The winner of the Blue Peter Amazing Authors announced 10-year-old Phoebe from Devon, U.K. as the winner of the writing competition for kids, run in partnership with The Reading Agency and BBC Arts.
Phoebe’s poem, There’s a Big Bad Wolf, won a once-in-a-lifetime prize for the young scribe, as she has seen her work turned into a book and a short animated film produced by award-winning animation studio Aardman, thanks to funding from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants.
As part of the incredible prize, Phoebe went behind the scenes at Aardman to meet with director Åsa Lucander (Lost Property, Get Well Soon, The Imperfectionist) and see how the studio brings characters to life, before receiving a printed version of her story. Phoebe also contributed to the sound effects in the short animated film, voicing the sighs and gasps of the central character. Phoebe also visited the BBC studios in Salford, the home of BBC Philharmonic, to hear the soundtrack being recorded by the full orchestra.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have won a competition that so many people entered. I’ve always wanted to be an author and I can’t believe that my story has been chosen to be made into a book and an animation — it’s the best prize ever!” says Phoebe, who wants to be a writer when she grows up. “I had an amazing time going behind the scenes at Aardman and had so much fun meeting and chatting with the people who’ve created the animation for my story, and I really enjoyed having a go at drawing on the computer. It was so exciting meeting Tom Fletcher too, as I’m such a big fan, and hearing him read my story was so surreal! I’ve had such an amazing and magical time!”
Narrated by McFly singer and children’s author Tom Fletcher (The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas), the animation will be shown on BBC iPlayer and the Friday, July 21 episode of CBBC’s Blue Peter, as well as on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Phoebe will make an appearance live on Blue Peter, as the proud recipient of an Orange Badge — to add to the blue, green and purple ones she has already collected.
“Almost 8,000 kids entered the Amazing Authors competition, so massive congratulations to everyone who entered, and to Phoebe who won!” says Fletcher. “I loved reading her story There’s a Big Bad Wolf, it’s so brilliantly creative and the illustrations and animation are incredible, I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy it on Blue Peter and as a CBeebies Bedtime Story. There are not many 10-year olds who can say that their story is in print in their local library. She’s an inspiration!”
Suzy Klein, Head of Arts and Classical Music TV, notes, “I’m delighted that BBC Arts helped to create this exciting competition; and huge congratulations to our winner Phoebe, whose story captured the imagination of all the judges. I can’t wait for audiences on Blue Peter, CBeebies Bedtime Story and BBC iPlayer to see it in its full animated glory; and for audiences on BBC Sounds to hear it, narrated by the successful children’s writer Tom Fletcher.
“We’re really grateful to The Reading Agency for their support and to Arts Council England for helping make this a prize that money can’t buy. It’s been fantastic to witness the boundless imagination of the next generation of authors and I feel sure the UK’s literary future is in good hands.”
The Amazing Authors competition is a collaboration between BBC Studios Kids & Family, BBC Arts and The Reading Agency. Working with The Reading Agency, the competition engaged children across the country and feedback showed appreciation from grown-ups that it helped children who need extra support with creative writing.
Young viewers were asked to pen a short story or poem, and Phoebe’s writing stood out to judges with her descriptive and imaginative poem about a wolf who lives at the back of her shed. The winning entry impressed the judges with the strong characters Phoebe had created, as well as with the quirky humor in her poem.
There’s a Big Bad Wolf was directed by Aardman’s Åsa Lucander and produced by Danny Gallagher. Blue Peter is a BBC Studios Kids & Family Production for CBBC.
