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AIBU?

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Original poster

Young Writers poetry book - basically an extortion racket?!

38 replies

FusionChefGeoff · 28/05/2021 22:49

Just wrote huge rant and lost it.

Fucking You g Writers have 'selected' my child's poem for publication in a £16.99 book!!

No, they haven't. They have put everyone's poems into a book as a disgustingly manipulative money spinner and due to way it's been positioned to the children, it would be the most heartless parents who didn't fork out.

Can't believe this shit is endorsed by school.

AIBU to be pissed off?!?

OP posts:
Moo31 · 28/05/2021 22:53

Our son's nursery did this. I got a letter home from nursery, set up my account and took a screenshot of his poem that I will print out. Not forking out £15 odd for a book of random children's poems that will likely just gather dust!

PurpleWh1teGreen · 28/05/2021 22:54

Yup. Well known I’m afraid. They rely on parents not wanting to let DC down. I’m afraid I thought it was time mine learned how the real world worked.

See also school photos.

YellowFish12 · 28/05/2021 22:55

Oh I had a poem in one of these books and I was really proud of it

MiddlesexGirl · 28/05/2021 22:55

Yep. Many variations on the same format .... Christmas cards being another popular one. Just money making devices for the company and the school.

waltzingparrot · 28/05/2021 22:58

Yes, I complained to the Head Teacher about this 13 years ago!

FortunesFave · 28/05/2021 23:02

Made me MAD when my child's school did this and all the kids thought they'd been published in the proper way. Bloody awful. I didn't buy it.

NoNotHimTheOtherOne · 28/05/2021 23:03

I let the head teacher of my kids' primary have both barrels for this. Not only did they sign all the kids up to it, they also gave the scammers all the kids' home addresses without asking for consent. I'm sure I could have got them into a lot more trouble than I actually did.

You should try to get as many parents as possible to complain to the school (head and governors). If they know they're going to have to spend days responding to complaints every time they sign kids up for scams like this they'll soon stop doing it.

CroydianSlip · 28/05/2021 23:06

I sent our school media articles about this when they mooted the idea about 'entering a writing competition'. They apologised and back peddled and did a writing display wall instead. Awful scheme.

Original poster
FusionChefGeoff · 28/05/2021 23:06

I don't mind Xmas cards as much as at least we usually send cards so I just divert the budget into school funds

But this is so devious!! Even DH was fooled by the letter and his face fell when I told him Grin

OP posts:
Hippee · 28/05/2021 23:07

Yep! We're still receiving e-mails about 5 years later offering me the chance to buy the book at a discount.

Disagree about the Christmas cards though - I like those and am quite sad that my kids are too old to do them now.

PennineWayinSlingbacks · 28/05/2021 23:10

I feel sad when I see friends on Facebook genuinely delighted their children have been selected. Can't bring myself to interfere, seems really churlish.

Arbadacarba · 28/05/2021 23:13

Dear Young Writers Inc.

As literary agents for FusionChefGeoff Junior, we would be delighted to negotiate an appropriate fee for publication of FusionChefGeoff Junior's recent literary work 'My Poem' (C) FusionChefGeoff Junior.

Please contact us by return with your proposal.

Yours faithfully

Fusion, Chef & Geoff Literary Agency.

Original poster
FusionChefGeoff · 28/05/2021 23:46

@Arbadacarba GrinGrinGrinGrin

OP posts:
Original poster
FusionChefGeoff · 28/05/2021 23:47

Mind you, as much as I love DC and his prose genuinely is pretty impressive, he can't write poetry for toffee so I don't rate our chances.

OP posts:
Trebormints74 · 29/05/2021 10:26

They have actually changed their format. (I’m a teacher) They don’t publish everyone but do send useful feedback to the people they don’t publish. They used to publish everyone .

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 29/05/2021 10:59

I remember doing something like this in school years ago. I hadn't heard about this particular scheme so I just googled it. The chap who ran the business is a convicted fraudster, which I'm sure will come as no surprise!

MargaretThursday · 29/05/2021 11:02

When my dc's school was duped into doing it, about 15 years ago now(!) they thought it was a genuine competition. They way they claimed that was by selecting, I suspect at random, one or two from each class that didn't get in. Far worse for those two than if they'd published them all.

The usual state of affairs is:
You get someone on FB saying how proud they are of their dc for winning this competition. Lots of congratulations.
Over the course of the day around another 6-12 put similar.
By the next day the penny has dropped, and people slowly remove the posts.
The school apologises for being scammed.

What our school did was they bought 2 copies of it, and said that you could borrow them to show to grandparents etc. Everyone got a turn to take them home.

MrsKJones · 29/05/2021 11:05

Goodness, I remember a "friend" at school had their poem published. This is going back 20+ years. They were showing off and making out they were the big I am to be published etc etc. I don't think they realised that they were the only one from our year to submit something so of course they were going to be published.

BTW, their poem was quite shockingly bad

RightOnTheEdge · 29/05/2021 11:11

I've thankfully never come across the poem one with my dc. I've only read about it on here.
I love the Christmas card one though!
I got one from my nice when she was little and she's a teenager now.
I still have it and smile everytime I see it.
I'm sure my family like the ones from my dc better than a generic one from Card Factory or out of a multipack.

RightOnTheEdge · 29/05/2021 11:12

NEICE! flipping auto correct!

sunnysidegold · 29/05/2021 11:23

My son's class entered one of these. It was supposed to have some sort of theme, can't remember what. It was during lockdown and he got bored and wrote the most random pile of drivel. As I thought it was a competition I let him send it in. Well didn't he come home all chuffed thinking it'd been so good it got picked!

I didn't want to buy the book, my dad felt sorry for him and bought it, even though I had now realised it was just a money making racket.

I don't mind school photos so much as at least they're of your own child and can be displayed.

Same kid is convinced he will win that design a stamp for the royal mail competition that was on this month.

sunnysidegold · 29/05/2021 11:23

**at least it is a proper competition.

Tigertalk · 29/05/2021 11:29

Haha I had one published and it was the most cliched load of rubbish! My parents bought the book. I think I even mentioned it in some interviews to get into a newspaper work experience placement 😂

KG1000 · 29/05/2021 11:40

Total scam! And irresponsible of schools to draw children in.

When it was my eldest's turn I emailed the company to find out more. Thinking, maybe if the school get a cut it might be justified. But no, pure vanity scam.

I received an email back from Young Writers which said, "I have not been able to convince you of your child's merit." No, there is no question of my child's merit, I don't think there is any merit in your emotional blackmail!

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 29/05/2021 13:02

I hate Young Writers. Our Head gave us no option but to enter and 3 children out of my class had their work rejected. They were heartbroken! I refuse to do it any more.

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