At long last, the moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived!

It’s time for. . .

an introduction to full contact competitive crochet!

Crochet needles flashing!

Yarn unspooling at the speed of light!

Little old ladies rocking furiously in their chairs, calling each other “dearie” and saying, “Bless your heart!” when they mean nothing of the kind!

Tea cups, afghans, and sturdy sensible shoes flying through the air toward gray-bunned heads and bespectacled faces!

Finger injuries like you can’t imagine!

You have never witnessed competitive sport at this level!

It’s a bloodbath – all out war!

What?

Are you telling me you’ve never heard of Competitive Crochet?

You think I’m making this up?

Well, I admit I did neglect to mention that there are some ferocious little old men involved as well. Competitive Crochet is a coed sport.

But other than that, every single thing I said was 100% absolute total fac. . .

Okay. Maybe I made some of it up. . .

But who cares?

Because it’s time to announce the. . .

2023 13th Annual Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest WINNERS!

As you are all well aware, we had another great turnout this year. So many wonderful stories!  For me (and I hope for you!), Halloween is far better with a plethora of creative and well-written entries to read!

With large entry numbers come hard choices, though.  My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you for your vote.

There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! 😊)

So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:

1.  For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole: (all-around well-written stories we loved that just missed the finals for one small reason or another!)

Katie Schwartz for The Most Frightening Halloween of All

Michelle S. Kennedy for The Werewolf

Patricia Nozell for Thirteen Werewolves

Elizabeth Meyer zu Heringdorf for Red Riding Hood Goes Trick or Treating

Yessenia Holm for Need A Snack

Jen Keenan for Lazy Eddie

Daniella Kaufman for Lucky Penny

Tyler Ham for One Last House

Hannah Roy LaGrone for Stanley The Fluffy Werewolf

Glenda Roberson for Earth Is Tricky

Melissa Chupp for Which Wolf?

Maria Piñero Pope for A Whoosh and a Swoosh and a Gurgly Gloop

2. For Great Humor:

Searra Simpson for Weirdwolf

Jan Schwaid for A Werewolfington Trick-or-Treat

Valerie McPherson for Werewolf On Halloween

Jessie Raspbury for Who Can Frighten Skeleton?

3. For Spookiest/Creepy Entry:

Trista Herring Baughman forThe Rougarou’s Curse

Lori Himmel for Rudy, The Werewolf

Katherine Rea for Werepuppies’ Delight

Jennifer Taylor for Ghost Bells

Jennifer Schmitz for Howl Knows What The Moon Reveals

4. For Great Read For Younger Readers:

Sarah Meade for Spooky Story Time

Claudia Sloan for A First Halloween

5. For Great Ending:

Marla Yablon for Reversal?

Keatley Eastman for A Grave Mistake

Mikki DeFever for Tricks or Treats

Ashlee MacCallum for A Haunted Treasure Hunt

Jodie Houghton for Beware: Were-cub In Disguise

6. For Heartbreaking:

Sue Ko for Scared

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com or use the handy contact form in the menu bar above, subject line Prize Winner, to collect your prize, which is (and I have to be cryptic here because when I said it right out last year I got a LO-HO-HOT! of spam email!) a gift of a number of dollars that is between 4 and 6, for a large and well-known online store that begins with A, which will be presented to you in an email 😊 You can spend it on one of the many Kindle choices listed in previous contests here, or add it to your account for a gift for yourself or someone else, or whatever else you might choose to do! In addition, you will receive a beautiful badge of achievement that you may display on your blog or print out and frame or turn into a banner to stream off the back of your broomstick for all the world to marvel at 😊 (But please be patient because I have family here and I have yet to actually make the badges!)

A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.

We have 12 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field.  My policy is to let the first-place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second-place winner have second choice, etc.  That way hopefully nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that’s valuable to them.  All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies 😊

Now.

Finally!

Onto the moment you’ve all been waiting for. . .

. . . THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!

In First Place, winner of the whole entire contest and top of the heap who gets first choice of all the prizes…

Lori Sheroan

for

Black Cat Saves The Night

Congratulations, Lori! What a fun story, well written and very entertaining! We loved it!

In Second Place,

Paul Kurtz

for

Werewolf Yummies

Congratulations, Paul! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Lori chooses!

In Third Place,

Tara Flake
 for
Spell Check

Congratulations, Tara! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Lori and Paul choose!

In Fourth Place,

Bri Lawyer
for
Bit By A Werewolf

Congratulations, Bri! You get to pick a prize after Lori, Paul, and Tara!

In Fifth Place,

Susannah Lee
for
A Superstitious Wish

Congratulations, Susannah!  You get to pick your prize after Lori, Paul, Tara, and Bri!

In Sixth Place,

Sarah Meade
for
Hilly’s Not-So-Superstitious Halloween

Congratulations, Sarah! You get to pick your prize after Lori, Paul, Tara, Bri, and Susannah!

In Seventh Place,

Christina Shawn
for
Fur Moon

Congratulations, Christina! You get to pick your prize after Sarah!

In Eighth Place,

Andi Chitty
for
How To Conjure A Cat

Congratulations, Andi! You get to pick your prize after Christina!

In Ninth Place,

Sarah Hawklyn
for
Trick or Treat. Smell My Feet.

Congratulations, Sarah! You get to pick a prize after Andi!

In Tenth Place

Helen Addyman
for
Bright White Moonlight

Congratulations, Helen! You get to prize pick after Sarah!    

In Eleventh Place

Marta Cutler
for
The Great Halloween Race

Congratulations, Marta! You get to pick a prize after Helen!    

In Twelfth Place

Mia Geiger
for
Halloween Night

Congratulations, Mia! You get to pick your prize after Marta!

And, I don’t think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest!  Not just anyone can say that 😊

All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com or use the handy contact form in the menu above with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes!  If you choose a prize that requires snail mailing, PLEASE include your snail mail address so we don’t have to email back and forth too many times 😊  If you would like a beautiful badge to celebrate your accomplishment, you are most welcome to one! (I just need a little time to make them since I still have family here so I appreciate your patience.) Since everyone’s prize depends on everyone else’s choices, please get in touch as soon as you can.

Congratulations again to all our winners – it was a stiff competition!! – and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest.  You all deserve a huge round of applause, a confetti parade, and a truckload of  leftover fun-sized chocolate. . . if there is any 😊

Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people’s stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals, or by donating a prize!  It’s because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!

And now, you can gear up for the 2023 13th Annual Holiday Contest which opens December 6^th!
(And for which guidelines will be posted very soon!)

Woo-hoo!  Deck the halls! 😊

THE PRIZES: So amazing! What wonderful, generous people we have in our kidlit community! Just look at what you can win!

⭐️ Ask Me Anything Zoom Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Sandra Foreman Sutter, owner and “top gnome” at Gnome Road Publishing, and author of STAN’S FRIGHTFUL HALLOWEEN (Spork, September 2020) and THE REAL FARMER IN THE DELL (Spork, March 2019)!!! Not only will Sandra read and critique your manuscript, you will get to talk to discuss it with her!

⭐️ Rhyme & Meter Self Study Course – Renee LaTulippe Renée M. LaTulippe is the author of The Crab Ballet (Cameron Kids/Abrams, 2022) and Limelight: Theater Poems to Perform (Charlesbridge, 2024) and has poems published in many anthologies including No World Too Big, Night Wishes, School People, National Geographic’s The Poetry of US, One Minute Till Bedtime, Poems Are Teachers, ThankU: Poems of Gratitude, and A World Full of Poems.

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique or Zoom Chat About A Project You’re Working On PLUS a Signed Copy of THE PIE THAT MOLLY GREW from Sue Heavenrich, author of THE PIE THAT MOLLY GREW (Sleeping Bear Press, August 2023), 13 WAYS TO EAT A FLY (Charlesbridge, 2021), DIET FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE (21st Century Books, August, 2018), FUNKY FUNGI (Chicago Review Press, July, 2022), the Super Science Series, and The Human Machine Series.

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non-rhyming, 700 words or less) PLUS a Query Letter Critique from author Steena Hernandez! Her debut picture book, LUPITA’S BROWN BALLET SLIPPERS, comes out with Beaming Books in Fall 2024. She’s an active member of SCBWI, Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Challenge, and Las Musas. Her poems and stories have appeared in Highlights High Five Magazine, and Little Thoughts Press Magazine. She’s represented by Lynnette Novak from the Seymour Agency. Visit her website at www.steenahernandez.com. 

Author Steena Hernandez (photo credit Laura Squire)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Hanh Bui, author of The Yellow Áo Dài (Feiwel & Friends, April 25, 2023) and the forthcoming Ánh’s New Word: A Story About Learning a New Language (Feiwel & Friends, May 14, 2024) PLUS a signed copy of The Yellow Áo Dài!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non-rhyming, 750 words or less) from Dara Henry, author of HANUKKAH PAJAMAKKAHS, forthcoming from Sourcebooks, September 2024! Dara is a former teacher and has twice been named Honorable Mention in the Children’s Fiction Category of the 88th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, KIDLIT411, Writing for Children, 12×12, and PB_Soar 24. She is represented by Rena Rossner of The Deborah Harris Agency.

Author Dara Henry

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming) PLUS Zoom Chat from developmental editor Lou Piccolo! Lou studied English Literature, creative writing and teaching at university in South Africa. After working as an EFL teacher in France for twenty years, she studied proofreading and editing before becoming a developmental editor of children’s and young adult’s literature for independent authors. She is a graduate of Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab – Punching Up Prose With Poetry course and Making Picture Book Magic, the in-house writer for Editions Entrefilet’s language-learning magazine ‘Go English Kids’ for children of 8-12 in France, and a traditionally published author of MG and YA fiction with Burlington Books.

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non-rhyming) or Dummy Critique from Bonnie Kelso, author/illustrator of NUDI GILL: POISON POWERHOUSE OF THE SEA (Gnome Road, April 4, 2023), illustrator for IN A CAVE (written by Heather Ferranti Kinser, Gnome Road, October 3, 2023), and author-illustrator of a three-book series with GRP starting next spring!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction) from Melissa Stoller, author of SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH (Spork 2018), READY, SET, GORILLA! (Spork 2018), THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION (chapter books) (Spork 2017), SADIE’S SHABAT STORIES (Spork, 2020) and PLANTING FRIENDSHIP: PEACE, SALAAM, SHALOM

⭐️ 30 Minute Ask Me Anything with Rebecca Gardyn Levington, author of BRAINSTORM! (Sleeping Bear Press, 2022), WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (Barefoot Books, Mar 7, 2023), I WILL ALWAYS BE…(HarperCollins, Spring 2024), and AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? (Penguin/Rocky Pond, Spring 2024)

⭐️ Signed Copy of Roxanne Troup’s beautiful MY GRANDPA, MY TREE, AND ME (Yeehoo Press, April, 2023)

⭐️ Signed Copies of Kizzi Roberts‘s books THE ELVES GO MARCHING and THE EGGS GO ROLLING!

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for birthday, holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, recommending them for school and library visits, recommending their books for school and library purchases, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊