Anyone fancy a go at this?

· Submit your bedtime story for children to Nickelodeon by November 10 2006. Entries should be no longer than 500 words and should be sent with a completed entry form available from www.nickjr.co.uk/bedtime. · Entries can be submitted online via www.nickjr.co.uk/bedtime, by email to nickjrstories@frankpr.it or by post to Nick Jr, Once Upon A Bedtime Competition, 15-18 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1H6. The three winners will have their story turned into a short animation to be screened on Nick Jr early next year

There's more to read about it, by Michael Rosen, in today's Guardian Family - Write a Children's Story

Thanks for this - luckily (?) I have a glut of unpublished bedtime stories to choose from!

Emily

Funnily enough, I just happen to be reading my son Luke Michael Rosen's Hairy Tails and Nursery Crimes at bedtime. Tonight it was 'Goldisocks and the wee bears' and Luke (aged 6) at one point was laughing so much he fell out of bed. He lay on the floor and continued to squeak with laughter for many minutes. There was a joke about wee. He declared after that it was the funniest book ever, funnier even than Captain Underpants.

How gorgeous to go to bed laughing. I must put some wee jokes in my stories!

My daughter loves the Roger McGough poem called Kiwis. It goes (roughly from memory)

To amuse emus on very dark nights,
Kiwis do wee wees from spectacular heights.

Or something. I think the lines are a different length. Check out the original version. It is class!

S

That sounds right up Luke's street. Is it in a particular collection?

Thanks Merry, will have a go. Sounds fun

Roger,

We have the McGough poem in an anthology. I think it's the one at the following link.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Best-Selected-Roger-McGough/dp/0141316373

And the poem is actually called 'Wiwis'. And it was warm summer nights, not dark ones! (I've just Googled it!)

The anthology overall is great. My daughter re-reads her favourites all the time.

S

I just received the following message from someone via my British SCBWI digest (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/britishscbwi/) and thought I should pass it on. I haven't looked at this comp. so I can't say if this is accurate or not, but this is what was said:
The terms and conditions of this contest are absolutely terrible, and a
complete rip off. It was hair raising to read it. Merely by submitting an
entry you seem to be giving them all rights to it.

I somehow thought it would be okay because Michael Rosen was on it but -
wow. I wonder if he knows he's fronting something like this. He always seems
a very nice person. Does anyone know him? He ought to know. .

Any other writer's groups out there also ought to know not to touch this
contest. I myself will mention it to the Society of Authors.

Unfortunately I did send off a little story. I have written to Nick Jr.and
said that my entry was a mistake and I do not intend it to be a submission
to their contest.

Wish I had read the rules more carefully - I usually do too. I think Michael
Rosen's smiling face lulled me into a false sense of security!.

I just received the following message from someone via my British SCBWI digest (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/britishscbwi/) and thought I should pass it on. I haven't looked at this comp. so I can't say if this is accurate or not, but this is what was said:
The terms and conditions of this contest are absolutely terrible, and a
complete rip off. It was hair raising to read it. Merely by submitting an
entry you seem to be giving them all rights to it.

I somehow thought it would be okay because Michael Rosen was on it but -
wow. I wonder if he knows he's fronting something like this. He always seems
a very nice person. Does anyone know him? He ought to know. .

Any other writer's groups out there also ought to know not to touch this
contest. I myself will mention it to the Society of Authors.

Unfortunately I did send off a little story. I have written to Nick Jr.and
said that my entry was a mistake and I do not intend it to be a submission
to their contest.

Wish I had read the rules more carefully - I usually do too. I think Michael
Rosen's smiling face lulled me into a false sense of security!.

<Added>

I've just looked at Bandy Bundy's post in the Children's forum re. this - the submission guidelines do look appalling, I have to say.

<Added>

I've just looked at Bandy Bundy's post in the Children's forum re. this - the submission guidelines do look appalling, I have to say.

Obviously it's not something that an established author would consider, as there are no royalties, but the overall prize is worth more than I can expect to receive for the most of the commissioned writing projects I take on from several (big) publishers, so I thought 'why not?' It's not going to make the winner a millionaire overnight but it might help someone who is trying to get noticed.

<Added>

Not suggesting that everyone should ignore what's being pointed out, of course, but to give a world-famous example I'll bet Beatrix Potter would be proud rather than bitter to see how far-reaching and profound her Peter Rabbit had become - she didn't own the copyright; someone else got rich off that little gem.

Hi Myrtle,

They aren't even guaranteeing to give a prize. If they don't think any of the entries are good enough then - tough.

Also, even if your work doesn't win they own the copyright and you can't do anything else with it, as well as, any ideas contained within the body of the work???? (is that really possible)

My story was the first in a series following a similar theme and I'd loose all rights to the 'series' (not saying I'd have won or it has any chance of being published in the future) - just wouldn't want to take the chance in order to line Nickelodeon's pockets

Read the full T&C's at children's, it's pretty onerous.

Kev.

I shall do, Kev! Sounds very fishy.

It does all sound completely insane. Ignore everything I said!

Ahhh, I have written an email to Nickelodeon and feel MUCH better now. I might do one to the Guardian as well...I'm feeling feisty. Anyone care to join me?