Category: prizes

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest – WINNERS!!!

98 Comments

Good Monday, everyone!

(Doesn’t that sound so Shakespeare-y?  It’s like Good Morrow :))

I know none of you has gotten a minute of rest or a wink of sleep for days, what with the torturous anticipation of finding out who the winners of the contest are!

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!

You’ve probably gnawed all the erasers off your pencils, bitten your nails to the quick, and lost 5 pounds from being unable to contemplate the idea of sustenance whilst in such a heightened state of suspense!  (That’s okay, it means you can have triple helpings of chocolate on Wednesday when you stop by for Would You Read It :))

So I will not keep you in suspense any longer!

(I would not want to be responsible for one more brow wrinkle or gray hair of consternation and anxiety! :))

I just have one quick thing to say, which is that EVERYONE who entered this contest should be very proud of themselves.  You all showed up, put in the work, produced GORGEOUS book covers (which our authors are all so thrilled about!), followed guidelines, and worked to a deadline – all very important skills to practice when illustrating and/or writing is your profession 🙂  Even if you didn’t make the finals, be assured that your illustrations were greatly enjoyed by many upon many!  Seriously!  I am not making this up.  The contest post with all your links had around 3 thousand views, which means lots of people were visiting you, even if they didn’t all comment!  So we are giving you a round of thunderous applause – clapclapclapclapclap!!!!! – and you should pat yourselves on the back and have an extra slice of chocolate cake – you did good! 🙂

Also, I had a lovely time at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival on Saturday.  I got to see my dear friends Iza Trapani (she of illustrious judging fame :)) and Nancy Furstinger, and I had the honor of being placed at a signing table right next to none other than Jane O’Connor (you know, Fancy Nancy Jane O’Connor!)  I felt like I was very much in the wrong place next to all that famousness!

And then I spent all day Sunday driving to Boston…

What?

You don’t care?

That’s kind of rude, don’t you think?  When I was about to tell you about how I was forced encouraged to listen to Pink Floyd’s The Wall straight through from start to finish at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning?  Which is not the most uplifting set of tunes, let me tell you, even though there’s a lot of great music involved.  And I can tell you that by the end of the entire day of driving, certain parts of my anatomy were unComfortably Numb…

What?

Oh gosh!  Right!  I was supposed to be telling you about the winners!  Sorry.  My bad!

DDDDDRRRRRUUUUUMMMMM  RRRRROOOOOLLLLLLLLLL  PLEASE!!!!

The winner of the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest and a portfolio critique by Michael Garland!!! is:

Julie Rowan-Zoch
with her stunning cover for Elliah Terry’s The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster!

Congratulations, Julie!  That is some cover!  It knocked a lot of socks off! 🙂

In second place, winner of a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials is

Donna Marie
with her bold and colorful cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Donna Marie!  Your cover was absolutely fabulous!

In third place,*

Louis Davilla Wiyono
with his humorous cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Louis!  Your cover was arresting! 🙂

In fourth place,*

Colleen Kosinski
with her winsome cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Colleen!  Your sweet cover made us feel sorry for the naughty Goldi 🙂

In fifth place,*

Anne Mitchell
with her delightful cover for Jennifer Caritas’s The “Princess” And The Pete

Congratulations, Anne!  Your cover was so appealing!

In sixth place, winner of a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils is

Tiemdow Phumiruk
with her mischievous cover for Elliah Terry’s The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Congratulations, Tiemdow!  Your cover was such fun!

* Third, fourth, and fifth place winners each have their choice of any one of the following books:

      – Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

Winners, please email me so we can talk details 🙂

Thank you again to all the illustrators who participated in this contest and treated us all to such beautiful artwork; to our wonderful judges, Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing, without whom we could not have done this!; and to all the readers and viewers who visited, commented, and voted to celebrate these talented artists!  It is all of you who make these contests fun and worthwhile!  Hear! Hear!  What the heck!  Even though it’s not Wednesday, let’s have a little chocolate all around! 🙂

Thank you, thank you, thank you, ALL!!!

Have a magnificent Monday, everyone! 🙂

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest Finalists! – Come Vote!!

107 Comments

O   H     M Y     G   O  O   D  N   E S   S !!!
O   H     M  Y     G  O   O  D   N     E  S S

(Sorry!  I can’t help jumping up and down!)

Do you know what time it is???

It’s time to announce the finalists for

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!

But first I have to say that I was thrilled with what a great turn out we got for a first-ever contest!  I was hoping we’d get 10, and really hoping we’d get 20, so how completely wonderful that we got 35 entries!!!

And they were all so beautiful and creative and well done!
There were 8 fabulous stories for the illustrators to choose from – stories that won the March Madness Writing Contest last month.  Happily, every single story inspired at least 2 illustrators, so all the stories were represented.  The entries broke down as follows:
1. The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff by Wendy Greenley – 6 illustrations
2. Goldilockup by Mike Allegra – 5 illustrations
3. Goldibawks And The Three Pairs by Dawn Young – 2 illustrations
4. The Sweetie Witch by Pen Avey – 4 illustrations
5. The Princess And The Stinky Cheese by Lauri Meyers – 9 illustrations
6. Mongoose’s Holi Party by Darshana Khiani – 2 illustrations
7. The “Princess” And The Pete by Jennifer Caritas – 3 illustrations
8. The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster by Elliah Terry – 4 illustrations
So a very nice spread!
And now, a few words from our illustrious judges, award-winning author/illustrators Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing:
Iza said, “Thank you everyone for the wonderful entries!  Lisa and I enjoyed them and regret that we could only pick 6 finalists. You all did a great job.  Keep up the good work!”

Lisa said, “We were so impressed with everyone’s enthusiasm and how much effort you all put in!”

I say, many thanks to our wonderful judges for donating their time and expertise to pore over all these entries, carefully weighing the merits of each until they could reach a consensus as to which ones should qualify for the finals.  Many thanks as well to all the very talented illustrators who took the time and care to produce such beautiful book covers for these original stories!  We have enjoyed your work so much, and it’s been different and fun to experience a competition for illustration instead of writing!

Please consider each of the following finalists carefully and vote for the one you think you’d be most likely to pluck off a bookshelf 🙂  Remember that the contest rules specifically asked for art only.  Some artists chose to include the title/author/illustrator anyway, but covers which do not show title/author/illustrator should not be penalized in your judgment.

Although there’s no real way to keep these anonymous, I will show the pictures only, no artist names for now (they will all be shown when I announce the winners on Monday May 5.)  I encourage you to share this post with your tribe – the more views these talented illustrators get the better – but I ask that you please not try to influence the vote by saying “Vote for #3!” or whatever.  Let’s let these gorgeous book covers speak for themselves.  It’s not supposed to be a contest about who has the most FB friends or whatnot.  Thank you all for playing fair.  Because many of the finalists are for the same stories, I have identified them with little notes in parentheses to help you remember which is which on the voting poll.

And now, without further ado, I am pleased to present the finalists!  Each cover is accompanied by a few words from the judges 🙂

#1.  Cover for The “Princess” And The Pete

Cover image for The “Princess” And The Pete


Judges comments:  This is a cool image and the illustrator has left plenty of space for a great type design.

# 2.  Cover image for Goldilockup (green border)

Cover image for Goldilockup

Judges comments:  The girl is sweet and nicely drawn.  The details and design elements were carefully thought out.




#3  Cover image for Goldilockup (black border)
Cover image for Goldilockup

Judges comments:  This illustration is very well done. It is a humorous, strong, eye-catching image.  It would be very appealing to a lot of young readers.



 #4.  Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster (black background)

Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster
Judges comments:  The character is funny, quirky, interesting and we wonder what he’s thinking. We would want to read this book. The whole design is great.


#5.  Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster (3 beds)
Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Judges comments: The bunny is cute, with an especially nice face. The picture makes us curious about the story. 



#6.  Cover image for Goldilockup (bears pointing thru bars)

Judges comments:  We thought this cover was a good drawing with a nice composition and colors. We could see it standing out on the Barnes & Noble book wall.

Ready, set, VOTE!

Please vote for your favorite by Sunday May 4 at 5PM EDT!
Boy oh boy is it going to be hard to wait until Monday to find out how these finalists finish up!
Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest for Children’s Illustrators!!!

132 Comments

Fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off!  It’s finally here!

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!
the fact that this particular illustrator resembles a female
is in no way meant to deter any male illustrators! 🙂

The Contest: Draw/Paint/Create a children’s picture book cover illustration (no text required – art only) for one of the following stories (which you will recognize as the top finishers in the March Madness Fractured Fairy Tale Writing Contest – a little extra surprise for those authors :)):

 – The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff by Wendy Greenley
 – Goldilockup by Mike Allegra
 – Goldibawks And The Three Pairs by Dawn Young
 – The Sweetie Witch by Pen Avey
 – The Princess And The Stinky Cheese by Lauri Meyers
 – Mongoose’s Holi Party by Darshana Khiani
 – The “Princess” And The Pete by Jennifer Caritas
 – The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster by Elliah Terry

Illustrations should be 8×10, horizontal or vertical, any medium, posted in jpg at least 72 px
All stories can be read on the March Madness Finalist Post HERE so you will know what to illustrate 🙂  Illustrators may enter more than one entry if they’re feeling ambitious enough to illustrate more than one book title 🙂
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Monday April 28 at 9 PM EDT (contest deadline!), and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below.  This post with the link list will remain up through Tuesday April 29 so that people can come visit and enjoy your gorgeous artwork!  (For regular blog followers, there will be no PPBF on Friday April 25, no new post on Monday April 28, but there will be a brief interruption for WYRI on Wednesday April 30 because I forgot to leave it open for the contest :)).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, you may email me and I’ll post your entry for you!  Also, since this is the first time we’ve done an illustration contest, I’m not sure if you actually CAN paste your entry into the comments.  If this turns out to be a problem, email them to me and I’ll add them directly to this post.)

Judging:  entries will be judged by multi-talented, award-winning author/illustrators Iza Trapani, author and illustrator of over 20 gorgeous picture books, and Lisa Thiesing, author and illustrator of at least 16 beautiful and fun picture books and early readers!   Judging criteria to include:


 – is the picture readable to a young audience,
 – how well does it show the character(s) and
 – is the character(s) appealing (character development),
 – does it make you want to read the story,
 – originality
 – skill.


They will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more or less depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday May 1 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday May 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday May 5.  (No PPBF on Friday May 2.)


The Prizes!:  There will definitely be a 1st prize.  Whether we give prizes for 1st only, 1st-3rd, or 1st-6th will depend on how many entries we get.  We need at least 12 entries to place through 3rd, and at least 20 to place through 6th.

    First Prize is absolutely amazing!  A portfolio critique by celebrated author/illustrator Michael Garland, who has over 20 picture books to his credit!!!

 – Second Prize – a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials (which is online)
 – Third, Fourth & Fifth Prize will be winner’s choice of one of the following books:
      – Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

 – Sixth Prize – a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils

I’m so excited to see what everyone comes up with!  As a person whose artistic ability is limited to stick figures, scribbling and relatively easy coloring books, I am in awe of anyone who can draw/paint/cause anything recognizable to appear on paper/canvas/computer screen 🙂  I hope we’ll get plenty of entries, and that there will be at least one attempt at every title!

Tweet: Enjoy the art! Enter yourself! Children’s Book Cover Illustration Contest @SusannaLHill http://ctt.ec/58ZUb+ #kidart #illustration

Let the artistic fun begin!!!  🙂

Don’t miss Laura’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff in the comment section! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Katie’s entry for Goldibawks And The Three Pairs! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Laura’s entry for The Sweetie Witch! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Angela’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

and here’s Suzy’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

Entry from Hilary Swann for The “Princess” And The Pete

Hilary Swann – The “Princess” And The Pete

The 2014 March Madness Contest Winners!!!

74 Comments

Oh. My. Goodness!

That was the closest, most hotly contested race for a winner we’ve ever had!

I hope that means that my assistant judges and I made good choices for the finalists! 🙂

The March Madness Writing Contest!

I admit it – I get all the fun.  Sitting in the judge’s chair, watching the votes come in, seeing first one person and then another in the lead, biting my nails when there are ties, waiting on pins and needles to see who will emerge victorious….

Normally I’d string you along and tease you for a while, but I’m too wiped out by this whole roller-coaster process.

Truly, it is not for the faint of heart.

Up one minute, down the next.  Nerves stretched like bow strings.

A person less physically fit than myself (haha snort! – can’t say THAT with a straight face after this winter :)) might suffer palpitations!

And speaking of palpitations, I had them aplenty when her royal highness, Miss Scouty Brown, came sauntering back in the house this morning having found something dreadful to roll in!  “What is that SMELL???!!!” all the children shrieked!

Fortunately, we are in the midst of a small flood which, aside from making the basement a delightful place for canoeing, means that there is a lot of water outside.  Scouty was able to enjoy her first swim of the year… twice… with the fortuitous result that she returned from our walk refreshed and smelling mostly like wet dog instead of Something Yucky.

But wait.

What were we talking about?

Oh yes!

The contest!

So, who won?

Oh!  I’m supposed to tell you!

🙂

Okay.

Seriously.

I’m really going to tell.

We had 75 fantastic entries, which we winnowed down by hook or by crook, to the best of our ability, to 10 fabulous finalists.

Y’all voted for your favorites.

And the winner of the 2014 March Madness Writing Contest, who gets to send the picture book manuscript of her choice to none other than the renowned children’s literary agent, Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary is. . .

duhn duhn duhn
dddddrrrrruuuuummmmm rrrrrooooollllllllll pppppllllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee!!!!!

Wendy Greenley
with her clever Three Wiggly Worms Bluff!!!

Congratulations on a wonderful story, Wendy!  I think it’s clear that a LOT of people really enjoyed it! 🙂

Now, I wasn’t kidding when I said this contest was hotly contested.  I kept asking for votes this weekend, hoping the ties would get broken, but not all of them did.

So, for 2nd place we had a tie between

Mike Allegra
with the fantabulous Goldilockup!

and

Dawn Young
with the hilarious Goldibawks!

Congratulations Mike and Dawn, on two terrific and very different twists on Goldilocks!  Lori and Cori have generously agreed to each give a critique instead of just one or the other, so you will each get a picture book critique by a fantastic author!

In 3rd place, guess what?  Another tie!  This time between

Pen Avey
with her delicious Sweetie Witch

and

Lauri Meyers
with her daring Princess And The Stinky Cheese!

Congratulations, Pen and Lauri!  I will prevail upon Corey to tire her signing hand by signing copies of her books for both of you! 🙂  And you may email me about your gift cards.

4th place goes to

Darshana Khiani
with her delightful Mongoose’s Holi Party!

Congratulations, Darshana, on a truly original tale!  You may choose the two picture books you’d like from the prize list.  (I’ll tack it on the bottom of the post for easy reference :)) And email me about your gift card.

In 5th place,

Jennifer Caritas (hope I’ve got that right…!)
with another forthright heroine in The “Princess” And The Pete!

Congratulations on a terrific story, Jennifer!  You may also choose the two picture books you’d like from the prize list below and email me about your gift card.

And in 6th place,

Elliah Terry
with her fun southwestern Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster!

Congratulations, Elliah!  I bet that gila monster is still running from the coyote 🙂 You will receive a personalized sighed copy of SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen!

All the winners should email me to work out prize details!

But now, we are not quite done.

Because, like I said, this was a hotly contested contest.  My assistant judges and I had quite a few other favorites that we felt couldn’t quite make the finalist list for one reason or another, but we all thought they were worthy of recognition.  So the following people (in no particular order) receive our heartfelt Honorable Mention!

Gaye Hemsley – Chocolate Muffins
Joanne Roberts – Goldi And The Three Squirrels
Vivian Kirkfield – Singerella
Katie Gast – Little Dead Riding Hood
Katie Cullinan – The Three Little Easter Bunnies
Jen Doherty – The Mischievous Fire Truck
Laura Shovan – The 12 Clumsy Princesses
Margaret Greenias – The Big, Bad-Mannered Wolf
Angela Turner – The Belle And The Sticker Burrs
Cheryl Secomb – Little Red Rider
Robert Schechter – Humpty
Erik Weibel – The Once Upon A Times
Rachel – Handsome And Gretchin

Congratulations to all of you on stories that were original, fun, and very entertaining!  You may all choose one of the following as a prize: (titles are links so you can check them out)

Kindle Edition – The Nuts & Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman
Kindle Edition – Picture Books The Write Way by Laura Purdie Salas & Lisa Bullard
Kindle Edition – How To Write A Children’s Picture Book by Darcy Pattison
Kindle Edition – The Easy Way To Write Picture Books That Sell by Robin Opie Parnell
Kindle Edition – How To Promote Your Children’s Book: Tips, Tricks and Secrets To Create A Bestseller by Katie Davis

Paperback – Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine (also available for Kindle)
Paperback – How To Write A Novel: 47 Rules For Writing A Stupendously Awesome Novel That You Will Love Forever by Nathan Bransford (also available for Kindle)
Paperback – The Plot Skeleton by Angela Hunt (also available for Kindle)

Please email me and let me know your preference!

Congratulations to everyone who entered a story in this contest.  You all did an amazing job!  My assistant judges and I loved every story for one reason or another.  And I think it’s fair to say that you entertained a LARGE number of readers!

Thank you so much to everyone who visited blogs, read, commented, and voted – these contests couldn’t happen without you!

And thank you to the generous people who donated prizes – Karen Grencik, Lori Degman, and Cori Doerffeld – you’re what everyone tries so hard for and you bring out the best in the writing community!

It’s been another fun contest, and I thank you all!

I was going to announce the upcoming first ever * Illustrator Contest * today, but this post is too long already, and I really don’t want to distract from the winners’ moment in the spotlight, so I will either write a special Tuesday post for tomorrow or tack it onto the Would You Read It post on Wednesday.

So congratulations again to all the winners for all their wonderful stories, and to everyone who wrote a story for this contest.  You are all winners just for showing up, writing something new, and practicing your craft!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone! 🙂

List of Prizes:

 – 1st Prize is a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!!! (Unless for some reason you don’t want a read and critique by an agent, in which case you may swap for any of the other prizes)
 – 2nd Prize is a picture book manuscript critique (for rhyming mss only) by Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and the forthcoming COCK-A-DOODLE-OOPS! OR a picture book manuscript critique (for non-rhyming mss only) by Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO and PENNY LOVES PINK as well as illustrator of many others.
 – 3rd Prize is personalized signed copies of THE THREE NINJA PIGS and GOLDI ROCKS & THE THREE BEARS by Corey Rosen Schwartz PLUS a $25 Amazon Gift Card
 – 4th and 5th Prizes are your choice of any two of the following picture books PLUS a $20 Amazon Gift Card:
     – THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas
     – CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA by Susan Lowell
     – LITTLE RED WRITING by Joan Holub
     – THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF by Mark Teague
     – THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart
     – THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Toby Forward
     – GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS by Mo Willems

 – 6th Prize (which just skated in under the wire – thank you Sudipta!) is a personalized signed copy of hot-off-the-presses SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

The March Madness Writing Contest Is Here!!!

474 Comments

Woo-hoo!!!

Spring is here!

And so is

The March Madness Writing Contest!

The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, that is a fractured fairy tale.  Feel free to add a theme of spring, or mix in one of the spring holidays if you like – St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, Easter or Passover, Arbor Day, Earth Day…  Have fun with it!  The madder* the better! 🙂
*as in wild and wacky, not angry 🙂

You do not have to include spring – that is optional.
The story can be a picture book or a short story – whatever you like.
If it’s a picture book, you may NOT include art notes, because we get into a weird area of whether that’s fair in terms of word count and added description etc.  So if you write a picture book that’s wonderful, but make sure art notes aren’t necessary to understand it.
“Fairy Tale” apparently turned out to be a very debatable term, so my fellow judges and I will do our best to handle whatever you’ve come up with.
Title not included in word count.
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Monday March 24 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below which will remain up through Wednesday March 26 so we can all take our time reading and enjoying everyone’s stories!  (No PPBF on Friday March 21, no new post on Monday March 24, no WYRI on March 26).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I’ll post your entry for you!)

The Judge:  My lovely assistant and I will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday March 27 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday March 30 and the winner will be announced on Monday March 31.  (No PPBF on Friday March 28.)

The Prizes!:  

 – 1st Prize is a read and critique by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary!!! (Unless for some reason you don’t want a read and critique by an agent, in which case you may swap for any of the other prizes)
 – 2nd Prize is a picture book manuscript critique (for rhyming mss only) by Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and the forthcoming COCK-A-DOODLE-OOPS! OR a picture book manuscript critique (for non-rhyming mss only) by Cori Doerrfeld, author/illustrator of LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO and PENNY LOVES PINK as well as illustrator of many others.
 – 3rd Prize is personalized signed copies of THE THREE NINJA PIGS and GOLDI ROCKS & THE THREE BEARS by Corey Rosen Schwartz PLUS a $25 Amazon Gift Card
 – 4th and 5th Prizes are your choice of any two of the following picture books PLUS a $20 Amazon Gift Card:
     – THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas
     – CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA by Susan Lowell
     – LITTLE RED WRITING by Joan Holub
     – THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF by Mark Teague
     – THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart
     – THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Toby Forward
     – GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS by Mo Willems

 – 6th Prize (which just skated in under the wire – thank you Sudipta!) is a personalized signed copy of hot-off-the-presses SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

And don’t forget, all you illustrators, that this will be followed by a related Illustrator Contest in April!!! (to be announced and elaborated on as soon as the writing part of the contest is over! :))

And now, so that everyone will feel happy and confident about posting their stories, I will share my sample, a Wild West twist on The Gingerbread Boy at exactly 400 words (phew!):

The Cornpone Cowboy

     Once upon a time (because that is the way all good fairy tales begin), Farmer Bubba and his lovely bride ThunderLily had the most beautiful ranch in the Wild West.
     The grass was emerald green.
     The rivers were pure as morning dew.
     The cattle were sleek and fat and gave such rich, creamy milk that all the ice cream makers in the world fought over who would get it.
     But even with all this beauty and excellent ice cream, Bubba and ThunderLily were sad.  For though they were surrounded every spring by velvet-eyed calves and stilt-legged foals, fluffy chicks, pink piglets, and wooly lambs, they never had a child of their own.
     Luckily, ThunderLily was not one to sit around moping.  “If I can’t have a child, I’ll make one,” she told her darling Bubba.
     She got cornmeal and buttermilk, eggs, salt, and bacon drippings, and quick as you like she whipped up a sturdy little Cornpone Cowboy.
     “We’ll call him Charlemagne,” she said dreamily as she plucked the skillet from the barbeque pit.
     “You’ll have to catch me first!” snorted the Cornpone Cowboy, and off he rode as fast as his cowpony could carry him.
     He passed the pigpen and the piglets grunted, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Don’t call me that!” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     He passed the sheepfold and the lambs baahed, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Don’t call me that!” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     He passed the cow barn and the calves mooed, “Oh, Charlemagne! Come be our friend!”
     “Why does everyone insist on calling me that?” said the Cornpone Cowboy, and he galloped on his way.
     And so it was at the hen house…
     . . . the horse pasture…
     . . . and the goat shed.
     Along about sundown a voice called, “Hey, Cowboy! Won’t you come set a spell by the campfire?”
     “Don’t mind if I do,” said the Cornpone Cowboy, tuckered out from galloping. He hopped down from his pony, spurs a-janglin’, and came face to face with…
     . . . COYOTE!
     Quick as a wink he twirled his lariat. . . 
     . . . hog-tied Coyote . . .
     . . . and lit out for home!
     When Bubba and ThunderLily heard his story, ThunderLily said, “That’s our boy! Lightning fast!”
     Which is how he came to be called LightningCharlie instead of Charlemagne (because really, who could live with that?) and they all lived happily ever after!

The End

Wasn’t that nice of me?  Now you can all feel brave and smug, secure in the knowledge that your story is better than that!!! 🙂

Anyone besides me feeling an urge to sing?
     “Like a Cornpone Cowboy
     riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
     Cornpone Cowboy…“

No? Darn! I was hoping the exceptional quality of my singing would distract you from that story even though “cornpone” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “rhinestone”  🙂

I can’t wait to read what you have all come up with!  Let the fun begin! 🙂

And remember to check back here for entries added in the comments.  I’ll list them as they come in 🙂 (Titles link to stories in comments – give them an extra moment to load)

Jennifer C – The Princess And The Pete
Pat H – Jack And The Giant
Angela – The Belle And The Sticker Burrs
Sean – No Spring Chicken Little
Shelly – Prince Frog
Kirsten B – Goldi And Red
Pen – The Sweetie Witch
Connie – Chocolocks And The Three Bunnies
Karen – Little Red Hen’s Shiny New Friend
Teresa S – Little Red’s Green Cloak
Eric – A Sleeping Beauty
Katie – Little Dead Riding Hood
Robert – Jack And The Beanstalk
Lisa – Rabbi Wolfberg And The Boarmans Celebrate Sukkot
Denise – The Biscuit Man
Kristen – The Boy Who Cried Spring
Jennifer Mc – Little Red Ray
Debbie – The Three Kittens
Gaye – Chocolate Muffins
Nancy – Big Bad Wolf And Red Riding Toad
Robert2 – The Emperor’s New Clothes
Kelsi – Goldinocks And The Three Scares
Jen – The Mischievous Fire Truck
Heather – Rap-unzel
Robert3 – Humpty
Hilary – Hare And Tortoise
Sandy – The Three Little Pigs And The Shoemaker
Kelly V – A Fractured Fairy Tail (Literally)

Would You Read It Wednesday #120 – The STEM Girls: Rising Stars (PB) AND The Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show Winners!

168 Comments

You don’t have to tell me.

The Groundhogs’ unanimous prediction that we’d have 6 more weeks of winter was a little hard to take.

As we are currently being buried under what some say will be 6-12 inches of snow (and what others are saying will be 12-15 inches, and still others are saying 30+ inches) I guess they’re right so far.  Dang and blast the little marmots!

(Uh, please don’t tell Phyllis I said that!)

This calls for Something Chocolate.  And I have the perfect thing:  Happy Cake!

Don’t you feel better just looking at it?  Doesn’t it make you believe spring will come?  Soon?

I thought so 🙂

Help yourselves! 🙂

Now then.  Before we get to today’s Would You Read It pitch, we have a small matter of business to attend to….

Ironing our socks!

Hee hee hee!  I’m just funnin’ y’all 🙂

I know the real order of business is….

Who won Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show???

And the answer is…

Did I tell you about how Princess Blue Kitty (my car, for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of making her acquaintance :)) is absolutely filthy?  Seriously, I have a theory that they put more salt and sand on the roads at the first hint of snow than they ever used to… Why, when I was a mere sprat, it could snow 2 feet and nary a morsel of salt nor sand did we see!  We just had to tough our way through it, depending on the survival lessons our Maw and Paw had taught us in our upper east side apartments about how kitty litter makes for great traction…

I’m sorry.  What were we talking about?

I believe I may have gone off on a tangent.

If you would all kindly stop distracting me with ridiculous stories about your cars, I would tell you that the winner of Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show was none other than

JOSIE!!!

Congratulations, Josie!  Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved your sweet sleepytime Phyllis in her cozy pink PJs and slippers with her lovable teddy!  Great job!

2nd Place goes to Gracie for her stunning depiction of Springtime Phyllis!  Congratulations on a gorgeous drawing, Gracie!

Interesting, isn’t it, that first and second place went to 8 year olds?!  I think it’s clear that the youngsters in this crowd are mighty talented!

3rd Place was a tie between Julie Ro-Zo with her incredible Phyllis-as-Elvis drawing, Nata with Phyllis’s Allonge, and Beth with Opera Star Phyllis.  (I told you we had a tie problem!)  Congratulations, you three!  You are exceptionally talented for people who are technically older than 8 (although we know you are young at heart :))

Josie, Gracie, Julie, Nata-ie, and Bethie, (I didn’t think we should break up the streak of -ie names :)) please email me and we’ll get those prizes sorted out!  (And in case you’ve forgotten what the prizes are, you may view them HERE, and you may all have your choice of whichever one you want, even if you all want the same thing.  Oh!  And Pat Miller kindly offered to sign a bookplate for anyone who chooses Substitute Groundhog!)

Thanks to EVERYONE who participated in the Fashion Show!  You are all SO creative and talented, and supplied all of us with SUCH enjoyment during this wintry week!  Phyllis has never felt so well dressed!!! 🙂

My, that was exciting!  But now we have something equally exciting in a different way…

Today’s pitch comes to us from Kristine who says, “I’m a stay-at-home mom who is truly living the dream: playing with my daughter by day and writing (if I don’t fall asleep first) at night.  I couldn’t be happier to have found the amazing children’s book writing community that exists online, and I look forward to the day when I can fill a bookshelf with works by authors that I also can call friends.“

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The STEM Girls: Rising Stars
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-8)
The Pitch: Sophia, Isabella, Madison, and Emma learn that science is not only fun, but an adventure, when their new telescope runs out of batteries, and they have to use their combined talents to save their stargazing trip. The girls are as enthusiastic about science, technology, engineering, and math – the STEM subjects – as Fancy Nancy is about being a girly girl, and they even have their own STEM Girls club to prove it. They invite readers to join them on their adventure, asking “Do you have what it takes to be a STEM Girl?”

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Kristine improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in March so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Kristine is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to Friday because I have a most excellent book to share with you for PPBF, and also to not being snowed in anymore because we have done that enough times already and the novelty has worn off!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Happy Groundhog Day! Early Spring Or 6 More Weeks? AND Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show!

73 Comments

It’s here!  It’s here!  It’s finally here!

GROUNDHOG DAY!!!

Here on Blueberry Hill this is cause for great excitement.  It’s the day of days!  The moment Phyllis waits for ALL YEAR!

As you may know, this winter on Blueberry Hill has been a crazy one with the weather either unusually balmy for January (you remember those 2 days when it rained and flooded the basement…) or unusually arctic with day after sub-zero day (the vast majority of this frigid January!)

As a result, Some People have spent most of the winter holed up drinking hot chocolate with not-so-mini-marshmallows attempting not to become a groundhog ice cube!

Now, at long last, it’s time to see what everybody’s favorite groundhog has to say: early spring, or 6 more weeks of winter?

And so, Punxsutawney Phyllis, Sage of Sages, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinaire did set forth from her burrow on Blueberry Hill this Sunday February 2, 2014  at 7:25 AM under sunny skies with a calm wind, 82% humidity and 28 degrees, and declare: “There’s my shadow!  6 MORE WEEKS OF WINTER!“

Though I am disappointed to hear that winter plans to hang around, I certainly enjoyed watching the show.  Phyllis does everything with flair 🙂  Here she is making her prediction in my Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show sample (which I totally cheated on by getting my daughter to execute my idea in photoshop because I – shockingly – have not learned how to use it since Monday!)

All Weather Phyllis – idea by me, execution by Katie 🙂

And now, in celebration of Groundhog Day, I want to welcome you to an exclusive showing of top fashion by outstanding designers, some of them very new to the world of fashion – the very hautest in haute couture!

Prepare yourselves…

(and I mean really)

… because here comes Phyllis on the runway!

Please enjoy these fabulous, show-stopping designs, and then vote for your favorite at the end!

#1 Steampunk Phyllis by Stacy

#2 Olympic Phyllis by Katie

#3 Ain’t Nothin’ But A Groundhog by Julie

#4 Spring Phyllis by Gracie

#5 Done With Glum Phyllis by Linda

#6 Periscope Phyllis by Sue H

#7 Queen Phyllis of the Krewe of Marmotte by Keila

#8 Mariachi Phyllis by Arturo

#9 Skiing Phyllis by Sue H

#10 Birthday Suit Phyllis by Vivian

#11 Sunday Best Phyllis by Heather G

#12 Opera Star Phyllis by Beth

#13 Glow-In-The-Dark Phyllis by Catherine

#14 Divergent Phyllis by Stacy

#15 Rock Star Phyllis by Jenny

#16 Paradise Phyllis by Angie

#17 Phyllis’s Allongé by Nata

#18 Maori Phyllis by Diane

#19 Ballerina Phyllis by Anna

#20 Sleepy Phyllis by Josie

#21 Princess Phyllis Organa by Erik

#22 Gala Phyllis by Meg

#23 Square Dance Phyllis by Penny

#24 Chef Phyllis by Neighbor Girl

#25 Dragon Tail Phyllis by Sue M

#26 Fashion Phyllis Extravaganza by the Maynard Kids

Wow!  That is a lot of fashion designing talent!  You guys are amazing!  Please vote for your favorite in the poll below by Tuesday February 4 at 5PM EST!  Prizes will be awarded Wednesday during Would You Read It!

Happy Groundhog Day Everyone!  And may spring be in your hearts 🙂

Time For Some Fun!!!

64 Comments

So, here we are.

It’s still January.

It’s dark.

It’s really, really, really COLD.

And Spring seems like an impossible dream.

We could wallow in the doldrums…

…but I say, LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!! 🙂

(Yep.  You know what that means.  Time for another Hare Brained Scheme! :))

As some of you may realize, GROUNDHOG DAY is nearly upon us.  (And in case you DON’T realize, someone at my house who gets VERY excited about it is here to remind you!)

This whole thing is her idea.  She was worried you might not even REMEMBER Groundhog Day (quel horreur!), what with all the hiding out indoors under piles of blankets due to that pesky polar vortex, and that would be UNTHINKABLE!

Therefore, in celebration…

ARE YOU READY…?

..we are going to have Phyllis’s Fun Fashion Show!!!

It will be easy and fun and everyone can join in, and there will be prizes!!!

Here’s what to do:

Think up something you think Phyllis would look dazzling in.  An evening gown?  A loin cloth?  An Eskimo parka and mukluks?  A polka-dot bikini?  A sari?  A sundress?  A kimono?  A burlap sack?  Jeans and a t-shirt?  A pineapple?  A Broncos sweatshirt?  Or a Seahawks sweatshirt?  Whatever you like!  Let your inner fashion goddess/god run wild! 🙂

Then dress her up!

And feel free to accessorize!  Hats, handbags, scarves, jewelry, shoes/boots, spurs, parrots, hair ribbons, walking stick, gloves, pony, canoe…maybe a football in honor of the fact that this year Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday are one and the same! 🙂

High-Tech Option:  You can do it by photoshop or MS Paint if you’re handy like that.  (Feel free to help yourself to the Phyllis heads or Phyllis figure below so at least that part is done for you, or use the Phyllis action figure HERE.)

Mid-Tech Option:  You can use Face In Hole.com or similar

Low-Tech Option:  You can print out one of the Phyllis heads or the whole Phyllis figure supplied below and draw, paint, sew, or make paper clothes to stick on.  Or cut something out of a magazine.  Or make her an outfit out of feathers 🙂  Or raisins 🙂  Or whatever 🙂 (Or again, use the Phyllis action figure HERE.)

(And if the ones I post below don’t work properly, just email me and I’ll send you the files!)

Then post a photo (or your photo shop version) of your dressed up Phyllis on your blog along with your prediction: 6 more weeks of winter, or early spring???  (Or email it to me and I’ll post it here if you don’t have a blog but would like to join the fun.)

The outfit does not have to match your prediction.  After all, if Phyllis decides there will be 6 more weeks of winter, she might hightail it for sunny Cancun in a polka-dot bikini 🙂

(If you would like to also help Phyllis in her quest to stay in print, she would be most appreciative of a link to her page at your local indie, Amazon, B&N, or wherever you feel like.)

Anyhoo, post your Phyllis Fashionista on your blog (or email it to me for posting here) anytime between now and Saturday February 1 at 5 PM EST and add your post-specific link to the link list below so we can all come see how gorgeous she looks!  Feel free to post more than one if you’re having fun 🙂

On Sunday February 2 – GROUNDHOG DAY! – I will post all the photos here in a special post – the complete fashion show! – and we’ll let everyone vote for winners 🙂

Doesn’t that sound like fun???  I totally can’t wait to see what we all come up with!!! 🙂  I think we’re going to be taking the cat walk to hitherto unprecedented levels.  Look out, Gisele, Tyra, Heidi!  You’ve got nothing on Phyllis!  Short, stout, furry, and dressed to the nines, you’re about to see how a groundhog struts her stuff 🙂

Here are the heads and figure for your convenience: (with many thanks to my daughter who did this on photoshop since I am clueless!)

you can color this one in if you like…

or there’s this one that’s already colored…

you can cover what she’s wearing here with whatever you choose for her 🙂

And prizes.  Hmm… prizes…

If we get 12 or fewer entries, 1 prize shall be awarded and it shall be the winner’s choice of a signed hard cover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis (if by some chance you don’t already have one :)) or an unsigned (but still free!) hard cover copy of Gretchen Groundhog It’s Your Day, or your choice of two of the following because they’re all only available in paperback: Go To Sleep, Groundhog by Judy Cox, Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller or Mr. Groundhog Wants The Day Off by Pat Vojta or Ten Grouchy Groundhogs by Kathryn Heling, any of which shall be purchased from Merritt Bookstore.  If you should happen to want something besides Groundhog Day picture books (which Phyllis is unable to fathom, but no accounting for taste :)) you may alternatively select any book of your choice up to a price of $17.95 to be shipped to you from Merritt.

If we get more than 12 entries, we will award 1st – 3rd and all winners can pick from the choices listed above.

Golly!  I’m excited!

Phyllis is jumping up and down!

We are having so much fun we’ve forgotten the dark and the cold and the still faraway whisper of spring!

So come join us!!!

Have a marvelous (and warm!) Monday everyone! 🙂

And whenever you have a Phyllis Fashionista, add your post-specific link to the list below!

And LOOK!  Here’s our first one from Linda who says EARLY SPRING!!!

by Linda Boyden

And here is our next one!

Olympic Phyllis by Katie Hill

And another!!

Spring Phyllis by Grace age 8!

And two from Sue!

Phyllis makes a prediction (after looking at the world’s upside) by Sue Heavenrich

Phyllis modeling her 6 more weeks of Ski Season togs by Sue Heavenrich
Sunday Best Phyllis by Heather Greene

The 2013 Holiday Contest WINNERS!!!

95 Comments
Happy Thursday to you
Happy Thursday to you
Happy Thursday, Happy Thursdaaay…
Happy Thursday to you!
It was so nice of you all to come visit me on a non-posting day!  Can I offer you some non-denominational holiday cookies?
And perhaps a nice cup of cocoa to go with them?
I like to be neighborly and provide snacks to anyone who comes all this way through the snow and cold to visit 🙂
Now that no one is in danger of fainting from caloric deficit, let’s get right to the purpose of today’s post, shall we?
Normally I’d string you along for awhile and tease you with something… anything… that had nothing to do with why you’re really here.
But in the spirit of the holidays, I’m not going to do that today.
Nope!
I’m going to get right to the point.
Yes sirree!
No beating around the bush today!
We’re going to get right to it…
…as soon as we have a rousing chorus of Adeste Fidelis!
Adeste fideles læti triumphantes,

Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte
Regem angelorum:
Venite adoremus (3x)
Dominum.

There’s nothing like singing in Latin is there?
Want to do another verse?
Just kidding 🙂  I know you don’t 🙂
Okay, seriously, would you guys stop singing holiday songs so we can get down to the business at hand?  Sheesh!
The 3rd Annual Holiday Contest!!!

WINNERS!!!

As you are all aware by now, we had a record turnout for the 3rd Annual Holiday Contest – 118 entries!

I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories!

But with large entry numbers come hard choices.  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 on Monday 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.

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:
     Erik Weibel for Code Name: Kringle
     Michelle Senters for Cookies For Papa Noel
     Sue Heavenrich for Blue Latkes And Salsa
     Hayley Barrett for Not-So-Merry Sickmas

2.  For Best “Quiet”Story:
     Kristine Poptanich for Silent Night
     Leslie Colin Tribble for The Christmas Bird
     Teresa Robeson for A Home For The Holidays   
     Debbie Austin for Home For Christmas    
     Patricia Tilton for Toby’s Shopping Rush
     Cindy Williams Schrauben for A Dark Night Before Christmas

3. For Best End-of-Story Twist:
     Cathy Mealey for Festive Feeding Frenzy (CPR on a chipmunk :))
     Rachel Stones for Fresh Frosting (toothpaste!)
     Tracey Cox for Breaking News: Santa Is Real (Emergency Broadcast Test!)

4. For Best-Written Original Point Of View:
     Kristen Fulton for Raisin’s Christmas (excellent dog POV!)
     Sue Frye for Christmas Trappings (great rat POV!)

5. For Best Job Reworking Familiar Rhymes/Songs/Stories:
     Laura Renauld for This Is The Tree That Jill Trimmed
     Marcy Pusey for Monty The Mudman
     Buffy Silverman for The 3 Little Pigs Light The Chanukah Candles  
     Charlotte Gunnufson for Goldilocks’s Night Before Christmas

6.  For Funniest Entry: (not already in the finals)
     Kathryn Cunningham for ‘Twas The Stomach Flu Before Christmas
     Suzy Levinson for Reindeer In The Eggnog

7. For Best Wicked Humor:
     Julia Maisen for Catching Krampus
     Julie Rowan-Zoch for It’s A Wrap

8.  For Great Kid Appeal: (not already in the finals)
     Mandy Yates for One Squirrelly Christmas
     Sharon Chriscoe for Hot Tub Santa
     Anne Cavanaugh Sawan for The Gingerbread House Disaster

9.  For Best Religious Entry:
     Bonnie Ogle for The Sound And Smell Of Christmas

10.  For Best Entry By A First-Time Writer:
     Angie Hawkins for NOEL
     Lucy Dixon for The Story Of An Elf (who didn’t want to be on the shelf!)

11. For We-Loved-It-But-Thought-The Humor-Was-A-Little-Too-Grown-Up 🙂
     Teresa M.I. Schaeffer for Always Ready Or Not
     Kristen Foote for No Sleep For Santa
     B. Lee Draper for ‘Twas The Accident Before Christmas

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they’re about)

For Kindle:

Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard OR

The Easy Way To Write Picture Books That Sell by Robyn Parnell OR

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR

The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Ultimate Fiction Thesaurus by Sam Stone OR

In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell OR

The Six Senses In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Bleak To Bold Narrative by Jessica Bell OR

Adverbs And Cliches In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions Of Adverbs & Cliches Into Gourmet Imagery by Jessica Bell

And now…

…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2013 HOLIDAY CONTEST as voted on by you!!!
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…
DAWN YOUNG
for ‘Twas The Night Baafore Christmas!!!
Congratulations, Dawn, on a fabulous and fun entry that was clearly very popular!!! 🙂
In Second Place…
Kristen Foote
for The Great Christmas Morning Mix-Up
Congratulations, Kristen!!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Dawn makes her choice.
In Third Place…
Laura Wolfe
for The Gift Horse
Congratulations, Laura!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Dawn and Kristen choose theirs.
In Fourth Place…
Heather Preusser
for Behind Schedule
Congratulations, Heather!  You get to pick after Dawn, Kristen and Laura.
In Fifth Place…
Cecilia Clarke
for The School Concert
Congratulations, Cecilia!  You get to pick after Dawn, Kristen, Laura and Heather.
In Sixth Place…
Ann Magee
for The Christmas Present
Congratulations, Ann!  I’m sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now 🙂
And I have to mention the tie for 7th Place, because they were both only 1 point out of 6th Place…
Tied for Seventh Place:
Deborah Holt Williams for Seriously Santa? and Angela Pena Dahle for Three Little Kings!
Congratulations, Deborah and Angela!

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!  Finalists who did not finish in the top 6 (Deborah, Angela, Cheryl, Patty, Marcie, Penny, Michelle Barnes, and Carrie) may also contact me for their choice of the Kindle or paperback prizes listed above.

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 tinsel parade, and a large amount of Christmas Pudding (which truthfully I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like the right thing for this time of year :))

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.  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 mentioned a while back, I’m taking a little blogging break so I can spend time with my family – I’ve got cookies to bake, Christmas presents to shop for and wrap, and my sister and her family are arriving form Georgia on Sunday! 🙂 –  so I will see you all in a couple weeks – most probably Wednesday January 8th for Would You Read It unless there’s a hue and cry over missing another PPBF on January 3rd.  If you’re desperate for PPBF, please take it up with management 🙂

So now, 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 2014!

Love,
Susanna

Ho! Ho! Ho! The 3rd Annual Holiday Writing Contest Is Here!

923 Comments

WOO-HOO!  Let the joyous news be spread!  It’s time for

The 3rd Annual Holiday Contest!!!


The Contest:  Write a children’s story about a Holiday Mishap, mix-up, miscommunication, mistake, or potential disaster (a la Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer :)).  Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate, but is not to exceed 350 words not counting the title (aren’t I being generous?! 🙂  It can be as short as you like, but no more than 350!)  Did the dog knock over the Christmas Tree?  Did little Johnny’s costume get grape juice all over it moments before the holiday pageant?  Did the menorah go missing?  Did travel arrangements get snarled or miscommunicated?  Did Santa’s sleigh have to make an emergency landing?  The field is wide open!  Have fun!  (And because so many people have mentioned this, the story does not have to be funny!  You can have a holiday mishap that is serious or sweet or mysterious…  Please don’t feel that you have to go the humor route!  Also, because a number of people have mentioned it this time, no art notes please.)

Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between now and Friday December 13 at 11:59 PM EST and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below which will remain up through Sunday December 15.  (There will be no WYRI or PPBF this week.)  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I’ll post your entry for you!)
The Judging:  My lovely assistant(s) and I will narrow down the entrants to 6-12 finalists (depending on the number of entries) which will be posted here on Monday December 16 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed on Wednesday December 18 at 5 PM EST and the winners will be announced on Thursday December 19.  Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to sixth place.  Remember, judging criteria will be kid appeal/friendliness, originality/suitability of mishap, quality of story, and quality of writing.
The Prizes!:  Well, I hope these prizes are going to knock your socks off!!!  In the spirit of the holidays, winners will be named for 1st – 6th place.  In addition to the incredible fame of being able to say you won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous 3rd Annual Holiday Contest, the following AMAZING prizes will be awarded:

 – A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Written Critique by Karen Boss, Editor at Charlesbridge!!! (Priceless!)  Karen Boss is the editorial assistant at Charlesbridge Publishing in Watertown, MA. She has a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College and is currently editing projects that range from picture books for younger readers to picture books for older readers to middle-grade novels, both fiction and nonfiction. (But let’s face it, folks!  You’re getting YOUR picture book manuscript in front of an actual editor at a highly regarded publishing house!  Who knows where that could lead?)

 – A Gold Membership to Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 in 2014 (a $150 value)
    Little GOLDen Book Membership includes:

  • Full access (view and post) to the Main 12 x 12 Forum and Critique Connect (where you can find critique partners)
  • Access to the members-only 12 x 12 Facebook Group
  • Ability to view the Events, Member Books, Videos/Trailers and Help An Author Out (HAAO) sections of the 12 x 12 Forum
  • Opportunity to win craft-related prizes from the monthly featured authors
  • Full (view and post) access to the Events, Member Books, Video/Trailers and HAAO sections of the 12 x 12 Forum
  • FULL (view and post) access to these additional sections of the 12 x 12 Forum: Query Corner (get feedback on your query letters), Pitch Perfect (get feedback on loglines and pitches), and Manuscript Makeover (get feedback on the first 250 words of your ms)
  • Access to the Submission Station section of the 12 x 12 Forum, which will provide information about that month’s agent or editor and instructions on how to submit to him or her.

 – 2 signed Picture Books by Linda Ashman – RAIN! and PEACE, BABY! (Keep for yourself or give as a holiday gift to a little person in your life :)) PLUS
    a $25 Amazon Gift Card

 – A Picture Book Manuscript Critique by Erin Molta Erin is an experienced senior editor of picture book, early readers, chapter, middle grade, and YA books, as well as novelty and licensed titles. She has been in childrens publishing for more than twenty years and has a keen understanding of early reader through YA audiences. She has an excellent reputation with established authors, illustrators, and agents.

 – Enrollment in the Online Writing course Making Picture Book Magic in the month of your choice (a $99 value)

 – A signed copy of TUGBOAT by Michael Garland (not even released yet!) AND
    a signed copy of A TROOP IS A GROUP OF MONKEYS by Julie Hedlund (Keep for yourself or give as a holiday gift to a little person in your life :))  PLUS
    a $25 Amazon Gift Card

 – A Picture Book Manuscript Critique from author/illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy, author and illustrator of PUZZLED BY PINK (Viking Juvenile, April 2012) and the forthcoming PAINT ME!. A great choice for someone who is both an author and an illustrator – and I know we have quite a few of those here 🙂

 – 2014 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market by Chuck Sambuchino (your choice of paperback or Kindle edition)

 – The Crock Of Charms Anthology – a three volume collection of stories for readers of all ages from writers all over the world including some you probably know 🙂  Robyn Campbell, Cheryl Secomb, Clarike Bowman-Jahn, Theresa Milstein, Lenny Lee, and me, to name a few 🙂

(Run your mouse over the prizes, books, authors, etc… most of them are links)

The Contest Winner will have first choice of the prizes.  2nd place will have next choice of what’s left and so on.  (I’m doing it this way in the hopes that no one will get something they already have – for example, if you’ve already signed on for Julie’s 12×12 or taken Making Picture Book Magic or own RAIN! and PEACE, BABY! etc.  – and also because I think all the prizes are fabulous and I wouldn’t want to make anyone feel less valued by giving them as 6th place as opposed to 1st.)

Wow!  Let’s get the Holiday Party started! 🙂

Here is my sample… to prove that in can in fact be done… and because I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I won’t do myself…  (But seriously, whose idea was 350 words?  It’s cramping my style! :))

The Trouble With Santa’s Suit (350 words)

On Christmas Eve the sleigh was packed.
The reindeer waited, snug in red velvet blankets.
Santa struggled into the tuxedo he always wore and turned pale.
“Elton!” he hollered.
Chief Elf Elton came running.
“Oh, dear!” he gasped.  “Dry-cleaning disaster!”
The sleeves barely reached Santa’s elbows.  The pants fell short of his knees.  He looked like an underdressed penguin.
“You’ll have to wear something else,” said Mrs. Claus.
But Santa was stuck in his shrunken suit.
“I can’t get it off!” he said.
“Go on a diet,” suggested Elton.
“I don’t think that will work in ten minutes!” said Santa, “I’ve got to go!”
“Call the fire department,” suggested Elton.
“I’m not on fire!” said Santa.
“Everyone calls the fire department for emergencies!” said Elton.
The fire department arrived in a jiffy.  Chief Bumpkin took charge.  “Grab the hose, men!” he ordered.  “We’ll blow that suit off the Big Guy!”
“The hose?” asked Santa.  “I don’t think…”
Icy water blasted Santa off his feet.
“STOP!” spluttered Santa.
“Plan B!” ordered Chief Bumpkin.
The firemen picked up their axes to cut the suit off.
“No axes!” said Santa.
“Well,” said the Chief, “there’s always Plan C…”
The firemen divided into four groups, one by each arm, one by each leg.  On the count of three they pulled the suit to shreds.
“Great job!” said Chief Bumpkin.  The firemen shook hands, gathered up their hose, and left.
Santa sat glumly in a puddle.  “Now I have nothing to wear.”
“How about this?” suggested Mrs. Claus holding up Santa’s Bermuda shirt and shorts.
“It’s TWENTY BELOW ZERO!” said Santa.
“Good point.  Overalls?  Your bunny costume from Halloween?”
“I don’t like to mix my holidays,” said Santa.
“You’d better agree to something or you’re going to miss Christmas!”
Just then Elton returned breathlessly with a red velvet suit.
“How about this?” he asked.
It fit perfectly.
“I love it!” Santa exclaimed.  Then he sniffed.  “Does anyone else smell reindeer?”
“Not me,” said Elton.
Santa climbed aboard the sleigh.  “Merry Christmas!” he called.

And away he flew in the red velvet suit he’s worn ever since.



So now!  Everyone filled with confidence about their entries?  I certainly hope so after that display!  Never let it be said that I’m not willing to be a fool for my art 🙂

I can’t wait to read all of your (much better!) stories!  I hope there will be a lot – the more the merrier!  And there are still 4+ days to write, so you have time if you haven’t written yet and want to join the fun.  Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well.

Remember to put your post-specific link (not your general blog link or people will find the wrong page if you post again before the contest is over) in the list below!

Don’t miss 38 entries in the comment section below (which thanks to Penny I’ve figured out how to link, so if you click on the person’s name it will take you directly to that story so you can read and comment… just give it a second to load 🙂  And this intelligence just in – if you’re trying to work these links on iPad or iPhone you will need the google Chrome app to get them to work – Safari won’t do it.)
Nancy – Toby’s Christmas: Ho Ho Ho Or No No No?
Suzy – Reindeer In The Eggnog
Mandy – One Squirrelly Christmas
Lakshmy – Santa’s Stocking
Kristen – The Great Christmas Morning Mix-Up
Teresa S – Always Ready Or Not
Michele – Santa Is Stuck
Kim – Popcorn For Santa On Christmas Eve
Ryan (Rino) – The Adventures Of Jonathan James
Alissa – Santa’s Stuck On the Toilet
Kirsten (not to be confused with Kristen above) – Blackout!
Karen – Santa’s New Toy-Making Machine
Anne – The Gingerbread House Disaster
Ann – The Christmas Present
Sue – Pup Unwrapped
Tim – O Deer
Diane – Frank’s Adventure With Santa And The Elves
Karen Z – Santa’s Snow Angel
Michelle S – Cookies For Papa Noel
Pat – Santa’s Paws
Vicki – Mrs. Claus Saves Christmas
Charlotte – Goldilocks’s Night Before Christmas
Susan – The Christmas Wagon
Pia – Santa Baby
Rachel – Fresh Frosting
Bonnie – The Sound And Smell Of Christmas
Martha – A Christmas Surprise
Patty – Santa’s Special Gift
Susan S – Snowman On A Roll
Kristen 2 – No Sleep For Santa (same author as The Great Christmas Morning Mix-Up above)
Debbie – Home For Christmas
Rita – George’s Christmas Present: A True Story
Sue – Blue Latkes And Salsa
Ruth – Santa Claus Has Lost His Voice
Heather – Behind Schedule
Morgan – A Brother For Christmas
Kelly – Happy Birthday Bambino
Kristen S – Dasher Does A Dash


Happy Writing and Happy Holiday Season!!! 🙂