Talented young writers from Luton could win £150 plus £250 worth of books for their school in The Mall's competition

Talented young writers could win £150 as well as £250 worth of books for their school by taking part in a story writing competition run by The Mall in Luton.

The creative writing competition is all part of The Mall’s summer activities programme.

Judging will take place in two categories –children aged seven and under or eight and over.

If you need a little guidance, this will be available on Mondays between 11am and 4pm at the Summer Reading Garden at the Church Street windows.

A helper will be on hand to assist with inspiration and collecting submissions.

You can also enter by post, email or drop off at the Ask Me Point.

Continuing the storybook theme, a host of famous characters such as Paddington Bear, the Gruffalo, Peter Rabbit and The Very hungry Caterpillar will be at meet and greet events every Thursday.

The Reading Garden will be open from Monday (July 25) with books from Luton Libraries who are running the Gadgeteers Summer Reading Challenge 2022.

This takes place in local libraries every year, encouraging children to choose books that will enable them to reach their reading goals while collecting stickers and other rewards along the way.

Mall spokesperson Lavinia Douglass said: “We’re looking forward to seeing all the wonderfully unique ideas for our creative writing competition.

"This is a great opportunity to unleash your writing talents or try out something new with a fantastic prize for both the winners and their schools.”