Born of Shankar’s genius and vision, Children’s Book Trust blazed a trail in publishing books for children as general readers and not textbooks. In 50 years of publishing, CBT has brought to children a varied fare of mysteries, adventures, romances, tales from old lore and history, cultural values, science and information.
Healthy, rich in content, live in line and colour, and brought out with excellence, these books have become valued possessions of millions of children in all age groups. Quite a few of the titles have been entries in the Competitions held by CBT. They have, over the years, opened up new vistas and finer perceptions in the arena of children’s books. The rules of the Competition are as follows:
• It is open to all persons above 18 years.
• The manuscripts should be in English, typed in minimum double spacing on one side of the paper with not less than one inch margin on the left. A computer printout or a photostat copy of the manuscript should be legible and readable avoiding a faint impression.
• There is no entry fee. A participant may submit not more than three entries under each category except in the case of Short Stories where up to five entries can be sent, each manuscript being treated as separate. Each entry should be an original, unpublished work and should carry a Declaration to that effect.
• The Declaration should carry the full name and address of the author in block letters in English (available in the competition brochure).
• Entries submitted for any earlier competition held by CBT are not considered.
• All rights as prescribed under Section 14 of the Copyright Act shall vest with the Trust on the author’s signing the Memorandum of Agreement.
• The prize-winning manuscript will, in the normal course, be published by CBT. The Trust’s decision in this regard shall be final. The author would have to, if necessary, provide a copy of the prize-winning manuscript on floppy/CD, when required.
• A manuscript that has won a prize and has received the payment will not be entitled to further payment under any head, on its publication.
• Manuscripts that do not win a prize may be considered for possible publication with the concurrence of the authors, and at the sole discretion of CBT.

Children’s Book Trust (CBT) invites manuscripts for its Competitions for Writers of Children’s Books only in particular categories at a time and outlines its requirements fully to help the writers.

Category I: Fiction (9-12/above 12 years) the manuscript needs to be full length stories of adventure and mystery, imaginative renderings built around present-day life and scenario. Interpretations of events from Indian History, or fictional treatment of scientific concepts and themes in the stipulated word limit, 10-15,000 words/25-30,000 words.

Category II: Non-Fiction (9-12/above 12 years) would include current development efforts, strides made in the field of science and technology, environmental science, health education, people and places, etc. it could also include fundamental scientific facts, theories, principles, inventions or discoveries. The idea is to make children understand integral concepts comfortably without getting lost in the maze of information, and to foster in them a questioning mind. The manuscripts need to be accompanied by a select bibliography or a list of references used. World limit 5,000/10,000.

Category III: Short Stories (9-12/above 12 years) could deal with contemporary issues like pleasure and pain of growing up, real life experiences, challenges of our progressive social life and conditions, strange happenings and occurrences that reflect human psyche and psychology, motivational anecdotes from various fields (e.g. sports) that inspire confidence, humorous/light-hearted accounts of school life, value-based stories that reflect Indian way of life and thinking. World limit about 1,500.

Category IV: Concept Books (3-5 years) largely in the genre of non-fiction, the approach to this category has to be conceptual rather than factual. The idea is to make children understand words and their relationship to situations/things and may be used for the development of skills basic to all learning, e.g. sensory skills, organizing skills and reasoning skills. Could possess the quality of humour and rhythm. The idea is not to publish conventional material like the alphabets, numbers, names of objects, etc. but to develop creative literature which will make the little ones aware of their environment and goad them to find out more. 250 words max.

Category V: Read-Aloud/Picture Books (5-8 years) should lead themselves readily to a number of self-explanatory illustrations. Authors are not expected to submit illustrations/drawings along with the manuscripts, 500-600 words.

Category VI: Indian History/Heritage (above 12 years) could be imaginative renderings and interpretations of events of Indian history. It could include historical fiction and portrayals based on the events, about 35,000 words.

Category VII: Natural History (above 9 years) covers amongst other things, fauna, flora, mountains, oceans, rivers and ecology. The attempt should be to create awareness and appreciation of natural phenomena, about 20,000 words.

Category VIII: Travelogue (above 9 years) should give an account of an adventure, travel, a trek, an expedition, a holiday. It should be of interest, for example, from the point of geographical aspects, environment, life of communities, crafts or art forms, history of our national movement and current development efforts. The facts, dates, data, details brought in should be fully authentic, about 25,000 words.

Category IX: Popular Science (above 12 years) should demystify science, explaining concepts, theories, principles, inventions or discoveries. A manuscript could explain how a rainbow is formed or what is sound, gravity, or the theory of relativity or the contributions of C.V. Raman, J. C. Bose, Humphry Davy, Edward Jenner or Louis Pasteur, for instance. Fundamental scientific fact(s) that exist with the variety of human experience—big or small—should be explained. The idea is to make children understand the scientific concepts behind the phenomena without losing the sense of wonder or of beauty, and to encourage science writing, about 3,000 words.

Category X: Great Institutions (above 12 years) should introduce to children those institutions which figure and have figured in our historical, cultural, social, scientific, economic and national development and have therefore, become famous. Such are the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, the National Library, Calcutta, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, the Haffkine Institute, Bombay, the Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, these are examples. Other outstanding institutions in different fields could be selected. The manuscript should briefly give the history of the institute, its work, the personalities involved in its genesis, growth and activities. It could include interesting anecdotes, events connected with the institute. All data should be correct, accurate and duly checked, about 3,000 words.

Category XI: Short Plays, Dramas (9-12 years) each play should be complete with stage directions, costumes to be worn by the characters, age and so on. As these are intended to be enacted in schools or at home, the sets need not be elaborate, about 3,000 words.

For any other information contact:-

General Manager
Children’s Book Trust
Nehru House
4, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110002
Tel: 91-11-23316970-74
FAX: 91-11-23721090
e-mail: cbtnd@vsnl.com
cbtnd@cbtnd.com