29th March 2010

Winners of Beatrix Potter Bat Competition announced

Two budding young writers have won a national writing competition with their versions of a Beatrix Potter's bat tale, and will have their stories displayed at the Beatrix Potter Gallery.

Launched by wildlife charity the Bat Conservation Trust, the competition invited young people to use their imagination to pen the opening paragraphs of bat story, in the style of Beatrix Potter's.

The Bat Conservation Trust is the only charity solely devoted to protecting bats and their habitats in the UK. The charity was inspired to launch the competition after coming across an unpublished watercolour of bats painted by Beatrix Potter, which has lead many to believe she may have had a bat tale in mind after all.

Nine-year-old Sarah Lock from Northumberland is the winner of the under 11's age group with her colourful story 'The Tale of Robinson Bat'.

The 12-16 years age group was won by Philippa Clarke, aged 13, of North Yorkshire with her imaginative opening paragraphs to 'The Batty Tale'.

Both stories will be on display at the National Trust's Beatrix Potter Gallery in Cumbria from 29th March until 18th April 2010. The winners will also receive a range of batty prizes, including a bat detector, courtesy of Alana Ecology.

The competition was judged by Mrs Judy Taylor-Hough, Chair of the Beatrix Potter Society from 1996-2009, author and bat enthusiast Michael Baron, and Shirley Thompson of the Bat Conservation Trust.

Shirley Thompson of the Bat Conservation Trust, said: "In this age of texting and Twitter, we were delighted to find there are still young people able to fire the imagination with a good story, inspired by their fascination of bats and Beatrix's beautiful illustrations."

Runners up in the competition included:

Under 11sAlicia Howard, aged 10 from Sydney, Australia, for 'Lady and Pipi'

Emily Body, aged 8 from High Peak, for 'The Tale of Bertie Bat'

12-16 yearsRebecca Finding, aged 12 from Essex, for 'The Tale of Bertie Bat'

Lauren Smith, aged 13 from Essex, 'The Tale of Billy Bat'

To read the winning entries, visit our Beatrix Potter page

The winning entries will also be published in The Young Batworker and Bat News

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