So, there I was, tootling along, minding my own business, and humming my homemade Phyllis song in a most tuneful hummy kind of way when

BAM!

I suddenly realized two things:

1.  Groundhog Day is a mere 6 days away!

2.  THIS YEAR IS PHYLLIS’S 20th ANNIVERSARY!!!

WHAT???!!!

TWENTY YEARS???!!!

Where does the time go?

Clearly this calls for celebration!

Luckily, I have a plan.

We shall all write a poem in honor of Phyllis!

I’m thinking maybe An Ode To Phyllis… or a limerick 🙂  or if you’re really ambitious, a combination of the two 🙂  A sonnet would be nice, if you’re feeling Shakespearean.  Or perhaps a haiku or two about the Natural Wonder that is Phyllis the Groundhog.  Really, Phyllis is not picky, as long as it’s a poem… about her… 🙂

That IS what you were expecting, right? The chance to write a poem about Phyllis?

No?

You had something else in mind?

Perhaps you were thinking of something less groundhoggy and a little more Valentiny . . ?

Well then, it must be time to give you the guidelines for. . .

The 10th Annual Valentiny Writing Contest

~ for children’s writers ~

The Contest:  Since writing for children is all about “big emotion for little people” (I forget who said that, but someone did so I put it in quotes!) and Valentine’s Day is all about emotion, write a Valentine story appropriate for children (children here defined as ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words in which someone feels WORRIED!  They can be worried about something or someone, or for something or someone. They can worry about succeeding or failing, making the right impression or the wrong one. They can worry about something as big as love or as small as whether they have enough paper. They can worry about a person, an event, an activity, an animal, an art project, a performance. . . anything you like! Sky’s the limit!  Just make sure it is clearly Valentine-centered and that worry is central to your story! Think beyond the obvious!  Your story can be poetry or prose, sweet, funny, surprising or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes someone who is worried (can be the main character but doesn’t have to be) and is 214 words (get it? 2/14 for Valentine’s Day 😊 ) You can go under the word count but not over! (Title is not included in the word count.)  If you are so inclined, you are welcome to enter more than one entry – just remember you’ll be competing against yourself 😊  No illustration notes please!

Post your story in the comment section of my Wednesday February 12th Post, (NOT THIS POST!), between 12:01 AM Eastern Wednesday February 12th and Friday February 14th by 11:59 PM Eastern.  There will be no regularly scheduled posts for the duration of the contest (Tuesday Debut or PPBF), so the post and all of your entries will stay up for everyone to enjoy.  If you have difficulty with the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you. But please don’t email your entry before the start of the contest – my inbox is generally overflowing and things may get lost!

The Judging: over the following days, my lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to around 12 top choices depending on number and quality of entries which will be posted here and voted on for a winner as soon as we can get them up.   The winners and Honorable Mentions will be announced a few days after the vote. (I’m not even going to try to hazard a guess on exact dates!)

Judging criteria will include:

1. Kid-appeal/Kid-friendliness – remember, this is a story for kids!
2. Creativity in using worry, and success in making us feel the worry! Worry must be central to the story line, not just mentioned briefly in passing in a story about something else entirely.
3. Valentine’s Day appropriateness – this is a VALENTINE story and Valentine’s Day must be central to it!
4. Quality of story – we will look for basic story elements and a true story arc
5. Quality of writing – use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics, excellence of rhyme and meter if you use it, PROOFREADING!
6. Originality – surprise us with something new and different! 😊
7. How well you followed the Submission Guidelines – agents and editors expect professionalism. This is a chance to practice making sure you read and follow specified guidelines.

The Prizes:  So many amazing prizes from such generous kidlit folks! Have a good look – it will motivate you to write your entry!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Lydia Lukidis, accomplished author of UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere (Capstone Editions, January 1, 2025), DEEP, DEEP DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone Editions, Augist 1, 2024), DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars To New Heights (Albert Whitman, April 4, 2024, ), NO BEARS ALLOWED (Blue Whale Press, July 1, 2019) as well as more than 40 other titles for the trade and educational market, with GROUCHO THE GROUGHY GROUNDHOG: Pancake Problems (book 1) (Andrews McMeel Publishing, July 15, 2025) coming soon!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique 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)

⭐️ Signed Copy of WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW! 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)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (no rhyme or verse, up to 1000 words) OR a Chapter Book Manuscript Critique (up to 5000 words) from  Kizzie Hutcheson Roberts.  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)

⭐️ A first read-through recording package from children’s author and poet Sarah Meade, contributor to HOP TO IT: POEMS TO GET YOU MOVING (Pomelo Books, 2020!) where she will read aloud and record up to five PB manuscripts for one author (1,000 words or less each, fiction or nonfiction, rhyming or non-rhyming) so you can hear how your stories sound to someone who is unfamiliar with them on a first read-through! Very helpful and enlightening!

⭐️ A Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming or non-rhyming) from Nancy Derey Riley, author/illustrator of CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY (Rolling Prairie Publishing LLC, November 10, 2020), BUTTERFLY INN (Rolling Prairie Publishing LLC, May 25, 2022), YETI IN THE SERENGETI (Rolling Prairie Publishing LLC, May 30, 2023), and a new book due out next spring that is still hush-hush 😊

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (fiction) OR 30 Minute Ask Me Anything – winner’s choice! – from Karyn Friedman-Everham, author of OTTER OUGHTA KNOW (Orchard Books, April 2, 2024)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique or Ask Me Anything Email Chat from Donna Martin, creator of Storycatcher Publishing, and first rate author of picture books THE STORY CATCHER, THE GREAT POTATO RACE, HAILEY’S HATS, A BUMP IN THE NIGHT and A BARNYARD CHRISTMAS, as well as her middle-grade HISTORY’S MYSTERIES, a YA – LUNADOR, and others!

⭐️ 2 Fantastic Picture Books! A signed copy of CLOUDS IN SPACE: Nebulae, Stardust and Us by Teresa Robeson (MIT Kids Press, August 20, 2024) AND a copy of WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! (Creston Books, May 7, 2024) by Robin Newman!

⭐️ A 30 Minute Zoom Ask Me Anything with Cindy Williams Schrauben, author of THIS COULD BE YOU: Be Brave! Be True! Believe! Be You! (Cardinal Rule Press, April 1, 2022) and the forthcoming HANK’S CHANGE OF HEART (The Little Press, November 4, 2025)

⭐️ A Signed Copy of Jilanne Hoffman’s gorgeous A RIVER OF DUST: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon OR A 30-minute Zoom Ask Me Anything (Winner’s Choice) from Jilanne Hoffman, talented author of 2 board books, THE HONEY BEAR HIVE (Mudpuppy January 2023), HAPPY CAMPER (Mudpuppy January 2022), and A RIVER OF DUST (Chronicle Books, July 25, 2023) as well as THE OCEAN’S HEART forthcoming from Lerner in Spring 2026!

⭐️ A “Love Bundle” Consisting of a Signed Copy of LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND AND a Heart Pillow from the lovely and talented Mary Munson!!!

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