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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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Great Debate FAQs
The Great Debate
Below are some frequently asked questions about the Great Debate and the logistics of the heats.
If you need more information, you can get in touch with us directly at greatdebate@history.org.uk.
How does the debate work?
Each student will have five minutes to deliver their argument in response to the...
Great Debate FAQs
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Young Quills 2017 - Longlist Secondary
The Young Quills
Answer: The Historical Association’s The Young Quills selection
The Young Quills are awards for the best new historical fiction for children and young people.
The emphasis is on new – each year lots of books are published for children, many of them covering historical themes. However, are they any good...
Young Quills 2017 - Longlist Secondary
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2025
The Historical Association Historical Fiction Prize
Entries for this year's competition are now closed. The winners will be posted on this website in September/October. Next year's competition will open at the end of 2025.
Each year we are so impressed by the ever increasing number and standard of entries we receive around such a wide range of...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2025
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Young Quills reviews 2022
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction
The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2021 for this year’s selection. Divided by age suitability the books are given to schools on the condition that the children and young people there write...
Young Quills reviews 2022
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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 reviews 2024
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
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. Divided by age suitability the books are given to schools on the condition that the children and young people there write...
Young Quills reviews 2024
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Young Quills reviews 2023
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2022 for this year’s selection. Divided by age suitability the books are given to schools on the condition that the children and young people there write...
Young Quills reviews 2023
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Young Quills shortlist for 2025
The HA's 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 2024 for this year’s selection.
Our aim...
Young Quills shortlist for 2025
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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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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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Advice on Public Speaking
Podcast
At the Taunton/South West England heat of the Great Debate the head judge, Marcus Paul (Deputy Head of Queens College, Taunton), gave some valuable tips on public speaking.
If you are interested in public speaking or want to take part in our next Great Debate competition this podcast will prove...
Advice on Public Speaking
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Suffrage Poster Competition Winners
17th July 2019
Congratulations to four students from Newport Girls' High School – Daniah, Romaisa, Hetavi and Saira – who created the winning poster for our Suffrage competition.
The poster had a modern message while demonstrating research and inspiration from a local suffragist from the past. The judges at the HA were very...
Suffrage Poster Competition Winners
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Young Quills 2019 shortlist
Young Quills Awards
Books, books, books – we’ve been surrounded by books in the HA office and what is more, we’ve been relying on other people to tell us about them. Yes, it’s been Young Quills reviewing time. From the start of this year pupils and students around the country have been delving...
Young Quills 2019 shortlist
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Young Quills Awards 2010 Reviews
Reviews
Reviews attached below
The Historical Association announces the shortlist for the 2010 Young Quills Award. This prize has two separate categories; Primary and Secondary, although some books obviously fit into both categories. Books are selected for the shortlist by children reviewers in each category.
In order to qualify for the...
Young Quills Awards 2010 Reviews
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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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Great Debate Final 2025
14th April 2025
Winner:
Quinn Scott – Chesterton Community College, Cambridge
Runners up:
Anya Bensouiah – Kendrick School, Reading
Fred Bosley – The King’s School, Canterbury
Aimee Nelson – Bablake School, Coventry
Finalists:
Emily Tweddle, Earlston High School, Scottish Borders
Hannah Brearton, Upton Hall, Oxford
Rosie Thomson, The Maynard School, Exeter
Isabella Passarelli, Torquay Girls Grammar School,...
Great Debate Final 2025
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Young Quills 2025
16th April 2025
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 2024 for this year’s selection.
Our...
Young Quills 2025
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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
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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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BBC Film of Belfast Great Debate Heat 2011
Great Debate Belfast Heat
In Autumn 2011 BBC Northern Ireland interviewed the contestants from our Great Debate Belfast Heat.
Click on the links below to find out more about these students and why history matters to them!
BBC Film of Belfast Great Debate Heat 2011
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Young Quills reviews 2019
Multipage Article
The HA's Young Quills Historical Fiction competition is held annually, both to recognise good historical fiction writing and to encourage youngsters to develop a love of history and a feel for the period they are studying. The Young Quills is unique in that it is the readers – young people – who decide the...
Young Quills reviews 2019
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Young Quills Awards 2015
Multipage Article
The ‘Young Quills' Award for Historical Fiction recognises the powerful role that fiction can have for introducing, informing and exciting young people about historical events, characters and places.
The competition is for books that tell a story with a strong and accurate historical setting. There are two categories divided according...
Young Quills Awards 2015
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Young Quills Awards 2016 – Winners and Reviews
Multipage Article
The Young Quills awards are presented annually by the HA for best historical fiction for young and youth readers released in the previous year. The final decision of the winners is selected by an adult judging panel who are interested in the historical accuracy and presentation as well as by the...
Young Quills Awards 2016 – Winners and Reviews
