if you have just turned 14? And if you aren’t do you know of any places that do things like this just for older kids
Hi there. Sorry, the competition is for ages 13 and under. Check the Other Writing Competitions link at the top of this website. https://fabostory.wordpress.com/other-writing-competitions/
Hello! I really like this website and I enter every single time. Thank you soooo much for doing this for all of us! It can be really nice to come home from school and work on a short story! Thanks again! 🙂
Thanks for your comment. We’re glad you’re enjoying it!
Thank you very much Fabo Authors for creating this website! I really enjoy entering all the competitions and letting my imagination go wild!
Thanks again. : )
Quick query. If you win one competition, are you allowed to participate in the next one?
yes you are.
hi, are we aloud to add pictures to our stories? thanks 😊
Hi there. I’m sorry we have no way to receive pictures (you can’t put them in the form). Also, we would prefer to do the judging based solely on the story.
my story goes away when i sign out of my computer and now i cant see it any more and i allready submited it
If you submitted it then we have received it.
Excuse me. About the prize, are we allowed the Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself book? Thanks,
If you win the competition, you can request the Puffin book you want and they will check to make sure it’s in stock.
Hi,
Every one here is awesome!!
For privacy reasons, we can’t allow email addresses to be shown in the comments section of this site. If you post a comment asking anyone to email you, we will delete your comment.
Excuse me, but what’s the prize again? Thank you.
The prize is on the front page of this website.
I absolutely L♥VE these contests. I think I am going to participate in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM now. 🙂
Hi,I would just like to say I love this site and the stories are really fun to carry on!
Hi,
Will our story be disqualified if it is exactly 550 words?
550 words is okay.
Who’s the winner of the Second-Hand Shop one? The one by Weng Wai?
It’s Olivia Whale – you should definitely check out her story!
Here’s the link:
https://fabostory.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/fabo-story-report-for-competition-8-judged-by-weng-wai-chan/
( If the link doesn’t work, just go to the home page; a link will be there. )
Will you be notified by email if you are a winner?
If you want to get notified by email when the judges’ reports are published, use the ‘Follow Blog Via Email’ box on the right side of the page to subscribe.
When will the winners be announced? Thank you.
The winner of the competition will be announced on this website a few days after the competition closes.
Thanks
Hi, I have worked really hard on my story and only just realised that it is over 550 words. Will I still be disqualified?
Hi there. Entries over 550 words will be disqualified. You could trim your story down to 550 words and send it to us again.
Hi, could I write a story starter?
The current judge writes the story starter. Our judges are award-winning NZ authors who donate their time to run the competition.
hi i am new to this can it be of a movie but a bit different in my own words
The competition is to use the story starter and finish the story. As long as you do that, your story can be whatever you want.
for this story starter have to be Weng Wai for the main character ???
The main character can be whomever you want.
Can we do exactly 550 words?
Also, can we have holes in the story or ending? Like a cliff hanger? With and ending sorta like, ‘I don’t know what that man wanted with the wand, I think it’s just a toy or something. I found someone who was interested in it, so I sold it for a good $3.50. Maybe I’ll find out about that wand soon. However, I do not yet know.’ Can I do an ending something like that? Thank you.
From other comments I have read u can but the judges prefer a ending
You can end your story however you like.
Can we have exactly 550 words?
Yes
Is there an entry fee?
No there isn’t.
I accidentally submitted mine twice, is that ok?
That’s okay.
hi,
I have a question if the story does not say the persons name are you allowed to make it up??????????
Yes, you can make up any details you like.
Do you have to do your writing on Word, or can you do it on something like google docs?
You can write your story however you want.
I miss read the date and thought it was today I was supposed to submit it. Could I submit my writing still?
I’m sorry, the last competition has closed. But the new competition will start on May 25th.
were do you find the winners of the last few stores?
On the blog. https://fabostory.wordpress.com/writing-tips/
Can our entry be exactly 550 words?
550 words is okay, but joint entries are not allowed. Individual entries only, please.
What are joint entries?
A story written by two people working together.
can we make the person die in the end? or does the judges think that is a cliffhanger?
You can end your story however you like.
Is It Ok If I Used Google Docs To Help Me As In The Word Count?
Yes
hi there can the same person win more than once? thanks
Each competition has a different judge so there is no cross-over between competitions. It’s up to that week’s judge to choose the best story, and they could choose a story written by someone who has won before.
where is word?
also,when is this story judged?
You’ll find this information on the website.
Microsoft Word is a software program. Most text editing software has a word count function.
hey i cant find the word counter?
There is no word counter on the website. We recommend you write your story in Word or another text editing program, then copy it into the form on the website.
Hi,im not quite sure how many words I have typed?
Try writing your story in Word. It has a word counter.
Hi, I entered an older comp, do you get an email if you don’t win? Or was my one missed out? Thanks
Check the blog to read the judges’ reports for older competitions (https://fabostory.wordpress.com/writing-tips/). If you want to get notified by email when the judges’ reports are published, use the ‘Follow Blog Via Email’ box on the right side of the page to subscribe.
This Is My Probs Second Time On Fabo I Am Wondering Where Do I Write My Story?
It’s best to write your story using another program (like Word) and then copy it into the form on the website to send it to us.