Thanks so much for entering the “What’s Under The Bed?” creative writing competition. This was the perfect way to celebrate the launch of my new book, There’s No Such Thing As Humans.
I was absolutely blown away by how many entries I received… 305 to be exact! This little author’s heart is delighted to see so many young people passionately writing, and such fantastic stories too!
Receiving so many entries made me very happy… but it also made me very busy! Unfortunately, there was no way I could read all 305 before the launch on Sunday, especially as all but 28 of them arrived in my inbox just before the deadline on Friday.
At this stage, I have read and judged all of the entries from students aged nine and under only. You can find the shortlist below – congratulations to the shortlisted writers, and to everyone who entered their story!
If you are aged 10 or over (or you didn’t put your age on your entry) don’t worry, your story hasn’t been forgotten. Your stories will be judged in a separate competition with its own prize. Winners to be announced in the next few weeks.
Nine and Under Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
Bill Kelly – The Forgotten Land (under the bed)
Charlotte Clarke – Something Under the Bed
Freya Foy – A unicorn under my bed
Innis-Rose Poff – Ashley and The Dust Bunnies
Isaac Driver – What’s Under the Bed?
James Paul – Something under the bed
Kova Homik – The Whisper Under The Bed
Katie Love – Little Big Planets
Kira Wester – Under the bed
Naia Te Wake
Peira Dent – There is something under my bed!
Ryan Chan – Under a Bed, Lay a Little Rabbit
Nine and Under Winner
And the winner is… Bill Kelly!
Bill was able to attend the book launch at The Children’s Bookshop in Wellington on Sunday, and we read his story aloud. I can safely say the crowd were very impressed! Congratulations Bill!
You can read his fantastic story in the next post.

Ten and Over Entrants
I’ll be reading the entries from those aged 10 and over in the next couple of weeks. I know you’re all anxiously waiting to find out if you’re the winner of this category, so I will be in touch as soon as possible to announce it, once the winner has been chosen.
Thanks again for entering, everyone!
Helen Vivienne Fletcher