News

Young writers competition launched by five-year-old Enfield author

Esse Loewenthal published a book two years ago and now wants to give the same chance to his peers

As well as authoring a book, Esse has launched a publishing house
Esse Loewenthal runs publishing house British Isles Publishing

A five-year-old boy from Enfield Highway is inviting other children to enter his young authors competition during National Storytelling Week.

Esse Loewenthal, who published his own picture box Baby Fox two years ago with a little help from his father, has launched the ‘Very Young Authors Competition’ to highlight stories that inspire “a love for reading and creativity in children”.

Open to children up to eight years old, the deadline for submissions to the competition is 5th March. Esse has even offered help and advice on storytelling via his own YouTube channel.

Stories were part of Esse’s bedtime routine from an early age, reading story books while his mother or father made up a story. When Esse was three-and-a-half he added to the routine by making up his own bedtime story, which his father Sholi began recording and helped transcribe before using AI to illustrate the book.

After not hearing back from corporate publishers, Esse decided to establish his own publishing house, which he named ‘British Isles Publishing’, under which he published Baby Fox. It later went on sale in shops including Waterstones and sold hundreds of copies, helping Esse to stake a claim as one of the world’s youngest authors.

National Storytelling Week is running until Sunday (9th) and, to celebrate, Esse has launched the Very Young Author’s Competition to encourage other young writers to follow in his tiny footsteps. He also plans to run story workshops in schools or libraries where children take turns in making up stories.

Last year, research from National Literacy Trust revealed a “crisis” in children’s literacy, with fewer than three in ten (28.7%) eight to 18-year-olds saying they enjoy writing in their free time.

Keen to change this statistic, Esse said: “If you are a very young person and you like to make stories, this competition is for you!

“If you want to take part all you have to do is make a story, illustrate it and send it to my publishing house.”

For more information about the Very Young Author’s Competition and to get involved:
Visit
britishislespublishing.com/very-young-authors-competition


No news is bad news 

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts. 

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less. 

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation. 

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit 

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.  

Donate now with Pay Pal

More information on supporting us monthly or yearly 

More Information about donations