The competition, which excites many writers, has just started. Join the group of participants and publish your book

”Reading books is the most beautiful pastime that mankind has invented” said the well-known writer and Nobel Prize winner. This game can be interesting and addictive if you use a book that is attractive not only in terms of content, but also in terms of illustrations.

Fortunately, there are more and more such items on the publishing market. In the era of ubiquitous digitization, beautifully illustrated and interesting titles are worth their weight in gold. They are not only used to teach reading, but also help parents to tear their child away from computer screens, TV sets or smartphones for a longer or shorter time. From one interesting book, a huge passion can be born. The young man will begin to collect books and create a special space in his room for what he reads. She will place her favorite books on the bookcase or shelf, and together with her parents, once a week or once a month she will go to a bookstore, where she will choose another item for her own library for her pocket money or as a gift for special occasions. . Nothing stands in the way of parents and their child delving into the adventures of literary heroes.

Fortunately, in this area, we have more and more books that enjoy huge success, which win the sympathy of young readers. No wonder that new, interesting authors as well as illustrators are still in demand by the publishing market. What to do to become a writer or a writer of children’s books?

One of the ways may be participation in the competition “Piórko 2023. Biedronka Award for a children’s book”. This is a project that has been very popular among debuting authors for several years now. During last year’s campaign, over 4,300 works were submitted in two categories – “Text” and “Illustrations”, and during the eight editions of the competition, a total of over 28,000 were accepted. wash. The winning book “Brerep!” had its premiere on November 14, 2022. Two years ago, in 2021, for the first time in history, the Week of Reading Aloud was held in Biedronka, during which customers could hear excerpts from the awarded book interpreted by Wiktor Zborowski.

Shutterstock, photo by Samoylova Svetlana

How to apply for the competition?

To give yourself a chance for a debut, it is enough to send a story addressed to children aged 4 to 10 by April 5, 2023. The competition is open to debuting and adult authors, as well as those who participated in previous editions of Piórka but did not win prizes. Each author may submit a maximum of 3 texts of 20,000 to 60,000 words each. characters. Texts should be submitted via the competition website: piorko.biedronka.pl.

The winner of the first of the two stages of this edition of the competition in the “Text” category will be announced at the end of May. He will be selected by the Chapter, which includes, among others: Agnieszka Karp-Szymańska, Renata Piątkowska, Rafa³ Witek and Jaros³aw Guga³a.

From that day, on May 26 to be precise, the illustrators will have a month and a half to create drawings for the winning text. In the second stage of the competition, the Jury will select the best graphic works that best reflect the spirit and atmosphere of the story awarded in the first stage. Finally, the text and illustrations will be published in tens of thousands of copies of the book. Readers and customers of Biedronka will be able to buy it from 16 November.

– Children read adults like an open book. It is up to us what world we will present to them and what values ​​we will pass on, preparing them for their future adult life. That is why it is so important that we also use children’s literature to help them learn about the world safely. The previous editions carried beautiful messages about the power of such values ​​as friendship, cooperation and trust. Together with our colleagues from the jury, we are happy that for the ninth time we will choose the best works – Arkadiusz Mierzwa, director of communication and CSR of the Biedronka chain, member of the “Piórka” jury.

So far, eight books have been created within the competition, which have sold a total circulation of 500,000. copies. The winners of this year’s edition, in addition to publishing a book, will also receive prizes of PLN 100,000 each. zlotys each.

Promotional material

Here is a list of books published so far:

• The Gray House by Katarzyna Szestak, illustrated by Natalia Jabłońska (2015)
• “The Storyteller’s Daughter” by Monika Radzikowska with illustrations by Monika Biała (2016)
• The Fearless Scarecrow by Grzegorz Majchrowski with illustrations by Maria Giemza (2017)
• “Little Saj and the Great Adventure” by Magdalena Wi¶niewska with illustrations by Marcin Maciêga (2018)
• About the Prince Who Dared by Katarzyna Wierzbicka with illustrations by Julia Hanke (2019)
• “About Malwin and the secret of the cellar grandfather” by Agnieszka Syczy³o, illustrated by Magdalena Starowicz (2020)
• Factory of Dreams by Justyna Wo¼niak with illustrations by Aleksandra Badura (2021)
• “Brerep” by Sonia Miniewicz with illustrations by Silvia Pizzati (2022)

The media patrons of the competition “Piórko 2023. Biedronka Award for a book for children” are: Gazeta.pl, e-Dziecko, Ksią¿ki. Magazine to read, Wysokieobcasy.pl and Radio TOK FM. Since the first edition, the honorary patronage over Piórek has been held by the Ombudsman for Children.

Detailed information on participation in this year’s edition of the Piórko competition, as well as the rules and registration form are available on the website: .