Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Several judges for the 2023 Young Authors Fiction Festival offer tips on what young writers can do to make their short stories resonate.
The American Library in Paris is proud to be the organizer of the Young Authors Fiction Festival (YAFF). YAFF is free of charge and open to all students ages 5–18 in France who write in English. YAFF is a short story writing contest, the only creative writing initiative in the Paris area in English, that aims to strengthen community among English-speakers through the art and craft of storytelling. The Library believes that creative writing plays an important role in a child’s literacy development. Creative writing is fun and a great tool to help broaden a child’s imagination and foster a life-long love of reading and writing.
YAFF judging takes place in two rounds over roughly six weeks, and each story is read by a minimum of three judges in each round. Each year over 100 individuals from around the world volunteer as judges and read the stories that are submitted to YAFF. The judging team includes educators, published authors, librarians, and parents. Each judge is provided with a judging rubric and guidelines to emphasize what they should be looking for in a story and what they should be taking into consideration when judging and providing feedback. Judges are looking for: originality, strong storytelling, and a clear beginning, middle and end, and also take into consideration how well the setting and characters are developed and described, good use of dialogue and a range of vocabulary, and the correct use of grammar. Expectations vary by grade level and judges take the age of the author into account. No one judge is responsible for choosing the winning YAFF stories.
The Young Authors Fiction Festival originated as The Red Wheelbarrow Writing Contest, which began in 2001 with l’Ecole Massillon and a handful of Paris-based members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), who acted as judges. YAFF is now a highlight of Library programming and the only English creative writing initiative for children in Paris. In 2022 YAFF had 685 entries submitted from 50 schools and writing programs, and we hope that YAFF will continue to grow in the years to come. The YAFF team consists of Library staff and volunteers and includes the involvement of over 120 judges from the Library’s community and beyond.
We encourage parents, teachers, educators, and schools to help nurture and develop a passion and practice for creative writing in children. The Library offers many resources for creative writing, including books, creative games, and writing workshops offered many times throughout the year. Together, and with YAFF, the Library hopes to raise and nurture the next generation of writers and authors!
Submission for this year's festival is open until 22h00 on 1 April 2023. See americanlibraryinparis.org/yaff for more details.
Several judges for the 2023 Young Authors Fiction Festival offer tips on what young writers can do to make their short stories resonate.
The American Library in Paris is proud to be the organizer of the Young Authors Fiction Festival (YAFF). YAFF is free of charge and open to all students ages 5–18 in France who write in English. YAFF is a short story writing contest, the only creative writing initiative in the Paris area in English, that aims to strengthen community among English-speakers through the art and craft of storytelling. The Library believes that creative writing plays an important role in a child’s literacy development. Creative writing is fun and a great tool to help broaden a child’s imagination and foster a life-long love of reading and writing.
YAFF judging takes place in two rounds over roughly six weeks, and each story is read by a minimum of three judges in each round. Each year over 100 individuals from around the world volunteer as judges and read the stories that are submitted to YAFF. The judging team includes educators, published authors, librarians, and parents. Each judge is provided with a judging rubric and guidelines to emphasize what they should be looking for in a story and what they should be taking into consideration when judging and providing feedback. Judges are looking for: originality, strong storytelling, and a clear beginning, middle and end, and also take into consideration how well the setting and characters are developed and described, good use of dialogue and a range of vocabulary, and the correct use of grammar. Expectations vary by grade level and judges take the age of the author into account. No one judge is responsible for choosing the winning YAFF stories.
The Young Authors Fiction Festival originated as The Red Wheelbarrow Writing Contest, which began in 2001 with l’Ecole Massillon and a handful of Paris-based members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), who acted as judges. YAFF is now a highlight of Library programming and the only English creative writing initiative for children in Paris. In 2022 YAFF had 685 entries submitted from 50 schools and writing programs, and we hope that YAFF will continue to grow in the years to come. The YAFF team consists of Library staff and volunteers and includes the involvement of over 120 judges from the Library’s community and beyond.
We encourage parents, teachers, educators, and schools to help nurture and develop a passion and practice for creative writing in children. The Library offers many resources for creative writing, including books, creative games, and writing workshops offered many times throughout the year. Together, and with YAFF, the Library hopes to raise and nurture the next generation of writers and authors!
Submission for this year's festival is open until 22h00 on 1 April 2023. See americanlibraryinparis.org/yaff for more details.
