YOUNG writers on Merseyside are again being asked to stir their imaginations.

Entries are now being invited for the eighth annual Liverpool Athenaeum Writer-in-Residence award, in partnership with the Daily Post, Radio Merseyside and Liverpool City Council, open to Merseysiders aged 16-19 on October 31, 2009.

Writers should submit an example of 1,000 to 1,200 words of original prose such as a short story, a travel essay or something they feel passionate about. The submission may be serious or amusing.

A short list of five will be drawn up by judges Frank Moran and Ian Cubbin, of the Athenaeum, Daily Post columnist David Charters, Roger Phillips, of Radio Merseyside, and Phil Taylor, representing Liverpool City Council.

The five finalists will be chosen by November 25 and invited to a reception at the Athenaeum after that date. They will be given the subject for a second piece of prose, again between 1,000 and 1,200 words. These entries should be submitted by January 12 next year. The winner will be announced at another reception in the Athenaeum on February 9, 2010.

In addition to the £1,000, the Athenaeum will be donating £100 for the purchase of books for the winner’s school library.

Other prizes include publication of the winning entry in the Daily Post and a short period of secondment with the paper’s editorial team; honorary membership of the Athenaeum for a year, and access to its famous library.

The best entries will also be broadcast on Radio Merseyside.

Entry forms, which are being sent to schools on Merseyside, are also available from Frank Moran at the Athenaeum, 0151 709 7770. Closing date, October 31.