Bournemouth Writing Festival partners with Waggy Tails Rescue for 2026 Children’s Writing Competition
- hello942758
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
The Bournemouth Writing Festival has today announced a new partnership with local animal charity Waggy Tails Rescue for its 2026 free writing competition for Dorset-based schools and home-educated children.
This year’s theme, “Every Dog Deserves a Home” invites children to create stories and poems around man’s best friend, tying into themes of loyalty, companionship, and of course, love.
Open to Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils across Dorset, the competition is designed to encourage creativity, compassion and storytelling skills while highlighting Waggy Tails Rescue’s work in rehoming dogs.
The deadline for entries is Sunday 15th March 2026, and winners will be invited to a special celebration at the Bournemouth Writing Festival in April.
Free Resources for Schools and Educators
To support participation, the festival is offering a free downloadable educator pack on its website, including:
An exclusive video filmed with the Waggy Tails team introducing the charity and its dogs
PowerPoint slides and writing prompts to help teachers guide pupils through the competition
Tips on writing excellent poetry and short stories
The resources are designed to make it easy for teachers and home-educators to integrate the competition into lessons or creative writing activities.
Prizes
For the fourth consecutive year, writers from the Hengistbury Head Writers’ Group will judge the entries. Winners from each age category will:
Be a special guest at a Waggy Tails dog show
Publication in the charity’s publication
Goody bag
A celebration event on Saturday 25th April at Patch during the Bournemouth Writing Festival
Certificates for all winners
Stories/poems displayed at Bournemouth Library
Going into its fourth year, the double-award-winning Bournemouth Writing Festival puts on 100 free and ticketed writing events and activities for people of all ages from 24-26 April. This year, on Saturday 25th April, the first floor of Patch will be taken over with free activities for children, hosted by Artfulscribe, with four ticketed workshops by writing professionals including Erni Salleh and Rohan Gotobed.
Dominic Wong, Festival Director of the Bournemouth Writing Festival, said:“Dogs inspire such warmth, empathy and imagination in children. Partnering with Waggy Tails Rescue allows us to celebrate creativity while raising awareness of a brilliant local charity. We hope young writers will join us in telling stories that show why every dog truly deserves a loving home.”
Shelagh Meredith, Chairperson for Waggy Tails Rescue added:“We’re delighted to work with the Bournemouth Writing Festival to encourage children to think about rescue dogs and the importance of giving animals a second chance. We cannot wait to read the entries and meet the winners.”
How to Enter
Competition details, entry forms and downloadable resources are available at: www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk
About Bournemouth Writing Festival
The Bournemouth Writing Festival runs from 24th to 26th April 2026 in venues across Bournemouth Town Centre with 100 free and ticketed events and activities to inspire writers to write. Activities specifically tailored for children run on Saturday 25th April at Patch (first floor of Bobbys).
About Waggy Tails Rescue
Waggy Tails Rescue Centre is a registered charity based in Dorset dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming dogs in need across East Dorset and West Hampshire. Thousands of unwanted and abandoned dogs have been re-homed into new, loving family environments. Waggy Tails also runs an advice service which deals with pet problems and can direct enquiries to the best available help if they cannot help themselves. They have also found new homes for cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, hamsters, mice, budgies, one-legged cockatiels, battery chickens, 3 horses, 2 goats, 1 duck and lots of parrots.
More information is available at https://waggytails.org.uk/
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