Promoting Creative Writing in Manchester

Trafford 500 Words invites children from Year 3 to Year 6 to write a short story for an annual competition. It was created by teacher Wendi Swan, who wanted to encourage children to inspire children to keep writing during lockdown, and to help them to realise that they were still part of a community.

2022 Awards Ceremony

See the details to join our online Awards Ceremony, taking place on Friday 8^th July at 10am.

See the Ceremony Details

Creative Writing Workshops

Schools participating in the Trafford 500 Word writing competition are warmly invited to Zoom writing workshops with English teacher and Manchester University Education Researcher Rebecca Grant, to get those creative juices flowing! The sessions will be suitable for all KS2 children.

How it works

Learn how the competition works.

Learn How It Works

Get Involved

Click the button to see how you can involved your school in the competition. All Manchester Primary Schools are welcome, and entry is free of charge.

Get Involved

Read Previous Entries

Each year, all of the stories by our winners and runnners-up are published in an anthology, and one story is produced as a video. Click the button below to view a list of previous anthologies and videos.

View Past Entries

Past Winners

2021: Mehek Ahmed

Mehek (aged 10, Highfield Primary School) was the winner of our first competition Trafford 500 words, with her story The Magical Door. Her entry was selected from over 2,000 stories by the judges

Promoting Creative Writing in Manchester

2022 Awards Ceremony

Creative Writing Workshops

How it works

Get Involved

Read Previous Entries

Past Winners

2021: Mehek Ahmed

Contact Us

Manchester 500 Words is Supported by

SEED Social Responsibility, The University of Manchester