Well, hi there!

Yes, of course! I know why you’re here!

It’s time for the 2024 Holiday Embroidery Marathon!

Contestants, we’re about to begin a grueling 26.2 hours of embroidery, so adjust your extra seat cushions – we don’t want anyone having a sciatica flare-up that could detrimentally impact their performance! No one wants to lose time getting up to walk it off!

Threads lined up by order of use!
Extra needles at the ready in case of a breakage around one of those hairpin turns!
Hair-taming device of your choosing firmly in place lest you become blinded by unruly hair at a crucial moment!
Assistant to dab your perspiring brow and hold watercress sandwiches to your lips when you need fuel!
Tea near to hand so you can stay hydrated!
Remember – this is a MARATHON not a sprint!
It will test you to your limits, but YOU CAN DO THIS!

Here is our pattern:

Ready. . .

. . .set. . .

. . .SEW!

Let’s go team! Sew like the wind!

And while you’re embroidering at breakneck speed, I have some news hot off the presses to keep your fighting spirit strong.

It’s time to announce the WINNERS of the 2024 Pretty Much World Famous Holiday Contest for Children’s Writers!

14th Annual Holiday Writing Contest

~ for children’s writers ~

First, a note about handing out the prizes:

It’s the holiday season and we’re all up to our ears in shopping and cooking and traveling and preparing for guests and family and wrapping and… you know how it is 😊

So, I know you will do your best to contact me as soon as possible for your prizes, and I will do MY best to get the badges made and get the prizes handed out as quickly as I can, but please forgive me if it takes a little time – I have not made the badges yet and I already have family here 😊

For the 14 contest winners, please email me with your top 5 prize choices so that we can hopefully work our way through as efficiently as possible.

Now!

Boy! You guys sure gave us judges a run for our money! What a fabulous group of stories you presented to us – well-written, engaging, entertaining, fun, sweet, poignant, rhyme, prose, clever formats, creative voices, surprise endings – we found things to love in every single one! If only we could pin them all! But then, that would sort of defeat the purpose of competition, so. . . narrow we did, to the best of our ability.

The sheer volume of entries meant that many good ones had to be cut.  So if your entry wasn’t a finalist, please don’t feel bad.  There was a huge amount of competition.  Judging, no matter how hard we try to be objective, and even though we do it blind, is always subjective at a certain point – we all have our own preferences for what makes a great story.  And within the parameters of the contest, sometimes we have to put aside a great story because it did less of a good job meeting the contest criteria. The fact that you didn’t make the final cut DOES NOT mean you didn’t write a great story.  Everyone who plonked their butt in a chair and worked hard to write a story for this contest is a winner!  You showed up.  You did your best work.  You practiced your craft.  You wrote to specifications and a deadline.  You bravely shared your writing with the world.  And you have a brand new story that is now yours to revise, expand, and polish if you like and maybe submit at some point to a magazine or as a PB manuscript.  A lot of people have successfully done that at this point – we have quite a few books in the world that were born in Halloweensie, Holiday, or Valentiny Contests, as you see in the prizes listed below!  And not necessarily from people who were finalists – it’s about the idea and what you do with it. So bravo to everyone who entered!

But as you well know by now, with large entry numbers, all of high quality, come hard choices.  The place where quite a few well-written entries fell short was on the mystery element of the contest, which we realize was a challenge in 250 words. But although those entries may not have been recognized as finalists or honorable mentions, they are still stories with solid potential for their writers, and we really enjoyed them!

My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the entries 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 earlier this week for your vote.

There were, however, a few entries that barely missed being finalists, and other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another, or that the judges couldn’t reach a consensus on.

So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition, a lovely badge (which I haven’t made yet – getting to that!), and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:

1. For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole: (entries we truly wrestled with not including in the finalists!)

Rose Cappelli for Gracie and the Christmas Tree Mystery – sweet and lovely, a picture book in the making
Melissa J. Miles for The Night Santa Went Missing – clever and funny
Elizabeth Volkmann for The Story of A Solstice Lost and Found – lovely
Angela Steffen for The Disappearing Act – cute, fun, and very kid-friendly
Angel Gantnier for What Is It? – great job leaving us wondering!
Marty Findley for The Missing Mitten Mystery – sweet ending
Webb Smith for Nursery Crimes – so clever!
Maria Kim for Santa Is That You? – nicely done kid-friendly mystery
Lauri Meyers for Fruitcake Bandit – entertaining and original
Tara Seahorn for Gone Nuts! – cute and mysterious
Trinity Clark for A Sneaky Christmas Eve – good mystery, fun place names, fun ending
P.J. Purtee for Who Ate The Christmas Pie – mysterious with a fun twist at the end!
Amber A. Novak for Darkness Is Coming! – cute story with a humorous ending!

2. For Great Detective Voice: (you captured the mood of a classic mystery!)

Jennifer Tarr for The Maltese Latke

3. For Kid-Friendly: (you wrote a story kids would love!)

Christine Alemshah for Santa’s Belly Button
Lisa Rowe Fraustino for The Biggest Gift

4. For Beautiful Writing: (you evoked scene and/or emotion!)

Ian Rodrigues for Arctic Winter Solstice Mystery
Margaret Zotkiewicz for A Thousand Stars

5. For Best Entry By A Young Writer:

Thomas Christie for A Merry Mix-Up

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all use the handy Contact button or email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com subject line Prize Winner to collect your award badge (which I have not made yet, sorry! getting to it!) and prize, which, for Category 1: Honorable Mention in the Competition as a Whole, is ten dollars for an online store that begins with A.

For all the other Categories 2-5, the prize is five dollars in a format that can be emailed for you to put toward something you’d like at a large online store (and I’m being cryptic because if I’m not I get a ton of problematic spam mail, but hopefully you can figure it out.  The store starts with the letter A 😊 )

And now…

…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2024 HOLIDAY CONTEST as voted on by you, our esteemed readers!!!

rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat

DDDRRRUUUMMM RRROOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

In First Place…

Winner of the whole shebang…

who gets first choice of all the prizes…

Amanda Blaylock
for
Wet Christmas

Congratulations, Amanda, on a clever, kid-friendly mystery that made us laugh every time we read it and was clearly very popular with a LOT of readers!!!

In Second Place

Meg Winikates
for
Who Stole Santa’s Boot?

Congratulations, Meg, on creating a clever, cumulative, circular story with mystery, humor and a fun ending! You get to pick your prize after Amanda.

In Third Place

Jessica Iwanski
for
Found: Puppy

Congratulations, Jessica, on a fun and entertaining mystery with a great ending, written in perfect rhyme! You get to pick your prize after Amanda and Meg.

In Fourth Place

Sarah Meade
for
Molly And The Christmas Eve Guest

Congratulations, Sarah, on a creative, kid-friendly mystery that did not end the way we expected! Such fun! You get to pick your prize after Amanda, Meg, and Jessica!

In Fifth Place

Amanda Fletcher
for
A Most Perplexing Holiday
       

Congratulations, Amanda, on an original, creative mystery with great details and voice. We might hide behind the sitting aparatus but we’re not drinking bovine extract! 😊 You get to pick your prize after Amanda, Meg, Jessica, and Sarah!

In Sixth Place…

Maria Piñero Pope
for
Something’s NOT Right In Gingerville Hills

Congratulations, Maria! What a fun – and funny! – creative, engaging mystery, so cleverly done. I don’t think George could have been any more clueless 😊 Great job! You get to pick your prize after Amanda, Meg, Jessica, Sarah, and Maria!

In Seventh Place…

Ryann Jones
for
Elf Encounters

Congratulations, Ryann!  We loved your perfectly rhymed mystery about the mischievous elf! I’m sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now 😊

In Eighth Place…

Daniella Kaufman
for
The Last Gift

Congratulations, Daniella, on a well-written mystery (in perfect rhyme, no less!) that really had us wondering WHAT was in that box! Very kid-friendly! You get to pick after Ryann 😊

In Ninth Place

Emily Roberts
for
Sprinkle McGee, At Your Service

Congratulations, Emily! We loved your kid-friendly mystery with it’s Christmas Curmudgeon, fun clues, and clever discovery! 😊 You get to pick after Daniella! 😊

In Tenth Place

Maria Piñero Pope
for
Imposter Santa
A Wicked Christmas Bash

Congratulations, Maria, on a great mystery that found a familiar villain playing a new role! And congratulations on being the first person in nearly 50 contests (it’s nearly 2 AM and I can’t figure out the exact number right now 😊) to have TWO entries in the finals! You get to pick your prize after Emily!

In Eleventh Place

Emma Applegarth
for
The Tumble-Down Menorah

Congratulations, Emma, on a nicely written mystery where your main character really took charge of hunting down clues and finding a solution! Nicely done! You get to pick after Maria!

In Twelfth Place

Bri Lawyer
for
Run, Run, As Fast As You CAN’T

Congratulations, Bri, on a clever mystery where the perpetrators turned out to be antlered and hooved! Thank goodness for some quick thinking and carrot cake! You get to pick after Emma!

In Thirteenth Place

Susan Summers
for
Mystery Gift

Congratulations, Susan, on a wonderfully constructed mystery that was so kid-friendly! We loved your litte band of detectives. Terrific job! You get to pick your prize after Bri!

In Fourteenth Place

Jessica Jenson
for
Stray Shoes On St. Nicholas Day

Congratulations, Jessica, on a solid mystery amidst a very believable scene of mayhem 😊 Very kid-friendly and fun! You get to pick after Susan!

All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes!  (The sooner the better!)  And for your convenience, the whole prize list is included at the bottom of this post.

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 and a shower of holiday confetti!

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!

As I… hmm… maybe didn’t mention…? but seem to do every year so you’re probably not surprised, I’m taking a little blogging break so I can spend time with my family. So I will see you all in a couple weeks – most probably the first week of January 😊

Before we part company, I want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday filled with love, laughter, joy, and family, and a happy, healthy and successful new year!  It is a pleasure and a privilege to get to spend time with you all, and I’m happy and grateful to know each and every one of you!

Looking forward to all the things we’ll do in 2025!

Happy Holidays, and all best wishes for a wonderful New Year!!!

The Prizes!: Good luck choosing!!!

Also, please take note of something special about this contest’s prizes! The first 4 prizes on the list are being offered by writers who won, placed, or HMed in one of the contests on this blog and who now have published books based on their contest entries to show for it!!!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique AND a Signed Copy of MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAR MARS from Penny Parker Klostermann, talented author of MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAR MARS (September 3, 2024 from Macmillan/Godwin Books) – a story that placed 2nd in the 2011 Holiday Contest! How’s that for inspiring? – as well as THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT (Random House 2015) and A COOKED-UP FAIRY TALE (Random House 2017) and the forthcoming SPIDER LADY: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army (Astra/Calkins Creek 2025)

⭐️ Winner’s Choice of Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Author Kelsey Gross OR a signed copy of one of her Solstice Books: WINTER: A SOLSTICE STORY, the original version of which placed 6th in the 2020 Holiday Contest! more inspiration!, or SUMMER: A SOLSTICE STORY

⭐️ Winner’s Choice of a 30 minute Zoom Ask Me Anything from author Jenna Waldman OR a signed copy of one of her books: LARRY’S LATKES (Apples & Honey Press, October 1, 2021) (which tied for 4th in the 2018 Holiday Contest – more inspiration!!!), SHARKBOT SHALOM (Apples & Honey Press, August 1, 2021), or PURR-IM TIME (Apples & Honey Press, February 1, 2023) A PURR-FECT PASSOVER is due out from Apples & Honey Press on March 25, 2025.

⭐️ 30 Minute Zoom PB Critique and Signed Copies of PIRATE & PENGUIN (Page Street Kids, May 30, 2023) and PIRATE & PENGUIN 2 FEW CREW (Page Street Kids, September 3, 2024) from author Mike Allegra (who, incidentally, also had a 6-book Chapter Book Series published – the PRINCE NOT-SO-CHARMING books – which were inspired by the story he wrote for his 2nd place finish in the 2014 March Madness Contest! as well as a Highlights Magazine story based on a Fourth of July Contest entry called Harold’s Hat! – more contest inspiration!!!)

⭐️ Interested in Self Publishing? Author Kizzie Hutcheson Roberts will help you format a picture book for self-publication (does not include providing illustrations) (Can be saved until you’re ready – Kizzi will honor it down the road) Kizzi is the indie author of THE ELVES GO MARCHING (Elemental Ink, December 1, 2022), THE EGGS GO ROLLING (Learning Spark, February 16, 2023), and HARPER AND THE RAPTOR RESCUE (chapter book) (Learning Spark Educational Publishing, June 27, 2023)

⭐️ Signed Copy of LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN PLUS A 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, 4/15/25 – Available for Pre-Order Now),  AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? A Passover Hide-And-Seek Adventure (Penguin/Rocky Pond, Spring 2024), LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN (Scholastic, 9/3/24), WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW! (Capstone, 1/1/25 – Available for Pre-Order Now), FINDING FORGIVENESS (Macmillan/FSG, 8/5/25), SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND (Barefoot Books, Fall 2025), and LOOKING FOR LIGHT: A Shabbat Story (Macmillan/FSG, Fall 2026)

Sign up for Rebecca’s NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/h2sK8X

⭐️ Winner’s Choice of Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction) or a signed copy of one of her books 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

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (non rhyming) from Maria Antonia, author of THE CHRISTMAS ELEPHANT (Paraclete Press, October 8, 2024) and the forthcoming BARNABY, THE RUNAWAY SHEEP (Paraclete Press, March 4, 2025)

⭐️ Winner’s Choice of Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming) or a 30 minute Zoom Ask Me Anything from author Lori Degman! Lori is the author of COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS! (Creston Books, January 1, 2014), NORBERT’S BIG DREAM (Sleeping Bear Press, August 1, 2016), 1 ZANY ZOO (Simon&Schuster, July 20, 2010), JUST READ (Union Square Kids, March 5, 2019), LIKE A GIRL(Union Square Kids, August 13, 2019), TRAVEL GUIDE FOR MONSTERS (Sleeping Bear Press, April 15, 2020), and TRAVEL GUIDE FOR MONSTERS PART DEUX: A CANADIAN ADVENTURE (Sleeping Bear Press, April 15, 2023)

⭐️Winner’s Choice of Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a 30 minute Zoom Ask Me Anything from Kelly Conroy, author of YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING (Tiger Tales, November 5, 2024) and the forthcoming I SEE YOU IN THE STARS: A ZODIAC BOOK FOR BABIES (Familius 2025)

⭐️ A One-Hour Zoom with Feedback on a Picture Book Written in Rhyme or Free Verse from developmental editor Lou Piccolo! Lou Piccolo is an author, poet and developmental editor of children’s
literature based in France. When she’s not writing for the educational market or editing kidlit, she works as a contributing editor for GO English Kids magazine. She is also the owner of RHYME MADE EASY(er), a
skills-based resource for authors to revise, and practice their scansion and rhyme of children’s rhyming picture books, poetry collections and standalone poems. She is a graduate of Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab – Punching Up Prose With Poetry course and Making Picture Book Magic,

⭐️ Three 30-minute Get Unstuck Brainstorming Zoom Calls with author/editor Alayne Kay Christian! Have you taken your story as far as you can, but still feel like something is off or it’s not quite there yet? Alayne is offering mini-mentoring mixed with brainstorming to help you on your way to success! Alayne is the author of BUTTERFLY KISSES FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA (Blue Whale Press, 2008), SIENNA THE COWGIRL FAIRY: COWBOY TROUBLE (Blue Whale Press 2021), THE WEED THAT WOKE CHRISTMAS (Blue Whale Press, 2020), and AN OLD MAN AND HIS PENGUIN (Blue Whale Press, 2020)

⭐️ A 30 Minute Ask Me Anything Zoom Call with Barbara Kimmel PLUS a signed copy of her debut picture book, HANUKKAH HIPPITY HOP! Barbara is the author of HANUKKAH HIPPITY HOP (Kar-Ben Publishing, October 1, 2024) and the forthcoming PURIM POSSIBILITIES (PJ Publishing 2026).

⭐️ A Set of Julie Abery’s BABY DINO Board Books OR an ASK ME ANYTHING Session With Her About Writing Board Books. Julie is the author of more than a dozen books for children including picture books SAKAMOTO’S SWIM CLUB (Kids Can Press, May 4, 2021), THE OLD MAN AND THE PENGUIN (Kids Can Press, October 6, 2020), and YUSRA SWIMS (Creative Editions, February 26, 2020), as well as 8 board books in the LITTLE ANIMAL FRIENDS series and 4 board books in the BABY DINOSAUR series. Check them all out HERE!

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, and supporting them in any other