Hi Everyone. Posting of finalists is delayed. I’m not exactly sure when they’ll be up, but it will be as soon as possible. Likely another week.

Eye of newt and dragon fang! It’s time for . . .

The 12th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest!!!

~ for children’s writers ~

THE CONTEST: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in word count) using the words slither, treat, and scare.

• Your story can be poetry or prose, scary, funny, sweet, or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words. Get it? Halloweensie – because it’s not very long and it’s for little people 😊
• You can go under the word count but not over!
• Title is not included in the word count.
• You may use the words in any form i.e. slithery (yes, it’s a word, we looked it up 😊), treated, scary, etc, etc, whathaveyou 😊
• You are welcome to enter more than one entry – just remember you’ll be competing against yourself 😊
• No illustration notes please!

And yes, I know 100 words is short, but that’s part of the fun and the challenge!

POST: your story in the comment section of the Official Contest Post (that’s this one!)( between Right NOW this very second! and 11:59PM Eastern Monday October 31st (So you have 3 full days to post – today, tomorrow, and Monday.)

• For those of you who would also like to post on your blogs, please feel free to do so! You are welcome to include the link to your blog with your entry in the comment section of the Official Contest Post so that people can come visit your blog, but all entries must be posted in the comment section of THIS Post between right now and Monday October 31st at 11:59PM Eastern.
• If you have difficulty posting your entry to the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you! [susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com Please place your entry in the body of the email including your title, byline (that means who the story is by – you! – so for example, By Jane Doe) and word count at the top – NO ATTACHMENTS! and please do not submit any entries before the official opening of the contest at 12:01 AM Saturday October 29th. They will not be accepted.
• I know how hard you all work on your entries, and how anxious you are to get them posted, but please try to be a little patient if your entry doesn’t show up immediately. Many comments have to be manually approved, and it sometimes takes me a little while to post entries that come in by email. I promise I will get to everything as soon as I can. I try never to leave my desk during contests, but sometimes it’s unavoidable 😊

THE JUDGING: over the following days, my devoted assistants and I will read and re-read and narrow down the entries to a finalist field of about 12 which will be posted here for you to vote on I hope by Saturday November 5th (though if the judging takes longer than expected it might be a little later – we will do our best! But fair warning I have two school visits that week and a long drive Friday.) The winners will be announced Tuesday November 8th (good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise 😊)

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.  Halloweeniness – the rules state a Halloween story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about Halloween, not just some random spooky night.
• 3. Use of all 3 required words and whether you came it at 100 words or less.
• 4. 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.
• 5. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.  If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best 😊  Use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics, excellence of rhyme and meter if you use it, PROOFREADING!
• 6. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
• 7. How well you followed the Submission Guidelines – agents and editors expect professionalism. This is a chance to practice making sure you read and follow specified guidelines. If you don’t follow agent and editor submission guidelines, they won’t even read your submission.

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

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

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming or Non-rhyming, Fiction or Nonfiction) with written feedback AND a 30-minute Zoom Chat with children’s author Vivian Kirkfield, author of PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House, 2019), SWEET DREAMS, SARAH (Creston Books, 2019), FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN (Pomegranate, 2019), MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books, 2020), FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Clarion Books, 2021), and SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING (MoneyPenny Press Ltd, 2010)

⭐️ 30 Minute Zoom Ask Me Anything with Rosie Pova author of IF I WEREN’T WITH YOU (Spork, April 2017), SARAH’S SONG (Spork, September 2017), SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana Publishing, March 2021), THE SCHOOL OF FAILURE: A STORY ABOUT SUCCESS (Yehoo Press, May 2022), and for Middle Grade readers, HAILEY QUEEN PRANKING MAKES PERFECT: THE ALIEN ENCOUNTER (Spork, April 2017) Rosie does a lot of school visits and presentations, should that happen to be of interest for your Ask Me Anything.

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming preferred) with Andrea Denish, author of EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE (Astra Young Readers, March 2020), and THE WAY WE SAY HELLO forthcoming from Starry Forest Books February 7, 2023

⭐️ Picture Book Critique (non-rhyming) with Becky Scharnhorst, author of MY SCHOOL STINKS! (Flamingo Books, July 2021) and THIS FIELD TRIP STINKS! (Flamingo Books, August 2022)

⭐️ Connecting With School Librarians! Fabulous Opportunity for published or soon to be published authors! Winner’s Choice of either a Zoom or phone chat about how to connect with school librarians and get their ear or an Ask Me Anything Zoom or phone chat about K-8th grade author visits from a librarian’s POV from Kathy Halsey. Kathy Halsey is Storyteller Academy’s Community Manager and Ambassador. She enjoys writing picture books, humor, and nonfiction. Kathy’s active in SCBWI and blogs with other kid lit writers on the GROG. She serves on the Choose to Read Ohio Advisory Council and speaks at educational and literary conferences. Kathy’s a former K-12 school librarian and children’s bookseller. She writes monthly author studies for the Reading for Research Month along with Keila Dawson.

⭐️ 30 Minute Ask Me Anything Zoom Chat (anything relating to writing/publishing) with 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) as well as the forthcoming SPIDER LADY: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army (Astra/Calkins Creek 2025) and another as yet unannounced 😊

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

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique PLUS Zoom Chat with Ellen Leventhal! Ellen is the author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork, 2017), LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork, 2018), HAYFEST: A HOLIDAY QUEST (ABCs Press, 2010), and A FLOOD OF KINDNESS (WorthyKids, 2021)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming or non-rhyming) with Kelly Conroy whose poems have been published in 5 anthologies (10.10, wee words for wee ones, October 2021; BETTER THAN STARBUCKS, January 2022; THINGS WE EAT, Pomelo Books, March 2022; THINGS WE FEEL, Pomelo Books, July 2022; WHAT IS A FRIEND, Pomelo Books, October 2022) and also the author of a rhyming board book due out in 2025.

⭐️ 30 Minute Picture Book Zoom Critique Session with Lynne Marie

Lynne Marie is the accomplished author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten – art by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic 2011), Hedgehog’s 100th Day of School – art by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play — art by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares — art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling 2019 and Scholastic 2019),  Let’s Eat! Mealtime Around the World — art by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books 2019) and The Three Little Pigs And The Rocket Project — art by Wendy Fedan (Mac and Cheese Press 2022) and American Pie — art by Dea Lenihan (Dancing Flamingo Press, April 12, 2022)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming or Non-rhyming, Fiction or Nonfiction) with a recording of first read-through by children’s author and poet Sarah Meade, contributor to HOP TO IT: POEMS TO GET YOU MOVING (Pomelo Books, 2020!)

⭐️ 20 Minute Zoom Ask Me Anything with Darshana Khiani, author of HOW TO WEAR A SARI (Versify, June 2021), I’M AN AMERICAN (Viking Books for Young Readers, May 2023), and THE BOYS OF KOH PANYEE (coming Fall 2023)

⭐️ Rate Your Story Speed Pass from Lynne Marie

And maybe I’ll have some extra picture books to add in here and there to sweeten the pie. . . 😊

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

Happy Writing! Happy Reading! And Happy Halloween!

For those of you having trouble commenting, I apologize for the fact that my site is apparently very temperamental! I can suggest the following: if you’re trying to post comments from a phone or tablet, try a computer – sometimes it works better than way. Chrome seems to work better with this site than some of the other browsers, although one dedicated individual, determined to be able to comment, has reported that she finally managed with Microsoft Edge. Thank you for trying – it’s so important for all of you to get to hear from each other!

Now, let the Halloweensie begin!

The 239 entries listed below are linked to where they appear in the comments so you can click on the titles and get right to them! (Assuming WordPress cooperates . . . fingers crossed!) Anyone who feels kind can start at the bottom of the list so those entries get some comments too! 🎃 😊

1. Apparition Preparation For A Scary Halloween – Royal Baysinger
2. Attack Of The Zornaks – Royal Baysinger
3. Down In the Halloween Cave – Royal Baysinger
4. Sisters – Sara Kruger
5. Halloween Nightmare – Helen Lai
6. The Follower – Marla Yablon
7. A Frightfully Fun Time – Susan E. Schipper
8. The Halloween Dream Team – Jenna Elyse Johnson
9. Skeleton Sam Settles The Score – Jennifer Cowan
10. Slug Slime – Vashti Verbowski
11. Ghost Recipes – Julia Pierre Hammond
12. Rainforest Halloween – Heather Kinser
13. On Snail-O-Ween – Heather Kinser
14. The Frightful Fugitive – Anne Lipton
15. Little Witchy – Elizabeth Myer zu Heringdorf
16. Get Your Glow On – Corine Timmer
17. Sally The Slug Has A Sweet Tooth – Eleanor Ann Peterson
18. In The Middle Of A Snack – Bridget Magee
19. Coming Around – Emily Durant
20. Piper’s Pickle – Colleen Murphy
21. Safe From Scares – Sarah Meade
22. Claudia Maude Clickerticker’s Costume Shop – Sarah Meade
23. What Do Witches Eat? – Kelly Clasen
24. Ghouldilocks And The Three Shares – Claire Blumenfeld
25. Closer – Reed Hilton-Eddy
26. SSSSSScary – Jen Subra
27. A Shady Halloween – Jennifer Lowe
28. Help! – Elizabeth James
29. Arabella’s Halloween Treat – Colleen Fogarty
30. Trick Or Treat? – Corine Timmer
31. The Coolest Halloween Costume – Carmen Castillo Gilbert
32. Green Goulash Stew – Claudine Pullen
33. The House With The Good Candy – Vanessa Konoval
34. The House Creatures’ Halloween – Lauri Meyers
35. When Good Luck Struck – Molly Ippolito
36. The Haunted House Halloween Challenge – Marty Bellis
37. Demon On The Line – Laura Polasek
38. The Spooky Halloween Parade – Janet Krauthamer
39. Mrs. Cleary’s Cats – Susan Eyerman
40. A Halloween Twist – Cheryl Simon
41. Wilhelmina The Witch – Ashlee MacCallum
42. Halloween Hater – Blaire Moore
43. The Halloween Bake-Off – Rose Cappelli
44. Trick-Or-Treat, Shoes To Eat – Ashley Sierra
45. Tricks Before Treats – Danielle S. Hammelef
46. Happy Halloween – Stephanie R. Mena
47. A Batty Halloween – Melissa Chupp
48. Who Whispers In The Dark? – Erika Romero
49. Interview With The Vampire – Helen Lai
50. Slug Life – Kim Wagner Nolan
51. Sapling’s Halloween – Lori Sheroan
52. Nothing Scared Alicia Bones – Christine Evans
53. The Mask – Su Ko
54. DON’T FLUSH YOUR GOLDFISH DOWN THE TOILET OR HE WILL COME BACK TO GET YOU ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT – Sue Ko
55. Going As Myself – Marianna Sacra
56. Halloween Snack – Debra Daugherty
57. Halloween-ing – Lori Himmel
58. Something Wriggling This Way Comes – Amy Chini
59. Edgar Allen Crow – Kathleen Jacobs
60. Queen Slug’s Halloween – Kelsey E. Gross
61. Pull Of The Moon – Darla Christie
62. There’s One In Every Class – Linda Staszak
63. Snollooween – Katie McEnaney
64. A (little) STEM Halloween – Jilanne Hoffman
65. Trick For Treat – Linda Starszak
66. Mattie, The Scaredy Tabby Cat – Janet Parkinson Bryce
67. Nothing Scares Me – Karen Condit
68. ‘Twas Halloween Night – Sharon Coffey
69. A Hotdog Halloween Hullabaloo – Sharon Coffey
70. Their Trick, My Treat – Carol Van Gorp
71. Interview With The Vampire – Helen Lai
72. Halloween Night Light – Daniella Kaufman
73. Do Goblins Gobble? – Sally Yorke-Viney
74. Witchy-licious Stew – Charlotte Dixon
75. The Ghouliest Ghouls – Marta Cutler
76. The Scariest Bear – Marta Cutler
77. Halloween Is Different This Year – S.S. Lee
78. The Rattlesloth – Russell Wolff
79. The Eyes Have It – Marta Cutler
80. A Scare Affair – Lori C. Evans
81. Halloween Haul – Stephanie Maksymiw
82. Halloween Is Magic – Kristen Littlefield
83. Command Performance – Jamie Donahoe
84. Zombie In The House – Isabel Rodriguez
85. A Wise Disguise – Jill Purtee
86. Truck-Or-Treat – Mia Geiger
87. The Halloween Dare – Marty Findley
88. Witch’s Brew – Marty Findley
89. A Halloween Tail – Katie Lee Reinert
90. Creepy People – Sharon McCarthy
91. Happy Halloween – Elaine D’Alessandro
92. Scared Sssssilly – Julie Lerczak
93. A Spooky House – Gail Hartman
94. A Halloween Smile – Tonnye Fletcher
95. A Scary Dare – Mona Pease
96. Stop Your Bellyaching Soup, A Jump Rope Song – Debbie Meneses
97. A Spell Of Transformation – Meagan T. Gentry
98. First Flight – Paul Kurtz
99. I Scare You, You Scare Me – Paul Kurtz
100. Spiders vs. Snakes – Linda Schueler
101. Pot Of The Witch – Reed Ambrose
102. Snake In The Grass – Judy Sobanski
103. Beware Or Be Scared – Norah Colvin
104. Bat’s First Halloween – no author listed
105. Children Of The Bog – Melissa Miles
106. In Through My Window – Eric Sondergeld
107. A Squishy Scare – Stephanie Henson
108. The Last House – Janet Smart
109. Jack-O-Lantern – Darcee A. Freier
110. Beak-A-Boo! – Jill Lambert
111. Jackie Saves Halloween – Brittany Richman
112. The Treat – S. E. Cottrill
113. Little Vampire’s First Halloween – Sharon Dalgleish
114. Franny Fruit Bat’s Friendly Halloween – Amy LaMae Brewer
115. Chicken’s First Halloween – Emma Hay
116. Moldy Mayhem – Sue Lancaster
117. Sea Monster – Patricia Nozell
118. A Halloween Lullaby – Brigid Finucane
119. Tricky Treats – Lisa Lowe Stauffer
120. KA-RUNCH! – Donna Kurtz
121. Scary-Fairy – Donna Kurtz
122. Halloween Hop – Carole Gerber
123. Halloween Treat – Krista Legge
124. Sara’s Hairy Halloween – Jesse Anna Bornemann
125. Scary Goat Scam – Elenore Byrne
126. Goulentine – Michelle S. Kennedy
127. My Teacher Is A Creature – Mary Ann Cortez
128. The Haunted House – Karen Morgan
129. Trick or Treat: A Forest Halloween – Sarah Marhevsky
130. Shadows Come Crawling – Marlee Fuller-Morris
131. Slithering Snake – Deborah Hunt
132. Jack-oh-no! – Pollu Mendoza
133. Jack’s Lament – Steve Jankousky
134. Sense The Way – Sarah Hetu
136. Slither and Hiss: Trick or Treat? – Cathrene Youngquist
137. Pumpkin Jack – Jennifer Weingardt
138. The Peanut Butter Cup Song – Hannah Roy LaGrone
139. Gregory’s First Halloween – Morgan Lau
140. Scary Treats – Ken Major
141. Super Scary Sausages – Chris James
142. Midnight Snack – Deborah Foster
143. How To Trick-or-Treat If You’re A Snake – Abigail Mumford
144. Scarecrows Of Halloween – Helen Ishmurzin
145. Sneaky Snake – Jan Suhr
146. Who’s There? – Dawn Renee Young
147. Space Rangers And Skeletons – Cynthia Mackey
148. A Halloween For Willard – Krista Harrington
149. On Halloween Night – Amanda Flinn
150. Early Worm’s Halloween Birthday Wish – Curtis King
151. Sweetie The Parrot – Barbara DiMarco
152. The Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest – Laura Straut
153. Boo – Jean Martin
154. Pete The Smallest Pumpkin – Tiffany Hanson
155. Candy Corn’s Revenge – Tiffany Hanson
156. A Martian’s Halloween – Angela Calabrese
157. Candy Monster – Patricia MacMillan
158. Igor’s First Halloween – Danna Zeiger
159. You Can’t Scare Me – Danna Zeiger
160. Pumpkin, Skeleton, Wolverine – Brenna Jeanneret
161. Tricky Treats – Ashley Sutphen Delaney
162. Little Sister Saves The Night – Laurie Kaiser
163. The Sweetest Treat – Christina Shawn
164. All Hallows’ Eve – Sasha Sirisena-Green
165. Pumpkin Cat’s Turn – Bru Benson
166. Frankenslug – Ryann Jones
167. The Costume – Nina Nolan
168. The Best Halloween Ever – Dianne Borowski
169. Tricked – Geraldine V. Oades-Sese
170. Trista’s Treat Or Trick? – Krissy Massey
171. The Scariest Costume Of All – Abby N. Wooldridge
172. Halloween is the BEST, but. . . – Andi Chitty
173. It’s A Tricky Afterlife – Katie Schwartz
174. Spider’s Halloween – Cassy Clarcq
175. Slimon’s Halloween – Imelda Taylor
176. The Zombie Flop – Liz Kehrli
177. Melanie Monster – Lindsey LeBlanc
178. Switch Witch Swap – Julie Fruitticher Schroeder
179. S-S-Selma – Nancy Forbis-Stokes
180. A Halloween Adventure – Gregory E. Bray
181. Enter If You Dare – Trista Herring Baughman
182. Snake’s Sweet Treats – Nadia Ali
183. Costume Crisis – Keatley Eastman
184. Tricked By The Treats – Elizabeth Muster
185. Halloween Friend – Thelia Hutchinson
186. My Dreadfully Dangerous Walk – Susan Twiggs
187. Slither, Treat, Scare: A Halloween Story – Lynn Greenway
188. I’m Not That Scared – Allison Gray
189. The Halloween Prize – Mary Rudzinski
190. Portia Pumpkin Proclaims – Judy Caldwell Hughes
191. Pookie The Pomeranian’s Halloween Wish – Stephanie Jackson
192. Boo The Ghost Gets Beaten – Stephanie Jackson
193. Costume Drama – David Cobb
194. Slither Spook – Jessica Milo
195. Samira’s Potion – Jessica Milo
196. Sabrina Squirrel Does Not Scare Easily – Liz Gill
197. Snake’s Stealthy Solution – Kira Barrett
198. What Did You See? – Kathleen Mazurowski
199. Father Knows Best – Janice Kay
200. The Costume – Amy Duchene
201. Trick Or Treat – Laura Seely-Pollack
202. Many Happy Resquirms – Diana Webb
203. Theodore Turkey’s Halloween Hunt – Mary-Catherine Amadu
204. Ghost Finds His Groove – Cindy Greene
205. Weird Halloween Treats – Una Belle Townsend
206. The Jabberwocks Of Halloween – Jenny Bowman
207. Sooner And Sooner Every Year! – Stephanie Henson
208. A Slimy Halloween: Halloweenie Competition – Erin Buhr
209. Candy Night – Anne Weaver
210. Growing Candy Apples – Hannah Roy LaGrone
211. Sister’s First Halloween Night – Linda Hofke
212. Calling All Campers to the Camp Spooky Halloween Campfire – Jamie Rodarte
213. A Pumpkin Named Rattlesnake Pete – Pat Finnegan
214. Pumpkin Pride – Pat Finnegan
215. Gardenia Ghost – Katie Walsh
216. I Am Always a Cat – Amanda Littlefield
217. Scaredy Snake – Kathy Hill Crable
218. Classroom Costume Conundrum – Cynthia Reeg
219. A Beckoning Spell – Les Degnan
220. Halloween Eve – Tarsia Rhyne
221. Which Witch Will Win? – Lucretia Schafroth
222. The Spider Web House – CJ Penko
223. The Monster of Barlow’s Bakery – Jill Burns
224. A Candy Break For Mongoose And Snake – Katie Schwartz
225. Kid Cobra’s Halloween – Denise Seidman
226. Costume Not Required – JC Kelly
227. Lucinda Blackletter – Karen Pickrell
228. Candi Corn – Liz Kehrli
229. Glass Lizard Halloween – Maria Marshall
230. Scaredy Cat And The Haunted Hunt – Samantha Cora Christian Haas
231. Graduation Night – Naz Alibhai
232. New Friends – Sarah Hawklyn
233. Sam Wasn’t Afraid – T. May LeGrys
234. Black Cats Get A Bad Rap – Colleen Dougherty
235. Dad’s First Trick or Treat – Annette Bethers
236. Skeletons Need Teddy Bears Too – Sharon Jackson
237. Sam And Dusty Trick Or Treat – Julianna Helt
238. Lost – Brenda Covert
239. The Snakertons – Emily Holewczynski