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Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Libraries Service is on the hunt for the next Agatha Christie or Robin Stevens. The service is launching its annual Young Crime Writers competition on Wednesday 9 October.

The competition is open to residents of Bath and North East Somerset under the age of 17 on Monday 10 February. There is no minimum age and the age of the author will be taken into consideration during judging.

Councillor Kevin Guy, cabinet member for Children’s Services, said, “We want to nurture future writing talent and this is a fantastic opportunity for budding young writers to let their imagination run wild and create a story committing the perfect crime. Our judges will be looking for originality, imagination and creativity; characterisation; inventiveness of plot, in particular how clues are laid for the reader and the plot resolved and above all the writer’s ability to tell a story, capture the reader and hold their attention.”

Stories should be 1,000 words or less and have a crime story theme. Entries must be received no later than Monday 10 February 2020.

Shortlisted authors will be invited to a special awards ceremony during the Easter holidays. Prizes include books and book tokens.

The competition is sponsored by Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights.

For more information, advice and entry forms pop in to your local library or visit www.bathnes.gov.uk/youngwriterscomp