The winners of the 2025 Wicked Writers: Be the Change writing competition, devised for young writers by the National Literacy Trust and the London stage musical Wicked, as part of its cultural and social education programme Wicked Active Learning, have been announced.
Wicked Writers: Be the Change prompted young people to use their writing skills to advocate for local change, and a record-breaking 2400 children across the UK have made their voices heard about the positive actions they would take to better their local area including advocating for women’s safety, improving public transport and bringing communities together.
The winner in the 9-11 age group is Lucia, aged 9, from London who wrote a creative piece about pollution in the River Thames from the perspective of an oxygen particle ‘living’ in the river.
Joey, aged 11 from Glasgow is the runner-up in this category with their impassioned letter to a local councillor about saving the old and beloved football pitch at his school.
The winner in the 11-14 age group is Megan, aged 13, from Leeds who impressed the judges with a story about how improved public transport and infrastructure could improve women and girls’ safety and confidence moving around their communities.
Violet, aged 13, from Lancashire, is the runner-up in the older age category, having also explored women’s safety and even conducted her own local survey to include original data in her essay.
Wicked Writers: Be the Change seeks to inspire pupils across the UK to write and use their voices to change the world for the better. This is more vital than ever as recent research from the National Literacy Trust found that children and young people’s writing enjoyment levels are at their lowest since 2010 [1].
According to the charity’s research, giving young people the opportunity to write to support the causes they care about can be a powerful motivator to write [2] and competitions can encourage a love for writing during their free time, [3] which can have huge benefits to their academic success, skills and their creativity and wellbeing.
Returning to the competition’s judging panel this year is best-selling children’s author-illustrator Cressida Cowell, best known for ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘The Wizards of Once’. Joining this year’s judging panel for the first time is author Manjeet Mann, whose book ‘The Crossing’ won the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2022. The fantastic judging panel also includes National Literacy Trust Chief Executive Jonathan Douglas CBE.
Tim Judge, Head of Schools Programmes at the National Literacy Trust said: “It has been inspiring to receive so many passionate and creative essays and stories from young people who care deeply about their communities, and to see them use creative writing to express their ideas. When children enjoy writing, you can see the positive impact not just on their writing skills, but to their critical thinking, their confidence, their creativity, and their wellbeing. Our research shows that taking part in writing competitions is a great way to inspire that all-important love of writing, and so we are thrilled that the Wicked Writers competition has already encouraged over 2400 children to get creative and get into the habit of writing.”
Cressida Cowell, author and judge said: “Competitions like Wicked Young Writers are so important because they give you a deadline, which is important as an author! I have entered a few competitions both as a child and as an adult, and they’ve been instrumental in my career. Congratulations to all of the winners, those on the shortlist and everyone who entered. I have always enjoyed judging the Wicked Young Writers Award because the standard is extremely high.”
Manjeet Mann, author and judge said: “Being a judge for this year’s Wicked Writers Competition was truly inspiring. These young writers didn’t just tell stories, they shared bold ideas and heartfelt visions for how to make their communities better places. It’s incredible to see how writing can empower kids to think deeply, speak up, and spark real change. Competitions like this don’t just nurture creativity—they help grow future leaders.”
The judges described Lucia’s winning entry in the 9-11 age group as: “This is a wonderfully original, playful and highly visual piece. By inhabiting the voice of an oxygen particle in the River Thames, this piece sends a powerful yet subtle message about the problems of plastic pollution. We felt this could be an animation, or even on the stage: a theatrical, memorable story.”
After hearing about their win, Lucia said: “I loved taking part in the competition and creating a story all about looking after the planet. It was so exciting that I would love to turn my character into a comic book hero.”
Megan said: “I am delighted to have won and hope to inspire others to stand up for those who are vulnerable within their community. I am passionate about the safety of women and used this opportunity to express my concern for young people’s safety. I would recommend that anyone take part in the competition to convey their own thoughts about a topic that is special to them.”
The two winning pupils have won whole-class or writing group trips to see Wicked in London and a class writing workshop with Manjeet Mann, where they will learn how to craft a great persuasive essay or story, and tips on making their voice and passion heard.
References:
[1] Children and young people’s writing in 2024 | National Literacy Trust
[2] Children and young people’s letter writing in 2021 | National Literacy Trust
[3] Children and young people’s writing in 2024 | National Literacy
