News UK’s Virgin Radio announced the winners of the ‘500 words: Black Lives Matter’ competition live on air.
The competition, hosted by Angellica Bell and Michael Underwood and supported by Virgin Radio aimed to engage young people from all backgrounds in creative expression, building on the international conversation around Black Lives Matter.
Throughout the week, eight finalists were showcased, with celebrity readings from David Tennant, Shobna Gulati, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Abbington, Rob Brydon, Stephen Graham and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
Out of almost 6,000 submissions from children all over the country, two winners were announced in today’s show (Friday). In the 5-9 age group, the winning story is ‘I FEEL OUT OF CONTROL!’ by Sara and in the 10-13 age group, the winning story is ‘Kristofer Was Quiet In School Today’ by Lucy. You can read all the final submissions here.
Amazon Alexa users will be able to listen to the stories of all eight finalists through the Audible Stories Alexa Skill, by simply asking “Alexa, read me a 500 Words story”.
In addition to having their stories made available on Amazon Alexa, all eight finalists are also set to receive a print from illustrator Charlie Mackesy and will be included in a book containing a selection of the 500 Words: Black Lives Matter stories, set to be published by Studio Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK in September. The book is expected to retail at £6.99, and any royalties will be matched by the publisher and donated to children’s literacy and children’s BAME charities.
