Write a Book in a Day
At the beginning of Term 3, 56 students from Year 7 -10 sat down in the Applecross staffroom from 8am to 4pm on one day and . . . wrote eight books.
Write a Book in a Day, organised by the Kids’ Cancer Project, is an annual event for budding young authors and illustrators with a strong community spirit. The focus for participating teams is to write a book for kids with cancer to enjoy while raising money for this group of young people who have such a tough path through life.
This year was the biggest gathering of young creative minds we have ever had for this event; its popularity grows each year at Applecross. This year’s students were particularly amazing; they started with immense creative gusto, fuelled perhaps by a little sugar uptake, and ended with consummate professionalism. It is captivating to watch how each unique team individualises the task of incorporating all the parameters and requirements set by the organisers, even to the point of having an ‘Adjective Man’ whose sole job it is to add in more descriptive detail to the written chapters!
The project fulfils so many needs in so many ways: how often to do we see students sustain their efforts as a team on one project for eight hours to achieve a shared goal while assuming the role of experts? Perhaps the most important feature, however, is that they have heaps of creative fun in the process. We are so proud of them.
September sees the close of the competition. After this, the books will be available to view and read. Go to Kids’ Cancer Project Write a Book in a Day, click Online library and enjoy these incredible works produced by our students.
Australia’s most inspiring writing competition
Write a Book in a Day is the ultimate test of teamwork, challenging writers to create something great within a 12-hour time period. Prizes and awards are up for grabs for state and national winners, while there is also a need to fundraise in the lead-up for childhood cancer research.
Teams of 5-10 participants choose any day between 1 May and 30 September to write and illustrate an entire book. Each team will be given unique parameters for their story for their chosen writing day, ensuring that no one gets a head start!
Every book submitted will also be made available for free to kids in hospitals around Australia, potentially changing a child’s day in hospital, while funds raised will work to get them out of hospital and back in the classroom sooner.
All books submitted will be assessed by our talented team of judges, and there are prizes on offer throughout the competition. Winners of the ‘Best Overall Book’ and ‘Best Illustrations’ prizes will be chosen from each state as well as nationally at the end of the competition.