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Talking History
A history public speaking competition for pupils in years 5 and 6
Entries to the 2024 competition are now closed.
Following the success of our Great Debate competition for secondary students, we are delighted to announce that we are piloting a new history public speaking competition for primary pupils.
Who is my local history hero?
The question of the Talking History competition...
Talking History
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Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2022
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-19 years
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-19 years
After another year of high-quality fiction writing from our young people, we are pleased to announce that the winners in all of the categories are:
School Years 5-6:
Eloise Burt – The HMS Titanic. Old Priory Junior Academy, Plymouth
Hannah Tan...
Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2022
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2024 – the winners
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-15 years
Real history contains some of the most fanciful, exciting, worrying and incredible stories – learning about the past can open our eyes to how people have interacted with the world and each other for centuries. It is not surprising that alongside the real history most cultures and traditions have a...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2024 – the winners
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2020 – Winners Announced
HA competitions news
This has been one of our best years for entries ever!
With children stuck at home needing a little extra something to do we decided to extend the competition to accommodate home learning, as well as a new age category for pupils in years 10-13. We received well over a...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2020 – Winners Announced
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Film: Write your own historical fiction
Webinar
Film: Write your own historical fiction
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Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2021
The HA's writing competition for children ages 10-19 years
This writing competition seeks to encourage young people to express their creative sides alongside a strong understanding of a historical period, event or theme. This year despite restrictions, further lockdowns and uncertainty the number and quality of entries remained high, as well as being imaginative, exciting, well researched and a...
Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2021
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2024
The Historical Association Historical Fiction Prize
Entries to the 2024 competition are now closed.
Each year we are so impressed by the ever increasing number and standard of entries we receive around such a wide range of historical periods and settings. You can take a look at some of last year’s winning entries here.
Unleash the creativity...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2024
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2023 – the winners
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-19 years
Being inspired by stories of the past to tell stories for today has kept people entertained for hundreds of years. Take a look at the shelves in any bookshop and there will be plenty of historical fiction. That is why we believe in starting them young at the HA, and...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2023 – the winners
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Young Historian Awards 2025 – take part (Primary prizes)
History competition for primary schools
We want young people to get the bug for writing about history in an interesting and critical way. Each year the Historical Association in collaboration with the Spirit of Normandy Trust offers a series of awards to Primary school children for outstanding history scholarship. Children are asked to investigate, think and write about history. The...
Young Historian Awards 2025 – take part (Primary prizes)
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Young Historian Awards 2021 – Winners
Annual competition, HA and The Spirit of Normandy Trust
Each year the Historical Association partners with The Spirit of Normandy Trust to award young historians who have shown excellent knowledge and demonstrated historical argument around a subject associated with a series of themes. The competition is divided into age brackets and the entry at secondary level is by essay...
Young Historian Awards 2021 – Winners
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Young Historian Awards 2023 – the winners
Annual history competition for schools
Each year the Historical Association partners with The Spirit of Normandy Trust to recognise young historians who have shown excellent knowledge and demonstrated historical argument around a subject associated with a series of themes. The competition is divided into age brackets and the entry at secondary level is by essay,...
Young Historian Awards 2023 – the winners
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Young Historian Awards 2019 – Winners
Annual competition, HA and The Spirit of Normandy Trust
Each year the Historical Association partners with The Spirit of Normandy Trust to award young historians who have shown excellent knowledge and demonstrated historical argument around a subject associated with a series of themes. The competition is divided into age brackets and the entry at secondary level is by essay judged...
Young Historian Awards 2019 – Winners
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Young Historian Awards 2020 – Winners
Annual competition, HA and The Spirit of Normandy Trust
Each year the Historical Association partners with The Spirit of Normandy Trust to award young historians who have shown excellent knowledge and demonstrated historical argument around a subject associated with a series of themes. The competition is divided into age brackets and the entry at secondary level is by essay...
Young Historian Awards 2020 – Winners
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Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
Annual history competition for schools
This was a very positive year for the Young Historian Awards. The judging panel continue to be delighted by the quality of the work submitted in a variety of formats by young historians. Although entry levels were lower than during the pandemic, the data confirms that, with the exception of...
Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
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Young Historian Awards 2024 – the winners
16th September 2024
Spirit of Normandy Trust Senior
Vivaan Davda – The Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai
Spirit of Normandy Trust Key Stage 3
Joshua Broadbent – Royal Grammar School, Guildford
Spirit of Normandy Trust Primary
Salisbury Cathedral School
Best School History Magazine [sponsored by the Mid-Trent and Mercia Branch]
St Alban’s School
Stockport...
Young Historian Awards 2024 – the winners
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Young Quills winners 2020
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction
6-9 years category:
The Closest Thing to FlyingBy Gill Lewis, Oxford University Press
10-13 years category:
Our Castle by the SeaBy Lucy Strange, Chicken House
14 years + category:
The Stolen OnesBy Vanessa Curtis, Usborne Publishing
Highly commended:
6-9 years category:
Winter of the Wolves By Tony Bradman, Bloomsbury
10-13...
Young Quills winners 2020
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Young Quills Awards 2019 – the winners
16th July 2019
Announcing this year’s winners of the HA's Young Quills Historical Fiction Competition for children and young adults:
6–10 years category: Janina Ramirez for Riddle of the Runes (Oxford University Press)
11–13 years category: Pippa Goodhart for The Great Sea Dragon Discovery (Catnip Publishers)
14 years and above category: Elizabeth Wein...
Young Quills Awards 2019 – the winners
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Young Quills winners 2022
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
We are delighted to announce the 2022 competition winners for the Historical Association’s Young Quills Awards for Historical Fiction for children and young adults:
Ages 5–9 years category:
Winner: The Chessmen Thief by Barbara Henderson, Pokey Hat, Cranachan PublishingHighly commended: The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr, Bloomsbury Publishing
Ages 10–13...
Young Quills winners 2022
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Young Quills winners 2024
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
The Young Quills winners and highly commended have been announced for his year. This competition for historical fiction for children is a way of celebrating and recognising those authors who are continuing the long tradition of creative writing about the past for children.
All of the books are reviewed by...
Young Quills winners 2024
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Young Quills winners 2023
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
It is with great pleasure that the HA is able to announce the winners of the Young Quills for Historical Fiction for 2023:
Young readers category
Winner: Tony Bradman for Bruno and Frida (Barrington Stoke)Highly Commended: Judith Eagle for Accidental Stowaway (Faber)
Intermediate category
Winner: Tom Palmer for Resist (Barrington...
Young Quills winners 2023
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The Young Quills Shortlist 2022
5th May 2022
The Historical Association is excited to announce the shortlist for the Young Quills, the annual awards for children’s and young adult historical fiction.
5-9 years
The Chessmen Thief, by Barbara Henderson, Pokey Hat Edgar and Adolf, by Phil Earle and Michael Wagg, OUP Oxford The Royal Rebel, by Bali Rai, Barrington...
The Young Quills Shortlist 2022
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Young Quills 2024 – the longlist
HA annual awards for best historical fiction for young people
Each year, the Historical Association runs ‘Young Quills’, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults (14+). The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2023 for this year’s selection.
Our...
Young Quills 2024 – the longlist
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Young Quills shortlist 2024
HA annual awards for best historical fiction for young people
It is here! We are delighted to announce the shortlist for 2024 Young Quills Awards for Historical Fiction. You can read reviews of all this year's entries here.
For readers aged 5-8 years
Title
Author
Publisher
Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion
Dave Eggers (illus Júlia Sardà)
Walker
The Most Famous Rhinoceros...
Young Quills shortlist 2024
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Young Quills reviews 2020
HA annual awards for best historical fiction for young people
The Young Quills Awards for Historical Fiction are annual awards that recognize the best in historical fiction for young people.
The way the HA organises the awards is that publishers nominate their new historical fiction books from the previous year, copies of those books are sent to schools, and the reviews of...
Young Quills reviews 2020
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Young Quills 2011
Young Quills 2011
The Young Quills is a major award for children's historical fiction started by the Historical Association in 2009. The award aims to promote an enjoyment and awareness of history. We are convinced that reading historical fiction is one of the best ways to do this.
To be eligible for the...
Young Quills 2011
