About Arcade Lights
The winning story for writers in Years 5 and 6 in the ISEB and IAPS 2025 Time to Write competition, Arcade Lights, is an original story told from the perspective of an arcade prize toy that is desperate to be won and escape their coin pusher home. When a little girl’s coin finally jolts it over the edge and into her hands, the toy finally discovers how much happiness they can bring, and how quickly that joy can be taken away.
“An engaging read - such an original idea with a great opening and brilliant storytelling.” The Time to Write judging panel.
About the writer
Hannah White is from the UK and was 10 years old at the time of writing Arcade Lights. Reflecting on her story, she said, “If you are greedy or spoilt (like the first boy), you won’t win. But if you are grateful (like Sophie), you will succeed. I want the reader to reflect that life isn’t always fair: the boy still wins the biggest prize, while Sophie loses her beloved kitty toy. I want you to feel empathetic for the kitty toy, lost and alone at the bottom of the sea, and to realise that Sophie lost everything, not just a little toy, but all of her happiness.”
About the illustrator
Sezen Munir is a London-based illustrator, specialising in children’s illustration. She enjoys creating whimsical, playful works inspired by nature and animals. She is a graduate of Arts University Bournemouth.
Arcade Lights
Written by Hannah White
Illustrated by Sezen Munir
Light. It blared out of the high-tech machines and into my small eyes. Thump! We all get pushed down the slope. I am just centimetres away from the edge that we all dream of. My back is constantly being dug into from these stupid two pence coins. Thump! I’m pushed forward another few millimetres. Back, forward, that’s my life. Anyway, do these coins even have any respect for us? We’re prizes after all, they just push us forward. Forward to freedom. It’s horrible in here, stuck in this coin pusher. After all, I should be happy, these kids want me. The joy on their faces when they win a prize almost makes my depression disappear.
A young boy, who looked about 7 or 8, came up to the counter holding a large cup of 2p coins. He wiped his snotty nose with his sleeve and then starts shoving the coins in. Thump! He wins nothing. His lips on his chubby face went from glum, to frustrated. In a fit of rage, he chucked his tub onto the glass. We all gasped. He stormed out of the arcade.
A tiny girl, who wore a ripped pair of leggings and a t-shirt with many holes in it, came up to the machine with her father. She pointed at me with wide eyes. “Oh please Daddy! Please may I have that kitten there!” she cried. “Wow Sophie! That looks lovely! But do remember, we only have one coin, so don’t get your hopes up,’ her father told her. I really want that girl to win me, as I knew that she would take good care of me, not like that snotty boy earlier.
Hands shaking, she slotted the coin in carefully. She squealed as the coin slid down like a penguin. Thump! I got jolted forward a whole inch. I tipped. Further and further I toppled over, almost, almost…
Bang! I hit the floor. My heart raced in my chest. Thump! I just realised, I’d reached it. The point I always dreamed of. My destiny. But, I was separated from all of my lifelong friends in there. But it’s time for a change. Goodbye coins! Hello new life!
Sophie reached in and grabbed me tightly. She showed me to her father proudly. She squealed and spun around. Her father’s face lit up. It was obvious that I was something special to them, perhaps an only toy, or just a rare moment of happiness in their life.
As we started to walk out, I noticed the first boy out of the corner of my eye. He had an even bigger cup of coins than before. He was carrying the largest teddy you can win at the arcade. I’m just a little toy kitten. Won’t she want a large teddy, instead of just little old me? Stop being so stupid Kitty, she loves you with all her heart. She’d never abandon you or dislike you. You’re the happiness in her life.
We stepped onto the pier. She hugged me tightly. We skipped down joyfully. “Darling, be careful! You wouldn’t want to lose your kitty!” her father told her. “Don’t worry, Daddy!” she cried. “I won’t!”
She ran along the slippery pier, as happy as can be. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. She was light in the dull world around her. It was like an infectious disease. Everyone was now joyful, a radiant beam of light.
Until suddenly, disaster struck. I’m not one hundred percent sure what happened, but the last thing I saw was lights blinding my eyes. Down, down I went, into the deep blue sea. As I sunk, I saw Sophie bringing her arm out, desperately to grab me. Teardrops raced down her cheeks. That was the last thing I saw. The last thing until I sunk to the bottom. With the depressing rocks and seaweed.
I’d much rather be back in the machine. Cause I knew I would someday be loved. Down here, I’m hopeless. There’s no love down here.
Sophie’s now lost. Lonely with no friends. Why do bad things happen to good people?
THE END
About Time to Write
Following the success of Time to Write 2024, ISEB partnered with IAPS to bring the international creative writing competition back for 2025. Time to Write was open to all schools everywhere, and asked young writers to submit short stories written in response to the theme ‘Light’.
More than 3000 pupils from schools all over the world entered the competition, with entries shortlisted collaboratively by a pool of judges using cutting-edge adaptive comparative judgement technology, in partnership with RM Compare. This resulted in a reliable, fair and accurate ranking of entries.
The top ten stories in each category were reviewed by a panel of judges, including children’s book authors, a senior researcher from the University of Winchester, heads of English from St Swithun’s School and York House School, a literary events interviewer, and a senior lecturer from Arts University Bournemouth.
To find out more about ISEB and IAPS’s Time to Write competition for schools, visit write.iseb.co.uk.
ISEB and IAPS would like to thank RM Compare; the judging panel Ali Sparkes, Naomi Anson, Dr Ellen Spencer, Marc Knight, Rebecca Fletcher, Sarah Bentley and Vincent Larkin; the talented illustrators who helped bring each story to life; sponsors Arts University Bournemouth, Oxford University Press, Scanning Pens and Team Elite; everyone involved in the shortlisting process; and, most importantly, all the young writers who took part in the Time to Write 2025 competition.
The four winning stories of Time to Write 2025
Kitty the arcade prize toy has lived its entire life stuck in an arcade coin pusher and is fed up. When Sophie, a little girl, finally inserts the coin that will set Kitty free, the toy discovers it has an exhilarating purpose. But can this new feeling last, or will the prize find it wishes it was back where it started?
The winning story in the category for writers in Years 5 and 6 in the 2025 ISEB and IAPS Time to Write international creative writing competition.
“A funny, zippy and ironic story told from a really interesting perspective.” The Time to Write judging panel.