Magic Oxygen Literary Prize Anthology - Tracey West

In the spring of 2014, as well as publishing a handful of new titles* we also launched a pioneering global writing competition called the Magic Oxygen Literary Prize.

It had two categories - short stories and poetry - a prestigious 3,000 prize fund and three environmental promises built into its foundations:

• to plant a tree for every single entry received, in Bore, Kenya,


• to fund the build of an urgently needed new classroom at Kundeni Primary School in the same community,


• to send every entrant an electronic certificate with the clickable GPS co-ordinates of their tree.

Ru Hartwell, an international forestry expert, founder of TreeFlights and a trusted friend, chose Bore to site the Word Forest for several reasons. He knew we were keen to plant a legacy forest that would make a positive difference to the earth. Bore is located fairly near the equator and therefore would be incredibly efficient at locking down the CO₂ from the atmosphere as the trees grow so quickly there. He also had first-hand knowledge of the area and knew how devastated it had become as a result of mass deforestation. A long-term tree planting project in Bor would not only benefit the planet, but would also have an incredibly positive effect on the community, as the trees would also provide them with food, medicines, shelter and protection from the elements and reintroduce biodiversity. In time, it could generate an income for them too. To date, the Word Forest is 71 acres in size and the contest has funded the building of two classrooms.

The Magic Oxygen Literary Prize 2017-18 sought excellence in two categories; short stories and poetry.

It planted a tree for every entry in our tropical Word Forest in Bor, Kenya and contributed towards building classrooms in the same community too. This anthology contains the 10 best pieces from each category. Buy a copy and we'll plant another tree in the Word Forest for you - this really is the greenest writing contest in the world!

Aside from the benevolent and sustainable reasons for buying this book, it's a cracking read too.