Do you have a passion for France? Are you a Francophile with a story to share? The FBC, in conjunction with Prospect magazine, is inviting those aged between 16 and 25 to submit a short story of no more than 1,000 words, inspired by France, or the French. It could be based on a real or imagined visit to France, a French person you know in the UK (a friend or celebrity), a French lesson at school, a French film you have seen or it could be a work of pure imagination.

The wining pieces will be published by Prospect and the best contributions will be included in a new collection of work to be published by the FBC

Prizes
The winner of the sixth form category will receive £100 and have their story published in Prospect
The winner of the undergraduate category will win two return trips to France (kindly donated by London City Airport) and £100 and have their story published in Prospect
Second prizes of £75 and third prizes of £50 will be awarded in each category.

For the past eight years, the Franco British Council has administered a school prize, first on an environmental and then on a sporting theme, and in that time we have seen hundreds of young people enjoying working with French schools and making new friends in France. This new prize aims to target a specific problem, which is the decline of UK students choosing to study French. The number of pupils taking the language at GCSE has plummeted by 30% since 2004. We hope that this prize will raise the profile of French teaching, and will give students a creative way of exploring their interest in France.

Members of the jury will include an author famous for his treatment of Franco-British themes, Julian Barnes and the well known crime writer Ian Rankin. Ian has expressed his support for the prize as follows:
It's crucial that kids in Britain continue to learn new languages. In the twenty-first century, we can't live hermetically. We need to be able to communicate globally, and that means having language skills. Learning a new language is the first step towards understanding the world in its wider context and appreciating other cultures and societies. Hopefully this new and exciting short story competition will provide one more stepping-stone