2021 Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge Week #3

May 24, 2021June 27, 2021295 Comments

Ok, writers, are you ready?

Forget the dishes in the sink, the pile of work in your inbox, and the fact that it’s your mother-in-law’s birthday on Thursday and you still haven’t thought of a good present!

It’s time to Mix ‘n’ Match your way to a new story! 😊

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a 7 week writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost, a little inspiration, or a little encouragement to get writing. . . or maybe just a little fun!

You get to write your own story, enjoy and be entertained by everyone else’s stories, and get yourself in the running for some awesome prizes (please see the end of the blog post for a list of all the prize goodies which continues to grow!)

To be eligible for the prize drawing you must enter all 7 weeks.

For a full description of the challenge, to read the Week #1 entries, or to add your Week #1 entry, please go HERE (Week #1)

To read the Week #2 entries or add your Week #2 entry, please go HERE (Week #2)

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #3 for Week of May 24:

So far we’ve played with character needs/goals, and with writing a cumulative story. This week we’re going to play with a picture prompt, 3 random words. . . and a secret!

Here’s the picture, drawn by the incredibly talented Julie Rowan-Zoch (author/illustrator of I’M A HARE, SO THERE! HMH Books For Young Readers 2021, and illustrator of LOUIS by Tom Lichtenheld HMH October 2020!) and used with her permission for your writing fun 😊 (Thank you, Julie!!! 💕)

illustration copyright Julie Rowan-Zoch 2021 used by permission, all rights reserved

And here are random words! Choose one from Column A, one from Column B, and one from Column C.

Column A	Column B	Column C
raindrops	picnic	strawberry tart
nest	rope swing	pond
cherry tree	mistake	bucket/pail
unicorn	lost	tantrum
bridge	spring	admire

But wait! There’s a twist! One of the characters has a secret! Which character? What secret? And how does it impact the story? You will probably want to think up your own secret, but in case anyone needs an idea, here are a few suggestions:

-took something that didn’t belong to them
-hid something on purpose
-told someone something that wasn’t true
-doesn’t want to play hide ‘n’ seek (or duck, duck, goose, or musical chairs, or tag, or. . .)
-only wants to play hide ‘n’ seek (or duck, duck, goose, or musical chairs, or tag, or. . .)
-is allergic to acorns
-wants to invite someone to their birthday party (or for a sleepover, or. . .)
-is afraid of dogs (or cats, or bicycles, or bees, or swimming, or. . .) and doesn’t want anyone else to know
-plans to bake a surprise cake for someone
-has a special present for someone
-isn’t telling someone something they should
-secretly really likes someone
-secretly doesn’t like someone
-is getting something they know everyone will love

Write a 100 word story for kids about the pictured characters, using three random words and giving one of the characters a secret which you incorporate into the story, and post your in the comment section below! (If for some reason you have trouble posting, you may use the contact form to email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you.)

Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is a guideline
If you’re deeply inspired by random words that are not on the list you can use them instead – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please say which random words you’re using you’re using at the top of your entry along with your name, word count, and title if you have one.

I am SO looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with! There have been so many amazingly creative, clever, fun, and entertaining stories written so far!!!

Now come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

Check out the Week #3 stories!

Ruth’s Birthday Surprise – Sue Lancaster

The Perfect Gift – Erika Romero

Getting There – Rose Cappelli

A Hare Raising Mistake – Bru Benson

Acorn Day – Jen Subra

The Secret – Marty Findley

The Secret Spot – Isabel Cruz Rodriguez

The Smashed Bash – Laura Bower

The Secrets of Beryl The Bunny – Elenore Byrne

Hare…Or Not – Susan E. Schipper

Better Than Acorns – Erin Cleary

Acorns And, Er, What?! – Marty Bellis

Bunny’s Problem – Deb Sullivan

Floppy And The Rope Swing – Dawn Young

Untitled – Elizabeth Volkmann

The Cherry Pie Problem – Ashley B. Pedigo

Chip, Drip, And Skip – Meg King-Sloan

A Small Mistake – Leslie Degnan

Turtle’s Strawberry Hill Surprise – Joyce Uglow

Disappearing Dewberries – Candice Marley Conner

Rabbit Won’t Have To Wait – Sara Kruger

Hare Today And Gone Tomorrow: From Brey To Form, A Secret That Saved! – Sally Yorke-Viney

Miss Bun’s Secret – Elizabeth Meyer zu Heringdorf

A Happy Tail – Marta Cutler

Safe Cracking Squirrels – Susan Summers

Clueless Squirrels – Lyn Jekowsky

Scratch And Scritch’s Show Stopper – Ashley Sierra

Fireworks – Aly Kenna

Late Lunch – Hannah Roy LeGrone

Bunny’s Magic – Dianne Irving

Thoughtful Harry – Padgy Soltis

A Secret Entrance – Lauri Meyers

The Scavenger Hunt – Barbara Renner

Vanishing Act – Marta Cutler

Rabbith’th Thee-cret (Rabbit’s Secret) – Allison Strick

Harah Helps Look – Sarah Meade

Momo’s Cherry Tree – Bevin Rolfs Spencer

In The Mood To Play? – Amy Leskowski

A Couple Of Nuts – Jill Lambert

Mr. Bunny’s Secret Skill – Mia Geiger

B-U-N-N-Y Spells Trouble – Jeannette Suhr

Rainy Picnic – Nicole Loos Miller

The Secret of Sassafras – Linda Schueler

A Friend In Need – Candace Kubinec

Untitled – Lauren Scott

The Unicorn – Lynn Katz

Unicorn’s Secret – Michelle S. Kennedy

The Happiest Habit – Christine Alemshah

The Bunny’s Secret – Marla Yablon

Watch Out For Bear? Watch Out For Hare! – Katie Schwartz

The Will To Win – Colleen Owen Murphy

Magic Unicorn – Robin Currie

Happy Spwing – Deb Buschman

The Unicorn’s Mistake – Brenna Jeanneret

Tantrum Blues – Sarah Hawklyn

That Hare – JC Kelly

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who complete the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

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 gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, suggesting them for school visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

⭐️ Picture Book Critique from Penny Parker Klostermann, the lovely and talented author of THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT (Random House 2015) and A COOKED-UP FAIRY TALE (Random House 2017)

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⭐️ 30 Minute Q&A with Penny Klostermann

⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique OR Query Letter Critique (Winner’s Choice) from Jennifer Buchet, debut author of LITTLE MEDUSA’S HAIR DO-LEMMA (Clear Fork/Spork May 11, 2021)

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⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique from Jen Raudenbush, agented writer of picture books, middle grade, and poetry. (Represented by Natascha Morris of The Tobias Literary Agency)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jen-raudenbush.jpeg — Jen Raudenbush

⭐️ 30 minute Zoom chat about anything industry related (manuscript, query letter, best practices for querying) with Becky Scharnhorst, amazing author of MY SCHOOL STINKS (Philomel Books, July 6, 2021)

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⭐️Picture Book Manuscript Critique with Audio Recording by author and poet Sarah Meade Sarah will do a written critique of your manuscript and include an audio recording of her first read-through of the manuscript. The audio recording is to help the author hear how the story flows and/or where a new reader may stumble when reading aloud.

⭐️ Webinar: How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro by author and editor Alayne Kay Christian

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⭐️ A copy of Mary Kole’s Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Writers, donated by Nicole Loos Miller

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is writing-irresistible-kidlit.jpg

⭐️ A personalized signed copy of SASSAFRAS AND HER TEENY TINY TAIL (MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing 2021) by Candice Marley Conner

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⭐️ Making Picture Book Magic Self Study Class (any month)

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⭐️A copy of A FLOOD OF KINDNESS by Ellen Leventhal

⭐️A copy of MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe by Vivian Kirkfield

⭐️A copy of THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT by Penny Parker Klostermann

⭐️A copy of SLOTH AND SQUIRREL IN A PICKLE by Cathy Ballou Mealey

⭐️A copy of BINDU’S BINDIS by Supriya Kelkar

⭐️ Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

2021 Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge – Week 2!

May 17, 2021June 27, 2021377 Comments

Writers, start your computers!

It’s time for Week #2 of the 2021 Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge!

WOOHOO!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini is a writing challenge for anyone who needs a little boost or a little encouragement to get writing….or maybe just a little fun!

For a full description of the challenge or to enter your Week #1 entry, please go HERE.

Let’s jump into Week #2!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #2 for Week of May 17:

Last week we played with character needs, an important thing to keep in mind when you’re writing because characters should always need or want something desperately – a goal, an object or possession, a role, a quality, to prove something (to herself or someone else), to overcome something. . . You all did splendidly!

This week we’re going to play with a specific story type: the cumulative tale!

Cumulative stories build and build, growing sillier, or more chaotic, or more outrageous, or more complicated with each new addition, as in There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly.

She swallowed the goat to catch the dog …
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird …
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.…

Some published examples of clever re-tellings are:

There Was An Old Dragon Who Swallowed A Knight by Penny Parker Klostermann
There Was An Old Monster (Who Swallowed A Tick) by Adrian, Rebecca & Ed Emberly
There Was An Old Gator Who Swallowed A Moth by B.J. Lee

Your mission, should you choose to accept it 😊 is to choose an adjective from Column A, a character from Column B, a verb from Column C, and a noun from Column D. Mix ‘n’ Match and write your own version!

e.g. There Was An Old Cowboy Who Lassoed A Bear
There Was A Huge Baby Who Lived On A Boat
There Was A Shy T-Rex Who Wished For A Friend

Column A – Adj.	Column B – Character	Column C – Verb	Column D – Noun
Old	Monster	Turned Into	Ghost
Smart	Grandma	Followed	Toad
Brave	Warthog	Fought With/Bullied	Friend
Shy	T-Rex	Ran From/Ran To/Ran Up	Sword
Huge	Kitten	Played Tricks On	Bear
Small	Python	Wished For/Wished On	Moon/Star
Mean	Cowboy	Lassoed	Bee
Strange	Baby	Swallowed	Witch
Wild	Zookeep	Taunted	Tree
Cute	Lion	Lived With/Lived In/Lived On	Boat

If choosing from all 4 columns is more than you want, or if you don’t like any of the words but the list inspires you to think up your own words, feel free to use as many or as few from the columns as you like and supply the other words yourself, but you must follow the format:

There Was A(n) ___ADJ___ ___CHARACTER___ Who ___VERB___ A(HIS, HER, THE) ___NOUN___

and it must be a cumulative story!

Stories can rhyme or not – totally up to you!
You can go under or over 100 words if you want to – also totally up to you! – 100 is just a guideline
If you’re deeply inspired by another set of words, go for it! – the purpose here is inspiration and to get you writing!
For simplicity’s sake (and to aid skimming readers who might be interested in a particular thing) please say which column items you’re using at the top of your entry along with your name, title, and word count.
For example:
There Was A Cute Kitten Who Followed His Nose
by Marcia Writer
107 words
cute, kitten, followed

So come join the fun! Get some writing done! Encourage your kids (or students) to give it a try! Or just have a good time together reading what other folks have written!

Post your Week #2 story in the comment section below, or, if you have trouble for any reason and can’t post yourself you may email it to me using the Contact Form and I will post it for you.

Ready, set, WRITE! 😊

(And remember, for full details on the 7 week challenge you can check HERE)

Check out the Week #2 stories!

There Was A Small Baby Who Wished For A Star – Sue Lancaster

There Was A Wild Warthog Who Wanted To Dance – Sally Yorke-Viney

There Was A Shy Monster Who Followed A Toad – Jen Subra

There Was A Young Cowboy Who Lassoed A Bee – Rose Cappelli

There Was A Strange Witch Who Turned Into A Bee – Candice Marley Conner

Who Might She Be? – Dawn Young

There Was A Brave Grandma Who Followed A Star – Erin Cleary

There Was An Old Grandma – Isabel Cruz Rodriguez

Where Is Baby’s Bear? – Hannah Roy LaGrone

There Was A Smart Grandma Who Bullied A Bee – Kimiko Wadriski Lumsden

Traffic Jam Baby – Elenore Byrne

There Was A Huge Monster That Lived In A Tree – Erika Romero

There Was A Huge Baby Who Followed A Bear – Leslie Degman

I Know A Small Baby Who Swallowed Some Milk – Lauri Meyers

There Was A Mean Cowboy Who Lassoed A Bee – Aly Kenna

There Was A Huge Heron Who Followed A Toad – Jill Lambert

There Was An Old Cowboy Who Wished For A Boat – Candace Kubinec

There Was A Shy Kitten – Nicole Loos Miller

There Was A Shy Monster Who Lived On A Star – Susan E. Schipper

There Was A Small Kitten Who Followed A Toad – Barbara Farr Renner

There Was A Weird Warthog Who Lassoed A Bear – Lyn Jekowsky

There Was A Brave Baby Who Followed A Bee – Deb Sullivan

There Was A Wild Warthog Who Wished For A Witch – Susan Summer

There Was A Young Writer Who Wrote A Great Word – Sarah Meade

Wishing Kitten – Julie Kurtz

There Was An Old Monster Who Wished For A Boat – Brenda Whitehead

The Nose Of A Kitten – Elizabeth Volkmann

There Was A Mean Monster Who Swallowed A Toad – Laura Bower

Come To My Party – Ashley B. Pedigo

There Was A Brown Cow Who Lived In A Tree – Marty Bellis

There Was A Strange Cowboy Who Wished For A Friend – Sophia Zafra

There Was A Shy Lion Who Wished For A Friend – Marta Cutler

There Was A Brave Woman Who Wrote Down A Note – Ashley Sierra

The Hungriest Python Turned Into A Boat – Allison Strick

There Was An Author Who Got Stymied By The Prompt – Joyce Uglow

There Was A Small Kitten Who Followed A Bee – Diane Irving

Are you New? – Marla Yablon

There Was A Shy Lion Who Wished For A Friend – Lauren Scott

There Was A Strange Kitten Who Lassoed The Moon – Linda Schueler

There Was A Smart Baby Who Followed A Star – Elizabeth Meyer zu Heringdorf

There Was An Old Grandma Who Followed A Ghost – Marta Cutler

There Was A Brave Grandma Who Lassoed A Witch – Jeannette Suhr

There Was A Brave Zookeeper That Taunted A Bear – Sarah Hawklyn

There Was A Wild Zookeeper Who Ran From A Bear – Jana Mattern

There Was A Smart T-Rex Who Played Tricks On A Witch – Bevin Rolfs Spencer

A Huge Baby Swallowed A Witch – Bru Benson

There Was A Brave Baby Who Followed A Bee – Jamie Bills

The Old Cowboy – Katie Schwartz

There Was A Cute Baby Who Charmed A Mommy – Christine Alemshah

There Was A Brave Baby Who Followed A Bee – Sara Kruger

There Was A Strange Cowboy Who Lived On A Boat – Michelle S. Kennedy

The Grandma Who Bullied A Bear – Lynn Katz

There Was A Brave Baby Who Followed A Witch – Padgy Soltis

There Was A Shy Monster Who Taunted A Tree – Amy Leskowski

A New Friend – Mia Geiger

There Was A Smart Grandma – Marty Findley

There Was An Old Cowboy Who Lassoed A Star – Melissa Wrex

There Was An Old Cowboy Who Wanted A Friend – Robin Currie

Not Guilty – Colleen Owen Murphy

There Was A Wild Warthog Who Ran Up A Tree – Deb Buschman

There Was A Wild Grandma Who Turned Into The Moon – Brenna Jeanneret

There Was An Old Cowboy Who Lassoed A Friend – JC Kelly

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who complete the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

⭐️ 30 Minute Q&A with Penny Klostermann

⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique OR Query Letter Critique (Winner’s Choice) from Jennifer Buchet, debut author of LITTLE MEDUSA’S HAIR DO-LEMMA (Clear Fork/Spork May 11, 2021)

⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique from Jen Raudenbush, agented writer of picture books, middle grade, and poetry. (Represented by Natascha Morris of The Tobias Literary Agency)

⭐️Picture Book Manuscript Critique with Audio Recording by author and poet Sarah Meade (details coming)

⭐️ Webinar: How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro by author and editor Alayne Kay Christian

⭐️ A copy of Mary Kole’s Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Writers, donated by Nicole Loos Miller

⭐️ A personalized signed copy of SASSAFRAS AND HER TEENY TINY TAIL (MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing 2021) by Candice Marley Conner

⭐️ Making Picture Book Magic Self Study Class (any month)

⭐️A copy of A FLOOD OF KINDNESS by Ellen Leventhal

⭐️A copy of MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe by Vivian Kirkfield

⭐️A copy of THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT by Penny Parker Klostermann

⭐️A copy of SLOTH AND SQUIRREL IN A PICKLE by Cathy Ballou Mealey

⭐️ Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

Here We Go Again! Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge Take 2!

May 10, 2021June 27, 2021360 Comments

Good morning, my little chickens!

Are things feeling a wee bit humdrum?

Is daily routine getting you down?

Does this look familiar?

Just as I suspected!

It seems we’ve all got a case of the I Haven’t Gone Anywhere Done Anything Seen Anyone For A Year So What The Heck Can I Write About Blues!

But don’t worry.

I can fix that! 😊

All that’s required is a little tomfoolery! A few high jinx and shenanigans to knock the K off of FUNK and get us back to good old F-U-N!

Who’s with me?

Give me a woo!

WOO!

Give me a hoo!

HOO!

What does that spell?

Well. . . technically it doesn’t actually spell anything, since neither woo nor hoo is a letter, but one way or another it comes out

WOOHOO!

Now! Let’s have some fun!

And fun in this instance is. . .

another round of the ever-popular, practically world famous

(Not a contest exactly… no room in the blog calendar, no time for judging, no gigantic prizes on offer…but still (hopefully!) tons of fun!)

Here’s how it works:

Starting today, each Monday until June 21st (which makes 7 Mondays total and will get us to the end of the school term) I will post a Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt for a 100 word story. Post your story in the comment section for that week’s challenge (or if you have trouble posting it, email it to me and I’ll post it for you.) At the end of the 7 weeks, everyone who has posted one story for each week’s prompt will

A) have 7 brand new stories to play with! (Who knows? Your next picture book or even chapter book or longer might be sparked by something you write for the Challenge!)

B) be able to take credit for entertaining lots of fellow writers and their kids (not to mention you’ll entertain yourself and your own kids!)

and

C) qualify to win a prize from the Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Mystery Bag of Marvelous Prizes for Writers! (Last year we managed to scare up enough prizes that all of the approximately 40 people who completed the challenge got something, but we’ll have to see how the available prizes stack up this year – if there aren’t enough for everyone who completes the challenge we’ll have to randomly draw winners until we run out of prizes, but you will still win A and B above!)

You can compete with yourself to see if you can write all 7 stories! You can compete with your writing friends to see if you can write more than they do! And if you want to get really competitive, you can all read the stories that are posted and “like” the ones you think are best and see who gets the most “likes” 😊 (If you do that there might be some special prizes…who can tell??? 😊)

When the going get’s humdrum, children’s writers beat the blues by playing writing games and creating new stories to keep themselves and everyone around them entertained!

So here we go!

Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Prompt #1 for Week of May 10:

Choose a character from Column A and something the character needs from Column B and write a 100 word story for children entitled _____Column A_____ Needs A _____Column B_____ If you wish, you may also select a random item from Column C to include in your story.

For example: Hermit Crab Needs A Home. (And perhaps you’d include a harmonica somewhere in the story.)

Or, if something in Column C strikes your fancy you can use that as the thing your character needs, e.g. Hummingbird Needs Help.

Get the idea?

Here are the options:

Column A – Character	Column B – Something Needed	Column C – random item
Hedgehog	Home	Hockey Stick (or Hockey Puck)
Hammerhead	Hug	Horse (or Sea Horse)
Hermit Crab	Hint	Harmonica
Hummingbird	Hobby	Hero
Hare	Holiday	Help
Henry or Hilary	Hat	Helicopter

If a central idea would be helpful to you in your writing, you can focus your story on Mother’s Day, since that is fresh in all our minds this morning 😊, but that is NOT required.

In an attempt to answer possible questions I will say:

you can write as many stories as you want each week
you can post them at any time during the week (just make sure they’re on the Monday Mix ‘n’ Match Mini post for the week you’re entering – e.g. below for Week #1))
you can play catch up (so if you miss a week you can go back and add to an earlier week if you’re trying to complete the challenge and qualify for prizes as long as all entries are posted on the correct week and are posted no later than Saturday June 26th at midnight Eastern time.)
no illustration notes
You may go over the word count if you’re on a roll and you wish to (because there is no judging 😊)
You may write in poetry or prose

(This is where the sample I intended to write belongs, but since I haven’t had time to write it yet I’ll have to add it in!)

And here’s a little sampling of the prizes up for grabs to whet your competitive spirit 😊 MORE TO COME!

When it comes time for prizes, names of all those who completed the challenge will be drawn randomly and matched with prizes drawn randomly until we run out! 😊

⭐️ 30 Minute Q&A with Penny Klostermann

⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique OR Query Letter Critique (Winner’s Choice) from Jennifer Buchet, debut author of LITTLE MEDUSA’S HAIR DO-LEMMA (Clear Fork/Spork May 11, 2021)

⭐️ Picture Book MS Critique from Jen Raudenbush, agented writer of picture books, middle grade, and poetry. (Represented by Natascha Morris of The Tobias Literary Agency)

⭐️ Webinar: How To Write Powerful First Pages Like A Pro by author and editor Alayne Kay Christian

⭐️ A copy of Mary Kole’s Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Writers, donated by Nicole Loos Miller

⭐️ A personalized signed copy of SASSAFRAS AND HER TEENY TINY TAIL (MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing 2021) by Candice Marley Conner

⭐️ Making Picture Book Magic Self Study Class (any month)

⭐️ Magnetic Poetry – Little Box of Happiness

Check out the Week 1 Stories!

Henry Needs A Holiday – Joyce Uglow

Hank Needs A Hug – Jen Subra

Hare Needs (To Take) A Hint – Candice Marley Conner

Hummingbird Needs A Holiday – Laura Bower

Hummingbird Needs A Hug – Ann Gray

Humphrey Hummingbird Needs A (New) Hobby – Clearywriter

Hedgehog Needs A Hobby – Erika

Hare Needs A Hug – Brenda Whitehead

Henry Hare Needs A Hat – Marty Bellis

Henry Needs A Hug – Isabel Cruz Rodriguez

Hermit Crab Needs A Home – Sarah Hawklyn

Henry Hedgehog – Michelle S. Kennedy

Henrietta’s New Home – Rose Cappelli

Hilary Needs A Hug – Sarah Meade

Hermy The Hermit Crab’s New Home – Susan E. Schipper

Helicopter Hummingbird – Linda Schueler

Untitled – Marta Magellan

Hilary The Hummingbird – Julie Kurtz

A Holiday For Mrs. Hare – Judy Sobanski

Alphonso’s Real Estate: Fashionable Homes For Hermit Crabs – Nicole Loos Miller

Hyena’s Hiccups – Marla Yablon

Hermit Crab Needs A Holiday – Carrines Clifton

Henry Hummingbird Needs A Home – Jennifer Reichow

Henry’s Discovery – Dawn Young

Henry Needs Some Luck – Allison Strick

Henry Needs A Holiday Hero – Ashley Sierra

Hoglet Hurry Home – Sally Yorke-Viney

A Hat For Hammerhead – Ashley B. Pedigo

Hallie Hummingbird Needs A Holiday – Christine Alemshah

Hudson Hammerhead Needs A Hug – Jeannette Suhr

Henry Needs A Hobby – Sue Lancaster

Hare And His Harmonica – Lyn Jekowsky

Horst Needs A Hug – Elizabeth Meyer Zu Heringdorf

Hummingbird Needs A Holiday – Sara Kruger

Hammerhead Needs A Hockey Stick – Les Degnan

Henry Needs A Hint – Deb Sullivan

Hare Needs A Hobby – Marta Cutler

Hare Needs A Holiday – Aly Kenna

Hilary Needs A Hint – Mia Geiger

Henry Needs A Hint – Elenore Byrne

Hare Style – Hannah Roy LaGrone

Hillary Hare Needs A Holiday – Barbara Farr Renner

Hammerhead Needs A Holiday – Dianne Irving

Hilary Needs A Harmonica – MWREX

Henry Needs A Hug – Val McCammon

Harry Hammerhead Has A Hard Day – Susan Summers

A Horse For Hermit Crab – Jill Lambert

A Home For Hedgehog – Elizabeth Volkmann

Hare Needs A Home – Jessica Murray

Hammerhead Needs Help – Katie Schwartz

Untitled – Lauri Meyers

Hedgehog Needs A Hat – Candace

Hedgehog Needs A Home – Summer Hinderer

Spiny The Hedgehog – Eva Kaman

Hopping Lonely – Jamie Bills

Henry Needs A Hint – Lauren Scott

Hare Needs A Hat – Jana Mattern

Hilary’s Holiday – Bevin Rolfs Spencer

Henry Hare’s New Hobby – Bru Benson

Hedgehog Hugs – Marty Findley

Hermit Crab Needs A Hat – Lynn Katz

Henry Hammerhead Needed A Hug – Padgy Soltis

Hedgehog Hates Hugs – TL Fales

Hammerhead Needs A Hat – Amy Leskowski

Mama Hedgehog’s Mother’s Day Holiday – Robin Currie

Henry Needs A Hero – Colleen Owen Murphy

Hugo Hammerhead Needs A Hat – Deb Buschman

Henry Hedgehog Needs A Home – Elizabeth Muster

Hedgehog Needs A Hint – Brenna Jeanneret

Hummingbird Needs A Holiday – JC Kelly

The 2019 Holiday Contest WINNERS!!!

December 19, 2019December 19, 201927 Comments

🎄 ⭐️ ✡️ ❄️ 🕎 ☃️ 🎄

Well, hello there, my little cupcakes!

It’s Thursday, so you know what that means!

For starters, it means you’re a little confused!

This is the second time this week you’ve come to visit on a day I don’t post!

But that is delightful in every way because I am ALWAYS glad to see you!

And as it turns out, I kind of thought you might wander in, so I made you something.

Yes! I really did!

All by myself!

It IS the holiday baking season after all . . .

. . . which got me to thinking, wouldn’t we all like to know what kind of holiday cookie we are?

I mean, I know wondering about that keeps me up at night. . . !😊

The rest of the world may be busy figuring out their elf names or their reindeer names, but that is so last year.

You are so special that you are the ONLY people IN THE WOLRD who get to discover what kind of cookie you are! Check it out!

And now you know how I spend my time – thinking up cookie flavors and types, randomizing the lists, and employing canva to make festive charts. No wonder I haven’t vacuumed😊

Allow me to introduce myself: Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookie!!! (which I think describes me to a T since I love chocolate and I am quite crinkly-looking now that I’m more than half a century old!😊)

So now that you all know what kind of cookie you are (please feel free to share in the comments!) you can all go off happily to your holiday whirlwind of shopping and wrapping and cooking and baking and traveling or tidying depending whether your visiting or hosting and etc, etc, etc!

Bon voyage!

See you next year!

❄️

❄️ ❄️

❄️

❄️ ❄️

❄️

Tra-la-la…

Oh!

You’re still here?

Not that I mind, but . . .

. . . was there something you wanted?

Besides your cookie name?

It’s almost as if you’re hanging around . . .

. . . waiting for something . . .

. . . like . . .

. . . maybe . . .

. . . to find out who won

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

As always, I was thrilled to see so many wonderful stories! Really! It is amazing and inspiring, not to mention VERY entertaining! There is just so much talent out there amongst you all!

But as you well know by now, with large entry numbers, all of high quality, 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, a few entries that barely missed being finalists, and many 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 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!)

Carmen Castillo Gilbert for Andres SAVES la Navidad (beautifully written with a natural interweaving of Spanish vocabulary and a lovely depiction of a grandmother/grandson relationship)

Colleen Murphy for The Recipe (beautifully written and poignant – a tug-on-the-heartstrings story with a hopeful ending)

Janet Smart for Ho! Ho! Ho! Yum! (fun and kid-friendly with a delightfully conscientious mouse 🙂 )

Sarah Meade for Claire’s Big Christmas Trip (we could imagine her special outing to New York City perfectly!)

Maria Antonia for Last Christmas Cookie (great portrayal of sibling interaction and a nicely executed twist ending!)

Lori Sheroan for Watch And Learn (an entry we loved for its beautiful setting and wonderful characterization done in very few words as well as its Appalachian folk tale flavor)

Deb Sullivan for A Great Treat (energetic, kid-friendly and fun!)

Kathy Halsey for Likin’ Lichen . . . Or Marshmallows? (fun and believably kid – favorite line: “Their eyes – how they twinkled. Their noses – So hairy. Their antlers – so tall and a teensy bit scary.” 🙂 )

Katrina Swenson for The Great Cookie Escape (original, creative and entertaining Point of View (the cookies!) very well written!)

Kelly Pope Adamson for Recipe For A Snowman (very creative – who knew you could make a snowman without snow?!)

2. For Fun, Well-Written Twists on Familiar Tales:

Brenda Covert for A Surprise For General Gingerbread (well written and fun, not exactly based on the tale, but the main character is technically a Gingerbread Man 🙂 )

Jill Lambert for Even Trolls Deserve A Treat (a kind-hearted twist on The Three Billy Goats Gruff)

Angela Verges for Cora’s Christmas Cookies (a cute twist on The Little Red Hen)

Stacey Miller for A Fairy Tale Treat (a twist on Hansel And Gretel with a touch of the The Three Little Pigs thrown in – favorite line: “A book of 101 Things To Make With A Turnip” 🙂 )

3. For Top Of The Naughty List:

Sarah Hetu-Radny for A Trickster’s Treat (that Ellery was up to every kind of no-good! – good job with character!)

4. For Poetic Writing and Original Format:

Tracy Curran for The Choice Of A Tree (lovely language, poignant story which she somehow wrote in the shape of a Christmas tree!)

5. For Excellence In Representing A Different Holiday Tradition: (not already in the Finals or All-Around HM)

Jyoti Rajan Gopal for Luscious Laddoos: A Sweet Story (wonderfully descriptive and mouth-watering!)

6. For Best Entry Based On A True Story:

Pat Finnegan for A Taste Of Peace (based on the Christmas Eve truce in hostilities on the Western Front)

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com subject line Prize Winner to collect your award badge and prize, which 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 when I did this for Halloweensie I got a ton of problematic spam mail because of the way I worded the post, 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 2019 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…

Rebecca Gardyn Levington
for
The Greatest Latke Topping!!!

Congratulations, Rebecca, on a fun, kid-friendly story written in spot-on rhyme with a delightfully humorous ending that was clearly very popular with a LOT of readers!!! It ain’t over til Ketchup comes to the table! 🙂

In Second Place

Laurie Carmody
for
All I Want For Christmas

Congratulations, Laurie, on a fun, kid-friendly entry that made us laugh at yet another use for the poor. much-maligned fruit cake 🙂 You get to pick your prize after Rebecca.

In Third Place

Kelly Kandra Hughes
for
Christmas Peach Pie

Congratulations, Kelly, on an entry that made us long for peach pie and admire your little main character for being willing to embrace the naughty list to get that pie! 🙂 You get to pick your prize after Rebecca and Laurie.

In Fourth Place

Sue Lancaster
for
Grandpa Ted’s Garden Shed

Congratulations, Sue, on a fun story about a holiday treat that wasn’t food!!! with a great ending that left us wondering what exactly Grandpa gets up to in his spare time… 🙂 You get to pick your prize after Rebecca, Laurie, and Kelly!

In Fifth Place… a tie! between

Kailei Pew Anne Lipton
for for
A Christmas Treat For Mama Vinarterta With Amma

Congratulations, Kelly, on a sweet story that embraced the true spirit of the season, and Congratulations, Anne, on a beautifully-written story full of lovely language that introduced us to a different holiday tradition! Great job both of you! You get to pick your prizes after Rebecca, Laurie, Kelly, and Sue… and we may have to negotiate a little (which is why I try to avoid ties, but when they happen they happen!)

In Seventh Place…

Lara Elliot
for
Gingerbread Family

Congratulations, Lara! We loved how Isabel found a way to make the best of things, not only saving the cookies but celebrating each member of the family for their uniqueness! I’m sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now 🙂

In Eighth Place…

Gabrielle Cardwell
for
Biscuit’s Christmas Treat

Congratulations, Gabrielle! We loved that your story celebrated a dog’s POV of a Christmas walk through the neighborhood, and we felt like we knew Biscuit! You get to pick after Lara 🙂

In Ninth Place

Tracy Curran
for
The Gingerbread Sleigh

Congratulations, Tracy, on your mouth-watering entry written in excellent rhyme with a wonderful ending! You get to pick after Gabrielle 🙂

In Tenth Place

Brenda Whitehead
for
Christmas Eve Treats

Congratulations, Brenda, on a lovely entry that celebrated the love between a grandmother and granddaughter and came around to such a sweet ending where their roles were reversed. You get to pick your prize after Tracy!

In Eleventh Place

Deborah Bence Boerema
for
Christmas Kitchen Chaos

Congratulations, Deborah, on an entry that perfectly portrayed the way things seem to go in the kitchen this time of year with a lovely ending that showed it’s the who not the what that matters! You get to pick after Brenda!

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 Holiday Treat (see what I did there? 🙂 )

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 – I’ve got children to fetch, cookies to bake, Christmas presents to shop for and wrap, and my sister and her family arriving from Georgia! 🙂 So I will see you all in a couple weeks – most probably the first week of January 🙂

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 2020!

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

The Prizes!: OMG! So much awesomeness!!!

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Children’s Literary Agent Melissa Richeson of Apokedak Literary!!! Melissa will read and give a written critique of your picture book manuscript plus a 10 minute phone call to talk!!!

MG/YA First 1500 Words Critique from Children’s Literary Agent Melissa Richeson of Apokedak Literary!!! Melissa will read and give a written critique of the first 1500 words of your MG or YA manuscript!!!

Literary Agent Melissa Richeson

Melissa is currently looking to build her client list and is focusing on children’s book authors—picture books through young adult. She’s drawn to witty wording and whimsical design for picture books, humor and quick pacing for chapter books, charming mysteries or magic in middle grade, and fresh, character-driven stories in young adult. She’s not the best fit for horror, high fantasy, or graphic violence of any kind

Art of Arc Writing Course from writer and editor Alayne Kay Christian!

Art of Arc is an independent-study picture book writing course. Most stories have some sort of arc. Many successful picture books are built around an arc. Understanding story and character arcs will help give your story order and the tension that will energize it from the beginning to the end. This energy will not only drive your protagonist forward – it will also drive readers to turn pages and keep reading.

The purpose of this course is to deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and to introduce you to many other picture books structures. The course also addresses a number of common issues that weaken a story and common writing mistakes that authors make.

Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming or non-rhyming) from Penny Parker Klostermann, talented author of THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT (Random House 2015) and A COOKED-UP FAIRY TALE (Random House 2017)

Rhyming Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Dawn Young, author of THE NIGHT BAAFORE CHRISTMAS (WorthyKids 2019)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Melissa Stoller, author of SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH (Spork 2018), READY, SET, GORILLA! (Spork 2018), and THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION (chapter books) (Spork 2017)

Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Julie Abery, author of LITTLE TIGER and LITTLE PANDA (Amicus Ink 2019) and the forthcoming YUSRA SWIMS (Creative Editions February 2020) and LITTLE MONKEY and LITTLE HIPPO (Amicus Ink February 2020)

Book Bundle #1 – Nonfiction

Signed Copies of multiple star- and award-winning picture books

SONNY’S BRIDGE: JAZZ LEGEND SONNY ROLLINS FINDS HIS GROOVE (Charlesbridge 2019) and A PLACE TO LAND (Charlesbridge 2019)

and

A PLACE TO LAND: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE SPEECH THAT INSPIRED A NATION (Charlesbridge 2019) by Barry Wittenstein

and BIRTH OF THE COOL: HOW JAZZ GREAT MILES DAVIS FOUND HIS SOUND (Page Street Kids, 2019) by Kathy Cornell Berman

Kathy1 Kathy2

Book Bundle #2 – Two By Tara Plus One

Personalized, signed copies of OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019) and I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019) by Tara Luebbe

and a personalized signed copy of MOTHER TERESA: THE LITTLE PENCIL IN GOD’S HAND (Spork 2019) by Patricia Saunders

The Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 2020

Children's Writers And Illustrators 2020

(Charlesbridge 2019)

Making A Living Writing Books For Kids: Tips, Techniques, and Tales from a Working Children’s Author – by Laura Purdie Salas

Making A Living

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 holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

Ho! Ho! Ho! The 9th Annual Holiday Contest Is HERE!!!

December 9, 2019December 13, 2019419 Comments

⭐️Deck the Halls! ⭐️ Light the menorah! ⭐️ Fill the Kikombe cha Umoja! ⭐️

It’s time for . . .

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

The Contest: Write a children’s holiday story (children here defined as age 12 and under) about A Holiday TREAT!

Your treat can be any kind of treat – a delectable holiday food specialty – Grandma’s Sugar Cookie Reindeer, or the Brown Family Gingerbread House; an event or experience that is a treat – the town Holiday Parade, attending the Nutcracker Ballet, or getting to light a candle on the menorah; making a treat for someone else – baking peppermint crunch brownies for the residents of a local shelter, or doing something special for a favorite teacher or neighbor – sky’s the limit 🙂

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 250 words (I know! So much freedom after the Halloweensie Contest 🙂 ) (It can be as short as you like (the judges will be grateful 🙂 , you are welcome and encouraged to write shorter, but no more than 250! Title not included in word count.) The field is wide open! Have fun! The more creative the better! No illustration notes please. (And yes, if you feel compelled to submit more than one entry you may, just remember you’re competing against yourself!)

Post: Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Wednesday December 11 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below. This post will remain up for your reading pleasure until I post the finalists. There will be no regular posts (Tuesday Debuts, Perfect Picture Book, or Would You Read It) for the duration of the contest so the links will stay up for everyone to visit and enjoy. If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section below (please include your byline! If your posting handle is something like MamaWritesByNightlight I can’t identify you.) If you have difficulty posting in the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com and I’ll post it for you. Please place your entry in the body of the email including your title and byline at the top – NO ATTACHMENTS! Please do not submit entries before the start of the contest! Please submit your entry only ONCE! If you add it to the blog link list, and the comments, and email me to post it, things get very confusing! I try to stay as glued to my desk as possible, but sometimes I have to get up so if I don’t respond to your email or approve your post immediately, don’t panic! I’ll get to it as soon as I can!

The Judging: My lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to approximately 10 finalists (depending on the number of entries – if we get a lower turnout we’ll post fewer finalists, a higher turnout possibly one or two more.) In the interest of finishing up the contest in a timely fashion so everyone can go about their holidays, we will do our best to post the finalists here by Monday December 16 for you to vote on for a winner. The vote will be closed on Wednesday December 18 at 5 PM EST. Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to tenth place (or wherever we place to), and the winners will be announced on Thursday December 19.

Judging criteria will be as follows:

1. Kid-appeal! – These stories are intended for a young audience (ages 12 and under), so we’re looking for stories that children will enjoy and relate to.
2. Holiday Treat! – the rules state a Holiday Treat story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about a treat of some kind that is specific to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate. The story must center on the treat – the treat must not be just an offhand mention/reference in a story about something else.
3. Quality of story – entries must tell a story, including a main character of some kind and a true story arc even if it’s tiny 🙂 Entries must not be merely descriptions or mood pieces.
4. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best 🙂 Overall writing quality and use of language are also important.
5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.

The Prizes!: OMG! So much awesomeness!!!

Literary Agent Melissa Richeson

Art of Arc Writing Course from writer and editor Alayne Kay Christian!

Rhyming Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Dawn Young, author of THE NIGHT BAAFORE CHRISTMAS (WorthyKids 2019)

Book Bundle #1 – Nonfiction

Signed Copies of multiple star- and award-winning picture books

SONNY’S BRIDGE: JAZZ LEGEND SONNY ROLLINS FINDS HIS GROOVE (Charlesbridge 2019) and A PLACE TO LAND (Charlesbridge 2019)

and

A PLACE TO LAND: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE SPEECH THAT INSPIRED A NATION (Charlesbridge 2019) by Barry Wittenstein

and BIRTH OF THE COOL: HOW JAZZ GREAT MILES DAVIS FOUND HIS SOUND (Page Street Kids, 2019) by Kathy Cornell Berman

Kathy1 Kathy2

Book Bundle #2 – Two By Tara Plus One

Personalized, signed copies of OPERATION PHOTOBOMB (Albert Whitman 2019) and I USED TO BE FAMOUS (Albert Whitman 2019) by Tara Luebbe

and a personalized signed copy of MOTHER TERESA: THE LITTLE PENCIL IN GOD’S HAND (Spork 2019) by Patricia Saunders

The Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 2020

(Charlesbridge 2019)

Making A Living Writing Books For Kids: Tips, Techniques, and Tales from a Working Children’s Author – by Laura Purdie Salas

Making A Living

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 holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazone, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

This is the part in the proceedings where I would normally post my sample to entertain and encourage you, but I’m afraid today, without burdening you with the details, my heart just can’t be in it. Bad timing, I’m sorry 😦

But I know you guys are going to come up with great stories, and I’m so looking forward to reading them all. I know they will lift my spirits! 😊

I can’t wait to read all of your entries! With so many great prizes up for grabs I hope there will be a lot – the more the merrier! And you’ve still got a couple days to write, so you can squeeze in under the wire if you haven’t written yet. Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well. And your reading friends – parents, teachers, etc. The more people who read and enjoy your stories, the better!!!

Contest Entrants, remember to add your post-specific link to the google form below so we can all come read your awesome stories! (Post-specific means not your main blog url, but the actual url of the post that has your story in it – otherwise if you post again before the contest ends, your link will take readers… and judges!… to the wrong place!)

Eager Readers – just go along the list of links, click on them, and enjoy the stories!

Happy Writing and Happy Holidays!!!🎄⭐️ ✡️❄️☃️🕎

And don’t miss the 77!!! fabulous entries that are posted in the comments below! The titles are linked and will take you directly to the stories!

Grandpa Ted’s Garden Shed – Sue Lancaster
The Popcorn Tree – Lindsey Hobson
Christmas Vacation Anticipation – Glenda Roberson
A Great Treat – Deb Sullivan
Santa’s Selfie – Sue Lancaster
Mountain Magic – Deb Buschman
The Great Cookie Escape – Katrina Swenson
Elves Need Treats Too – Alicia Fadgen
And One For Me! – Priscilla Merryman
Gulab Jamuns – Shariffa Keshavjee
Xmas Surprise – Shariffa Keshavjee
The Candy Cane Con – Maryna Doughty
Santa’s Sweet Treats – Lu Pierro
Flavor Favor – Dorothy Wawa
Gingerbread House UNDER CONSTRUCTION – Liz Sites
Earl’s Christmas Gift – J. Gray Frye
How NOT To Sit On Santa’s Lap – Chelsea Tornetto
Vinarterta with Amma – Anne Lipton
A Present For Grandma – Susan Drew
Fudge – Johanna Speizer
Never Too Old For Grandma Soo’s Pie – Bru Benson
Where Light Can Reach – Kristen Loughlin
Santa’s Cookies – Megan Hoffman
Broccoli: The Best Holiday Treat – Taylor Gardner
The Big Bad Wish – Roo Parkin
Treats From Trash – Geraldine Jones
Dinosaur Dress-up – Roo Parkin
Christmas Cake Hero – Kristy Roser Nuttall
Even Trolls Deserve A Treat – Jill Lambert
Christmas Kitchen Chaos – Deborah Bence Boerema
Home For The Holidays – Penelope McNally
The Choice Of A Tree – Tracy Curran
The Gingerbread Sleigh – Tracy Curran
The Cookie Competition – Lisa Cloherty
Santa’s Favorite Treat – Deborah Dolan Hunt
Hero Cat’s Treat For Christmas – Lily Erlic
Three Treats For Santa – Dawn Young
Emma’s Turn – Beverly Warren
A Sweet Escape – Tara Cerven
How the Kvetch Hijacked Hanukkah – Paul Kurtz
Best Christmas Ever! – Paul Kurtz
Jungle Bells – Donna Kurtz
My Bubbie’s Special Hanukkah Recipe – Donna Kurtz
Luscious Laddoos: A Sweet Story – Jyoti Rajan Gopal
Santa’s Millionth Cookie – Heather Pierczynski
Recipe For A Snowman – Kelly Pope Adamson
A Fairy Tale Treat – Stacey Miller
All I Want For Christmas – Laurie Carmody
Double The Christmas Waffle Recipe – Kristy Roser Nuttall
A Surprise For General Gingerbread – Brenda Covert
Christmas Magic – Kristy Roser Nuttall
Special Report – Augusta McMurray
The Reindeer Farm – Carrie Williford
The Greatest Latke Topping – Rebecca Gardyn Levington
That’s The Way The Cookie Crumbles – Amy Flynn
Believe In Christmas Magic – Linda Staszak
Tortellini Day: A Family Holiday Tradition – Mona Pease
Gingercats!– Amy Duchene
Twinkle Twinkle Little Candle – Lisa Hutcheson
Christmas Cookie Cuties – Kathy Mazurowski
Biscuit’s Christmas Treat – Gabrielle Cardwell
A Treat For Nana – Deborah Holt Williams
Gobblewolly’s Gingerbread Goof – Jenny Buchet
An Indigestible Treat – Jill Proctor
Uh-oh, What Happened To The Dough? – JC Kelly
Nutty Nut-Cracking – Ledys Chemin
The Greatest Gift – Valerie Bolling
Grandma Goodsnacks– Abbi Lee
A Taste Of Peace – Pat Finnegan
Andrés SAVES la Navidad – Carmen Castillo Gilbert, PhD
The Case Of The Disappearing Candy Canes – Kristen Donohue
Goodnight Zoolights – Kelly Pope Adamson
With A Puff Of Snow – Yara C
Santa’s Treat – Judy Sobanski
A Wondrous Treat – Michelle S. Kennedy
Hodgepodge – Kristy Roser Nuttall
Little Bot’s Crunchy Latkes – Deborah Bernick

2019 Valentiny Contest WINNERS!

February 28, 2019February 27, 201924 Comments

Do you know what Thursday is perfect for?

Barely squeaking under the wire of Last Day of February to announce the winners of the 4th Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest for Children’s Writers!!!

valentiny writing contest 2019!

. . .but first a few words from our sponsor (me) which I know shocks you (not!) 🙂

As always, I was thrilled to see so many wonderful stories! (Did I mention there were nearly 170?!) Really! It is amazing and inspiring, not to mention VERY entertaining! There is just so much talent out there amongst you all! The other judges and I are blown away anew each time!

But with large entry numbers, all of high quality, 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 last week 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, or that the judges couldn’t reach a consensus on. It is SO HARD! One of our very favorite entries – well written and full of guilt – never mentioned a thing about Valentine’s Day! Many other entries simply weren’t guilty enough, although they were fabulous in other ways!

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: (entries we truly wrestled with not including in the finalists!)

Joy Pitcairn for I Didn’t Give Rufus A Valentine

Kalee Gwarjanski for Chocolates For Mom

Mary Vander Plas for Sasquatch: In Search Of A Valentine

Mia Geiger for All Wrapped Up

Lynn Katz for A Little Heart

2. For Great Kid Appeal: (not already mentioned in the finals or other categories)

Helen Ishmurzin for Mila’s Cookies (we could totally see a kid struggling with that temptation! )

Sherry Peace for The Case Of The Missing Valentine’s Candy (fun kid detective work 🙂 )

Jeannine Pao Brown for Change Of Heart (very believable boy behavior 🙂 )

Sarah Hetu-Radny for A Slippery Situation (no one wants to be in trouble 🙂 )

3. For Original/Unique/Entertaining POV:

Megan Hoffman for The Sucker (POV of a Valentine sucker! – well-written!)

Deborah Dolan Hunt for Hillary’s Heart (POV of an actual heart! – loved the health angle)

4. For Humor:

Sarah Tobias for A Valentine For Mom

Susie Sawyer for Who Will Be Mine? (also wins for shortest entry with only 36 words! 🙂 )

Lauri Meyers for Don’t Eat Your Valentine (dark humor! 🙂 )

5. For Great Depiction of Family:

Scott Kinder for Mom’s Valentine (we found all the characters believable and felt like we were there! 🙂 )

6. For Favorite Character:

Joy Pitcairn for I Ate It… (we LOVED Otto – such a believable guilty dog! 🙂 )

Rachel Hobbs for Valentine Cookie Surprise (we loved Carla – so exuberant! and we can imagine an expanded version of this as a picture book! 🙂 )

7. For We Loved It But Not Guilty Enough!:

Kelly Conroy for Glitter, Paint, and Glue

Lynn Baldwin for The Year Without Sweethearts

8. For Lovely Writing:

Kelly Hughes for Will You Be Mine?

Keely Leim for A Valentine For Papa

9. For So Cute!:

Amy Flynn for Tiny Crush

10. For More Appealing For Grown-ups But Well-Written And Enjoyable!
(These entries were terrific but either focused on content we felt was more appropriate for over age 12 or that had humor that we considered funnier for adults than kids)

Emma Wood for No Ordinary Thursday (very sweet, beautifully written, and a believable depiction of husbandly behavior! 🙂 )

(And although we’re not awarding prizes for these this time, we always enjoy seeing some of your familiar characters back from other contests for new adventures, including Candice’s Bean and Jilly, Nicole’s Alex and Apple, and Lucretia’s Marvin The Chipmunk 🙂 )

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) (and if you request a paperback, please include your snail mail address!)

For Kindle:

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

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

How To Query An Agent Or Editor: A Children’s Writer’s Insider Guide From Mentors For Rent by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

Getting Published: How To Access Editors: A Children’s Writer’s Insider Guide From Mentors For Rent by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

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

Self-Publish Your Book: A Quick And Easy Step-By-Step Guide (Writing In A Nutshell Series Book 6) by Jessica Bell, OR

The Write Ideas Creative Writer’s Toolkit: A Genre-Spanning Box Set of Writing Prompts And Creative Exercises by Kate Krake

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 Urban Setting Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To City Spaces by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Rural Setting Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Personal And Natural Places by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Ultimate Fiction Thesaurus by Sam Stone, OR

Writing In A Nutshell: Writing Workshops To Improve Your Craft (Writing In A Nutshell Series Book 4) by Jessica Bell, OR

In paperback:

Show And Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell

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 OR

Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR

Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt, OR

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

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

Just For Fun…

Magnetic Poetry – Little Box Of Awesome Kit – Words For Refrigerator (let me know your color choice if you care 🙂 )

And now…

…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2018 VALENTINY 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…

Chambrae Griffith
for
Love Bug At The Zoo!!!

Congratulations, Chambrae, on an imaginative, entertaining, well-written poem that made us feel the chaos ensuing from your MC’s guilty behavior! 🙂

In Second Place

Jennifer Broedel
for
Buffa-lonely Love Day

Congratulations, Jennifer, on an entry we loved for your MC’s very believable and understandable grumpiness leading to bad behavior and guilt! You get to pick your prize after Chambrae.

In Third Place

Anne Sawan
for
A Box Full Of Love

Congratulations, Anne! You had us laughing over your “chip off the old block” guilt 🙂 You get to pick your prize after Chambrae and Jennifer.

In Fourth Place…

Colleen Murphy
for
Mother Knows Best

Congratulations, Colleen, on a delightfully believable story of guilt in perfect rhyme! You get to pick your prize after Chambrae, Jennifer, and Anne!

In Fifth Place…

Tiffany Dickinson
for
Heart Socks For The Win

Congratulations, Tiffany, on your heart-warming story. We felt Alex’s guilt and appreciated her empathy! You get to pick after Chambrae, Jennifer, Anne, and Colleen!

In Sixth Place…

Rose Cappelli
for
The Queen Of Hearts

Congratulations, Rose! You really made us feel Meg wrestling with her guilt! I’m sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now 🙂

In Seventh Place…

Katrina Swenson
for
Chadwick The Zombie Cooks Up A Valentine

Congratulations, Katrina! You won us over with your zombie sweet-maker the same way he won over his fellow zombies 🙂 You get to pick next 🙂

In Eighth Place…

Marty Bellis
for
Guess Who?

Congratulations, Marty! You captured a child’s good intentions and not-so-good execution perfectly 🙂 You get to pick after Katrina 🙂

In Ninth Place… a tie!

Joyce Schriebman Jill Lambert
for for
The Valentine’s Day Mess & Cure The Missing Pupcake

Congratulations to both of you on very humorous entries! You get to pick after Marty 🙂 (And since you tied, we’ll work it out…)

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. Jose and Beth, if you’d like to choose a prize from the Honorable Mention selection of prizes above you are most welcome to!

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!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone! 🙂

The Prizes: Oh, the awesomeness! With thanks to all who donated!

– “Skip The Slushpile” AND get a Query Letter Critique from Charlotte Wenger, associate editor at Page Street Kids, the picture book division of Page Street Publishing. She earned her Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons University (then College) and is a board member of the Mazza Museum’s National Advisory Board of Visitors. She enjoys working with debut picture book authors and illustrators and is excited about the 19 Page Street Kids picture books pubbing in 2019.

Charlotte’s Manuscript Wish List: http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/charlotte-wenger/

Find Charlotte on Twitter at @WilbursBF_Char, and learn more about Page Street Kids via www.pagestreetpublishing.com, Twitter: @PageStreetKids, and Instagram: pagestreetkids.

Charlotte will read the winner’s picture book manuscript of choice, then send an email letting you know she’s read your story and including one thing you did well and one thing you might work on to improve the manuscript. In addition, she will give you a query letter critique. Like all editors, she has a hectic schedule, so she will aim to fulfill the prize within 2 months of receiving the manuscript.

– Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the incredibly talented, multi-published author/illustrator Iza Trapani!

Iza 2014 Old MacDonald

– Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the Queen of KidLit411 herself, Elaine Kiely Kearns, author of Noah Noasaurus, forthcoming April 1, 2019 from Albert Whitman!

elaine noah

– Top Ten Reasons for Rejection – a 52 minute webinar from Alayne Kay Christian, author of Butterfly Kisses (picture book) and the Sienna The Cowgirl Fairy series (chapter books), and Content and Developmental Editor of Blue Whale Press.

Alayne butterfly kisses

Webinar Description: If you want tips on some corrective action that you might take to improve your chances of submission success, and/or if you would like to deepen your understanding of plot and arc, this webinar is for you.

(And if you’re interested in seeing what else Alayne has to offer, like her Writing For Children Webinars and Courses page on FB and keep an eye out for upcoming offerings!)

– 15-30 Minute Your Questions Answered Phone Call – with Ryan Sias, author/illustrator of Balloon Toons: Zoe And Robot, Let’s Pretend, Sniff Sniff!, and the Woof And Quack beginning reader series (Green Light Readers), and the Super Doodle Series. He has worked in animation, film, and television, including Sesame Street 🙂

Do you have questions about writing, revising, submitting, whether or not to try for an agent, what happens after the sale, or anything else publishing industry related? If so, this is your chance to ask away and get answers from a professional!

85044-ryan_headshot SniffSniffcover-300x300 woof and quack snowy doodle

– Query Letter Critique by Heather Ayris Burnell, creator of the Sub It Club and author of Bedtime Monster, Kick! Jump! Chop! The Adventures Of The Ninjabread Man, and the Sparkly New Friends early chapter book series from Scholastic!

heather burnell Kick Jump Chop

– 2-Pack of Personalized Signed Picture Books from amazing author Melissa Stoller – Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush and Ready, Set, Gorilla!

gorilla

– The Writer’s Tool Box: Creative Games And Exercises for Inspiring The “Write” Side Of Your BrainAND a $10 Amazon Gift Card

writer's toolbox

– Children’s Writer’s And Illustrator’s Market 2019 – by Robert Lee Brewer AND a $10 Amazon Gift Card (2 available)

Children's Writer's Guide 2019

I can’t thank these authors enough for their incredible generosity! Please visit their sites, buy and recommend their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, write them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and show your appreciation to them in any way you can!

Valentiny Contest Prize Update!!!

January 25, 2016February 1, 201667 Comments

Hi there, everyone!

I hope you all had lovely weekends, and that those of you within range of Snowmageddon all stayed safe and warm! For I think the first time in history, the storm missed Blueberry Hill – we may have gotten a quarter millimeter of snow, but that might be exaggerating 🙂

I realize that Monday afternoon is an odd time for a blog post, but I have a few minutes, and some very important news to share! So I’m taking a totally random moment here to say that kidlit folks are the best in the world – absolutely and without equivocation!

First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest! Guidelines HERE

Scrambling to rummage up some prizes for the unplanned Valentiny Contest, I sent out a few hopeful requests – some to people I knew, some to people I didn’t! – asking if they’d be willing to donate expertise/time/work/awesome books. Without exception, every single person I asked stepped up and offered a prize! I’ve got such an abundance, I’m not even sure we’ll need them all for this new contest, which may not receive the number of entries the more established ones do. So I hope, after you’ve seen what’s on offer, you’ll spread the word to all your kidlit friends because there’s some REALLY great stuff up for grabs 🙂

Check it out!

– A Picture Book Read and Critique from literary agent Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis who is actively building her picture book list!

– Enrollment in literary agent Jodell Sadler‘s Pacing Picture Books 2 WOW picture book writing class in March 2016!

– A spot in an upcoming Ariel Richardson webinar, Rule Breaking In Picture Books: The Chronicle Books Edition offered by Jodell Sadler

– Winner’s choice of free enrollment in ART OF ARC: HOW TO ANALYZE YOUR PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPT OR a deep analysis critique from Alayne.

ART OF ARC is a self-study course that will deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and introduce you to other picture book structures. The course gives you tools to analyze your work prior to investing in professional critiques. It shows you how to avoid common writing errors and how apply writing elements that will enhance your stories to take them to a higher level. It includes 217 pages with ten lessons, seventeen supplements, and eighteen worksheets. Plus bonus materials and resources.

– A Picture Book Critique/Developmental Edit (non-rhyming picture book manuscript) from Beth Stilborn. (Beth does developmental editing and copy editing through her Flubs2Fixes Editing, Consulting and Writers’ Resources service for writers. http://www.flubs2fixes.com )

– A Picture Book Critique from the fabulous Robin Newman, author of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and the forthcoming, eagerly awaited Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep (please don’t miss the fantastic trailer! 🙂 )

– personalized signed copies of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep by Robin Newman

– a personalized signed copy of The Night Before Valentines Day by Natasha Wing! Natasha Wing loves Valentine’s Day because it’s a week after her birthday. Natasha is the bestselling author of The Night Before series (Grosset & Dunlap). To find out more: www.natashawing.com

Night Before V Day

– personalized signed copies of Clara Bowman-Jahn‘s delightful picture books Annie’s Special Day and Edmund Pickle Chin

As well as the previously mentioned

– Enrollment in Julie Hedlund and Emma Walton Hamilton’s Complete Picture Book Submissions System!

– I Heart Picture Books – a 5-pack of Valentine picture books including A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger, Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie B. Friedman, Zombie In Love by Kelly DiPucchio, Love, Splat by Rob Scotton, and Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood PLUS 3 Endangered Species Chocolate Bars!

For those of you who are feeling too overwhelmed to count, that is TEN (10!!!) unbelievably awesome prizes!!! So I hope we get at least 10 entries! 🙂

Please join me in thanking Christa, Jodell, Julie & Emma, Alayne, Beth, Robin, and Natasha for their incredible generosity, and show your appreciation by visiting their sites, buying and recommending their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, writing them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and showing your appreciation to them in any way you can! I truly can’t thank them all enough!

Susanna Leonard Hill

Children's Author

Tag: Alayne Christian

2021 Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge Week #3

Check out the Week #3 stories!

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

2021 Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge – Week 2!

Check out the Week #2 stories!

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

Here We Go Again! Mix ‘n’ Match Mini Writing Challenge Take 2!

The 2019 Holiday Contest WINNERS!!!

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

Rebecca Gardyn Levington
for
The Greatest Latke Topping!!!

Ho! Ho! Ho! The 9th Annual Holiday Contest Is HERE!!!

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

2019 Valentiny Contest WINNERS!

Chambrae Griffith
for
Love Bug At The Zoo!!!

Valentiny Contest Prize Update!!!

Check out the Week #3 stories!

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

Check out the Week #2 stories!

PRIZES & PRIZES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

Rebecca Gardyn Levington for The Greatest Latke Topping!!!

THE 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

Chambrae Griffith for Love Bug At The Zoo!!!

Rebecca Gardyn Levington
for
The Greatest Latke Topping!!!

Chambrae Griffith
for
Love Bug At The Zoo!!!