500 Words

Hot on the heels of the 500 Words: Black Lives Matter competition hosted by Virgin Radio in July, this audiobook contains a selection of inspiring, moving and poignant short stories from 500 Words: Black Lives Matter submitted by children from across the country and read by David Tennant, Amanda Abbington, Stephen Graham, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vivienne Acheampong, Jude Owusu, Angellica Bell, Michael Underwood, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Shobna Gulati, Rebecca Gethings and James Hepher; familiar voices who have kindly donated their time and talent to make this special project possible.

Almost 6,000 children, aged between 5-13, submitted stories expressing their personal experiences, tales of empathy, learning and respect, building on the international conversation around Black Lives Matter. Originally devised by Chris Evans, the 500 Words competition has a rich 10-year heritage, giving children of all ethnicities and backgrounds a platform to express their imaginations and creativity through storytelling.

Eight finalists and a further 92 stories were selected to be included in this important and timely collection, With writing tips from head judges Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Charlie Higson and Francesca Simon.

Profits from the sale of the book are being donated to the children's literacy charity Coram Beanstalk in order to further their mission - building readers for life.

"What follows is an amazing and profound collection of some of our favourites. Be prepared to laugh, sigh and cry." - Chris Evans

"Being part of 500 Words: Black Lives Matter was incredibly important to allow our younger generation an outlet for them to vocalise their thoughts and stories on this global issue of racism using the power of words." - Angellica Bell