I learned something new yesterday that I know you’re all going to wish you’d known sooner (please prepare yourselves):
It is illegal to stand within 90 meters of the Queen without socks on!
Am I the only one who didn’t know this?
I mean, how many times have I stood 89.5 meters from the Queen in bare feet? Or in my sandals with NO SOCKS?
It is a miracle I have never wound up in the royal dungeon!
As soon as I heard about this I knew I had to warn you. I hope I’m not too late to save you all from incarceration.
I’m really wondering, though, who exactly this is a problem for. Is the Palace overrun with barefoot people (or shod but sockless people) romping about in the presence of the Queen?
Do the guards at Buckingham Palace entertain themselves by daring each other not to wear socks and see if anyone notices? 😊
Maybe the Queen walks along their ranks each day and uses her walking stick to lift the hem of their pants and see if they’re wearing socks with their shoes of if those sneaky guys tried to break the law by putting their shoes onto bare feet!
But mostly I wonder who thought this was something that mattered enough to be a law? I can just imagine a bunch of gray-wigged heavy-jowled folks sitting around saying, “By George! We’ve just got to do something about all these sockless people cavorting willy-nilly in the Queen’s presence! It isn’t to be borne!”
And is this law all about respect for the Queen, or is this her way of making a public service announcement to encourage people to protect themselves against athlete’s foot?
These are the kinds of questions that occupy the minds of writers as we wonder, what if? The seeds of stories yet to come! I can see it now. A picture book called A Royal Case Of Athlete’s Foot 😊
Wow!
When one is wrestling with these kinds of weighty questions, it is absolutely necessary to have Something Chocolate on hand, don’t you agree?
Since we’ve been talking about feet, how about some Bear Paw Cookies for our Something Chocolate? They’re so cute! And they might send our writerly minds down a whole ‘nother path. . . what if a bear was in the presence of the Queen without socks on? In bare/bear feet?! 🤣
When you’ve finished enjoying your delicious Bear Paw cookies and pondering sockless feet, we can get down to business – pitches!
Today’s pitch comes to us from Kizzi. Kizzi once ran away with the circus and worked with elephants and tigers. Now she writes as much as she can, finds lots of inspiration from her family, and goes on adventures a little closer to home.
Working Title: There Was A Small Python Who Swallowed A Flea
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: There was a small python who swallowed a flea because it was small, but pythons need MORE after all. So small python swallows more and more things and grows and grows. As he grows, so does his appetite, and soon he’s swallowing everything in sight. After small python has swallowed, slithered, and slurped, a huge buuuurrrrppppp might just solve all his problems.
So what do you think? Would you read it? YES, MAYBE, or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If you answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Kizzi improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It, or on Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the menu bar above. There are openings in February, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!
Kizzi is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to visiting the Queen! 😊
And welcome back to my little corner of the blogosphere and Would You Read It!
I hope you all had wonderful holidays full of love and family and celebration and other good things!
I think it’s important to bring it to your attention that today is National Whipped Cream Day. I believe we can all agree that everything is better with whipped cream on it since people put it on everything from fruit to hot chocolate to pancakes and waffles. And I feel in my bones that there is a picture book in the idea of putting whipped cream on things that don’t normally get chosen for the honor. Elephants? Circus tents? Teachers? Pets? Jumbo jets? Sand castles? The moon? A giant striped hot air balloon? Seems like the sky’s the limit! Or maybe how you might make whipped cream if you didn’t have any cream. . . or a traditional way to whip it. . .😊 A little something to get you thinking and maybe help you out on your idea for the day if you’re doing Tara Lazar’s Storystorm this month!
A little Something Chocolate would most certainly fuel our creativity. How about some Peanut Butter Chocolate Half Moons?
Delicious and nutritious! Looks like breakfast to me! 😊
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Patti who says, “I’m a part-time teacher, looking to make it big and see my name in lights! Just kidding, looking to insert a little humour into a book in a child’s hands 😊”
Find her on the web at: Twitter: Ransonpatti Instagram: ransonpatti
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Dragon Is Out Of Here
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Dragon is out of here, leaving his ‘same old’ book and flying off to find a better spot in one of the other books on his shelf. But the grass isn’t any greener with the Big Bad Wolf, the Old Woman in the Shoe, or Sleeping Beauty. After a close call with Old MacDonald, Dragon rediscovers his own story where he can fly, breathe fire, and be his true self.
So what do you think? Would you read it? YES, MAYBE, or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If you answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Patti improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It, or on Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the menu bar above. There are openings in February, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on my editor Erin Molta!
Patti is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to what ideas I will think up for Storystorm – always such a great way to start the year!
This is no time for play! This is no time for fun! This is no time for games! There is voting to be done! (just go with it and pretend voting is only one syllable 😊) or There are prizes to be won! (no, that doesn’t work either, although it’s true!)
Maybe we should go with:
Every writer in Bookville liked contests a lot. . . But the judges who judged all the entries did NOT! (although to be fair, we love the contests and we love reading the entries, we just hate having to cut them to get down to 12!)
The point is, we have done our valiant best to come up with 12 finalists (and let me tell you, it was a Herculean task!) and the time has come for you to read the entries that made the finals, choose your favorite, and vote for it!
Normally, I’d waste a little time with tomfoolery, but it’s been a desperate few days (and nights) of entry judging, which means not always paying as close attention to the puppy as I should, which means there is carpet steam-cleaning to be done. (Maybe I should have found a way to finish up my little stanza with that!)
So let’s just get right to it!
I know these entries are a little longer than the Halloweensie ones, so I truly thank you for taking the time to read through them and vote for your favorite. You won’t be sorry. They are all fabulous and I know you’ll enjoy them!
I will say THANK YOU to everyone who wrote an entry, took time to read other people’s entries and leave supportive comments, shared the contest with friends and family so that all our talented writers could get more readers, is taking the time now to read and vote, and who generally helped to make the contest so much fun, but I’m going to skip reiterating the judging criteria (you can check for it HERE) and save all my usual difficulty-of-choosing stuff for the winners post on Friday so you can get right to the entries!
Please read through the following 12 entries and vote for your favorite in the poll below by Thursday December 16 at 7PM Eastern so I can announce the winners on Friday! As always, I encourage you to share today’s link everywhere you want so that as many people as possible can read these stories and vote, but please do not attempt to influence the voting in any way. It is supposed to be based on merit, not on who can get the most people to come vote for their entry because they’re your friends and relations or they owe you for that time you babysat their kids 😊 If you’re a finalist, please don’t broadcast that on social media – just ask people to come read all the entries and vote for their favorite.
So here we go! Your 12 Finalists for
The11th Annual Holiday Writing Contest
~ for children’s writers ~
1 –
2 – Phoebe’s Snowperson
Outside the city library, a flier flits in the wind. “Snowperson Contest!” it announces, catching Phoebe’s eye. She reads:
Kids, let’s spread a little cheer and deck the library halls with handmade “snow”-people who won’t melt like snowballs!
The prize? Free popsicles at the pool this summer.
“Yes, please!” Phoebe exclaims.
Phoebe hurries toward home, her imagination firing with every step. What can she use to build a snowman? Perhaps she should create a snowgirl? How much glitter does she have? Is there any white paint in the garage?
“Hi, Mom! Bye, Mom!” Phoebe yells and dashes to her room. It might be December, but she can practically taste the watermelon-cherry-coconut flavors of summertime.
But when Phoebe starts to gather materials, she feels doubtful. She looks at the pillows scattered about and wonders how she’ll make a snowperson that stands up—and stands out.
Phoebe starts to hum an old song about a snowman who came to life. “He had a magical hat!” she recalls and races to her closet.
Then she remembers a story about snowmen’s nighttime adventures and another about a silly snowman in a hot tub. She smiles.
“The snowmen are in my books. What if my books are my snowman?”
Phoebe lays a chapter book flat with the pages facing out. She stacks on a fat collection of fairy tales and then some tattered picture books. Before long, a snowman built out of stories stares back at her.
“Perfection,” Phoebe whispers.
3 – A CHRISTMAS PICKLE STORY
Sentimental ornaments trim our tree high to low, but Christmas Eve tradition calls for one to steal the show.
Dad dons a scruffy Santa hat and gathers us around. “I’ve picked the pickle’s hiding spot! It’s waiting to be found.”
“Dance! Prance! Blitz and dash! All may search until the finder claims the first gift and the title of ‘Big Dill’.”
Grammy prods each shimmery bough. Mom browses round and through. Baby pulls off ornaments (to get a better view).
I snug myself beneath a branch to peer up from the bottom. A glint of green. A clumpy curve. Yes! I think. I got ’em.
I pluck the pickle from its place, eager to claim my prize, then notice Dad off to the side with sparkle in his eyes.
His festive fuss for all of us makes everybody grin. It doesn’t seem to bother him that he will never win.
I put the pickle back, but shift it where no one will see. Then grumble, “Oh by golly, there’s no pickle on this tree!”
“Ho ho, oh? Check near the stump–” That’s when Dad’s eyes meet mine. I toss a wink and, in a blink, Dad’s rummaging through pine.
He tugs back on a tree skirt bump revealing what I’d done. The pickle found, I quickly cheer, “Gosh, Dad, looks like you’ve won!”
He wraps us all up in a hug and whispers in my ear, “You can have the first gift because I’ve got mine right here.”
4 – SIMPLY THE BEST
Christmas was Maise’s favorite time of year. Awe-inspiring. Wonderful. Magical. Simply the best. Maise wanted to be awe-inspiring, wonderful and magical, too.
Maise entered the Gingerbread House Decorating Contest. Her house had icing and gumdrops! Sprinkles and sparkles! It even had an entire reindeer family reunion! “It’s very…. creative,” said the judges. But, Catalina won with a classic design. “Awe-inspiring,” Maise told her.
Maise entered the Holiday Baking Contest. Peppermint sticks! Mocha melts! Orange and ginger shortbread! “Quite the variety,” observed the judges. But Lester won with his Yule Log cake. “Wonderful,” said Maise, licking her lips.
Maise entered the Ice Skating Contest. Wearing a very sparkly leotard, she skated forward! And backward! She even did a twirl! But Jozef had a routine that was…well… “Magical,” admired Maise.
Maise smiled. She hadn’t won any ribbons but it had still been a delightful day.
“We have one last ribbon to award,” announced the judges. “The award for the Most Holiday Spirit goes to… Maise!” “Awesome,” said Catalina. “Wonderful,” said Lester. “Magical,” smiled Jozef. And to Maise, it was simply the best.
5 – SO YOU THINK YOU CAN PRANCE
“Places, Rudolph. Jump in line.” (That’s me! Contestant #9.)
“Welcome back to North Pole Live: ‘So You Think You Can Prance,’ season five. I’m your host, the famous Prancer. Please welcome back our champion dancer! He’s shimmied chimneys—Seoul to Atlanta: the man, the myth, the legend—SANTA!”
Santa’s back? Last season’s best! His reindeer too? I should’ve guessed. Dasher coasts. Dancer whirls. (Prancer hosts.) Vixen twirls. Comet? She was born a star. Cupid is on point, so far. Donner brings the beat, the boom. Blitzen’s jig ignites the room. Maybe I’ll sit out this year. With four left hooves, I’m bottom tier.
Eight contestants soar. I sink. They float. I flail. They curve. I kink. They sway. I swoop. They strut. I stop. They spring. I sprawl. They dip. I drop. Showing off, they’re busting moves, I spin and— SPLAT. I’ve busted hooves!
“Oh, DEAR!” I hear. Yes, I’m aware— my spill was broadcast on the air. The crimson of my well-known nose extends until my body glows. Someone whispers, “not a dancer.” Reindeer snicker—even Prancer! “Can klutzy caribous compete?” My antlers shrink. My legs retreat.
Halfway out the door, I hear, “Rudolph! I need YOU this year! Ho-ho-ho! That grit! That glow! Prancer, change my choreo’: Substitute those samba mixes. No more formal foxtrot fixes. Rudi’s riffs will spark my set— a glow-in-the-dark-breakdance duet!”
*North Pole Live rewrote its jingle to feature Ru’ and Kris-Kross-Kringle, the prime-time prancing pair sensation, who tours one eve—to every nation.
6 – Cinder-Latke
Cinder-Latke puts down her scrub brush and reads a letter on the kitchen table.
—EVERYONE INVITED TO ROYAL PALACE HANUKKAH PARTY—
—Prince Nudnik Will Wed Latke-Making Contest Winner—
Cinder-Latke sighs. “I wish I could go like Pishka and Kishka, my stepsisters—”
Pink lightning FLASHES—
A puff of smoke morphs into Fairy-Godmother Yenta. “—and you will!”
Yenta waves her wand—
Cinder-Latke rides in a gold carriage wearing a sparkling diamond-studded gown.
“The spell ends at midnight.” Yenta grins. “Have fun!”
At the palace, all the princess-wannabes cook potato-pancakes like crazy.
Finally, Prince Nudnik tastes Cinder-Latke’s latke. “It’s perfection—I love you!”
The tower clock chimes midnight—Cinder-Latke flees.
Next morning, Prince Nudnik searches every house in the kingdom.
“Ugh!” He spits out Pishka’s latke and gags on Kishka’s. “One’s heavier than lead and the other tastes like moldy sweat-socks.”
An irresistible aroma tickles Prince Nudnik’s nose, luring him into the kitchen.
Cinder-Latke flips her latke onto a dish. “I knew you’d come.”
Prince Nudnik, drooling, bites into the latke. “Heavenly—” He sinks to one knee and whips out a ring with a gleaming latke-sized diamond. “Please, be my Latke-Princess!”
Cinder-Latke and Prince Nudnik wed on the eighth night of Hanukkah and dance the hora around the menorah.
After the honeymoon, they open a restaurant—
—PRINCESS CINDER-LATKE’S LATKE PALACE—
—and dine on latkes happily ever after!
(Pishka and Kishka become fabulously wealthy businesswomen selling their latkes as cannonballs and bug-repellent.)
7 – Christmas…by a Nose
Newspapers trumpeted! Radios blared! Cable news cried in alarm! BIG CARROT SHORTAGE REPORTED TODAY: CHAOS ERUPTS ON CLAUS FARM
And, indeed, Claus was troubled. Perplexed, some might say. To friends, he appeared worried sick. (This was Sam Claus, who harvested just up the way from his jollier brother, Old Nick.)
Christmas was coming, And, with it, Claus knew, The first of the season’s big snows. But if carrots were lacking, Joy would fade quick… For no snowman could count on a nose!
Assistance was needed— “A contest!” Claus thought. No sense in lazing about. “A trophy” he called. “To the barnyard friend here Who can find the best substitute snout!”
“An apple!” said Horse. (Goat and Donkey agreed.) “It’s festive and rosy to boot.” “But it’s round,” Claus reminded, “And, also, it’s red. A not-at-all carrot-like fruit.”
“Maybe corn?” piped up Chicken. “Oh, yes!” Pig enthused. “I’ve got a few corncobs right here.” “Not bad,” Claus conceded. “A veggie, it’s true. But we need a good nose, not an ear.”
“’Wait, wait!” squeaked a voice. “Down here, take a look! May I share my idea with you, please? You need something pointy and orange-ish, and so… Why not try wedges of cheese?”
“Yes, CHEESE!” Claus applauded. “A trophy for Mouse! Or perhaps a large crumb would be better. And while we’re addressing the subject of snacks: …do we know if the reindeer like cheddar?”
8 – TREE NUMBER NINE
Sofie could barely contain her excitement. Today was Noel Knob’s first ever Christmas Tree Decorating Contest!
She had been gathering decorations for weeks —
Berries from the holly bush next door.
Strings of garland strung with white, fluffy popcorn.
Bows made from leftover ribbon.
She packed everything in her backpack and headed to the town square.
There, evergreen trees lined the lawn. The smell of fir, spruce, and pine tickled her nose.
At the sign-in table, Sofie was assigned tree number 9.
She got right to work — a bow here, berries there, garland wrapped around and around, and a big pinecone right on top!
Proudly, she stood beside her tree. But soon her shoulders sagged.
Around her, trees twinkled with tiny lights, dazzled with store-bought decorations, and on top of each tree was a shining star.
She glanced at the ceramic teapot on the prize table and felt her hopes evaporating like steam.
Zipping up her bag, Sofie headed home.
Behind her, the judges were ready to announce the winners.
“Third place goes to… Tree 21, for most decorations!”
Everyone clapped. Sofie kept walking.
“Second place goes to… Tree 7 for most sparkly!”
Everyone cheered. Sofie kept walking.
“And first place goes to… Tree 9 for most creative!”
Everyone celebrated. Stunned, Sofie hurried to the stage.
“Which prize would you like?”
“The teapot, please.”
When she got home, Sofie carefully wrapped the teapot in red and green paper.
Then, she filled out the gift tag —
To Mom From Sofie MERRY CHRISTMAS!
9 – A CREATURE WAS STIRRING
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, Every creature was stirring, including, Wee Mouse. Stirring and blending, creating sweet treats for a contest to see which ones Santa will eat. “Don’t even bother,” said Pup. “He’ll choose mine.” “I don’t think so,” purred Kit. “Because mine are divine.” But Wee Mouse said nothing. Her movements were nimble as she tossed her ingredients into a thimble. She had flour in her whiskers, some dough on her nose, and a drop of molasses had dripped on two toes. She placed all her cookies in a minuscule sack, climbed up to the table then…UH OH! Fell back! The cookies all crumbled except for one bite. “I’ve barely a taste for Santa tonight!” Wee Mouse dried her tears, climbed back up to the platter, feeling her one little morsel must matter. “It’s totally tiny,” said Pup. “Not ornate. Santa will think it’s a crumb on the plate. Mine have fun sprinkles on top of red icing.” Kit purred, “That brown dot? Well, it’s just not enticing.” Wee Mouse ignored them and went straight to bed, exhausted yet hopeful for what lay ahead. Christmas morning she woke to a gift and a note. She opened it up to see what Santa wrote: “Dear Wee Mouse, My thanks for your cookie so sweet. It was far and away my favorite treat. And the thing that I think set it so far above all the rest was your secret ingredient—LOVE!”
10 – BEAR’S CHRISTMAS COOKIE
Of all the holiday traditions, Bear’s favourite was the cookie decorating contest. Hedgehog always won. This year Bear was determined to beat him. He’d been planning his cookie for months.
The animals lined up with their cookies displayed. The crows approached. They were notoriously picky judges. They started with Rabbit.
Rabbit had decorated his cookie with a garden of sugar spun carrots and roses.
Badger had created a glittering forest of silver and gold gumdrops and candy cane stars.
Hedgehog had outdone himself. On his cookie, he’d crafted a miniature ice-rink with tiny skaters, each holding cups of hot cocoa. You could even see the marshmallows.
Bear was last. The Crows approached his cookie. Their black eyes widened. Towering above them was layer upon layer of icing, chocolate, candy cane, marshmallows, toffee, sprinkles, sugar plums, and whipped cream. At the top, they could just make out a Christmas angel spinning in the wind.
“Did I win?” asked Bear.
Suddenly the cookie began to wobble. It leaned one way. It leaned the other.
“Look out!” cried the judges.
SPAAAALOOSH!!!!
Every inch of fur, feathers, and forest was drenched in icing, chocolate, whipped cream, and candy. The angel landed on someone’s head. Badger licked sprinkles off his coat. Rabbit brushed marshmallows from his nose into his mouth. Hedgehog wiped icing out of his eyes. He licked his paws with gusto.
“Actually,” he said, “I think we all won!” And that day they all enjoyed the most glorious candy feast, thanks to Bear.
11 – A Miscalculation
*Attention all children! Come out in the snow And bring all your shovels and gear Join in the sport, And build your best fort For the holiday contest this year!*
We dig and we pat We scoop and we splat To build the best fortress of all No torrent of snow, No, nothing they throw Will knock down our unyielding wall!
Two towering turrets Three tactical windows Four bunkers built into the floor Snowballs piled high, Stacked up to the sky There must be two hundred or more!
We hold up a finger So that we can tell Which direction the cold wind is blowing We take up our stance, They don’t stand a chance Let’s get this tournament going!
Whoosh, whoosh, THUD, THUD Oh no, wait a minute! We should have seen this from the start The snowballs we chuck Don’t have any luck— Our snow forts are too far apart!
12 –
WOW!
Now YOU get to enjoy the agony of decision as you try to choose which of those amazing entries to vote for!
Please vote for the entry you feel deserves to win in the poll below by 7PM EST Thursday December 16th.
Tune in Friday December 17th to see THE WINNERS!!! – same bat time, same bat station 😊
Thank you all so much for taking the time to write (if you did), read, and vote! These contests simply wouldn’t be what they are without all of you!
I truly cannot wait to see who you choose as the winner! Good luck!!! 😊
⭐️Deck the Halls! ⭐️ Light the menorah! ⭐️ Fill the Kikombe cha Umoja! ⭐️
It’s time for . . .
The11th Annual Holiday Writing Contest
~ for children’s writers ~
The Contest: Write a children’s holiday story (children here defined as age 12 and under) about a Holiday Contest!
Your contest can be anything you want! Baking, wrapping, decorating (tree or home), raising money or collecting gifts for those in need, ice skating, sledding, caroling, fancy dress, snowman or fort building. . . sky’s the limit! But it must be about a holiday contest!
Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s or whatever you celebrate during the Holiday Season, 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 between right now this very second and Thursday December 9th at 11:59 PM EST, and must be posted below in the comment section of this post. All entries should include a title, byline (people always ask what this is – it means who the entry was written by, so, by Suzy Q. Writer or whoever 😊) and word count. You are welcome to also post your entries on your own blogs and include your blog address with your entry here if you’d like to encourage people to come visit your blog, but your entry must be posted in the comment section of this post or it will not be counted because we won’t see it. This post will remain up for your reading pleasure until I post the finalists. There will be no regular posts (Tuesday Debut, Would You Read It, or Perfect Picture Book) for the duration of the contest so everyone will have plenty of time to visit and enjoy. If you have trouble commenting, you can email your entry to me and I will post it for you. Please copy and paste your entry with word count and byline into the body of the email – NO ATTACHMENTS please.
The Judging: My lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to approximately 12 finalists. 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 Tuesday December 14th for you to vote on for a winner. (But it almost always seems to end up taking us longer. . . so it might be a day or two later.) The vote will be closed on Thursday December 16th at 5 PM EST. Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to twelfth place (or wherever we place to), and the winners will be announced on Friday December 17th. (These dates are subject to adjustment if it takes the judges longer than we anticipate to get the judging completed.)
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 Contest! – the rules state a Holiday Contest story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about a contest that in some way relates to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s, or whatever seasonal winter holiday you choose. The story must center on the contest – the contest 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. Please proofread!
5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
6. PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Large numbers of entries make it easy to cut entries that haven’t been entered as we asked.
The Prizes!: Oh! Such wonderful prizes! All I can say is, how lucky are we to be part of such a talented and generous community that offers such amazing prizes!
Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for birthday, holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, recommending them for school and library visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊
⭐️ 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!
⭐️ 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.
Developmental Editor, Lou Piccolo
⭐️ 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.
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique(written) PLUS 15 minute Zoom Chat (no nonfiction) from Cindy Williams Schrauben author of THIS COULD BE YOU (Cardinal Rule Press, April 1, 2022)!
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Heather Gale, author of HO’ONANI: HULA WARRIOR (Tundra Books, 2019) which was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2019, one of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles, Featured on the 2020 Rainbow Book List, Featured on the 2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and received a Booklist Starred Review!
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Maria Marshall! Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature fun for children. She’s a judge for the Cybils Awards and the #50PreciousWords competition. Four of her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. The Picture Book BuzzWebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram
Maria Marshall
⭐️ A Reversible Handmade Christmas Stocking or Other Winter or Holiday-Themed Gift Bag from Karen Gebbia PLUS a Personalized Signed Copy of CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY by Nancy Derey Rileyto fill it!
a Personalized Signed Copy of eitherLISTEN (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books 2021) orTWO DOGS ON A TRIKE (Harry N. Abrams 2020) (Winner’s Choice!) by Gabi Snyder
With so many great prizes up for grabs I hope there will be a lot of entries – 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 you MUST post your entry in the comment section below and include title, byline, and word count.
Eager Readers – just go along the list of links below, click on them (they’ll take you directly to whichever story you click on), and enjoy the stories!
Welcome to the last Would You Read It Wednesday of 2021!
By this time next week, we’ll be all-in on the Holiday Contest, and that will pretty much keep us occupied until school is out and we’re all up to our ears in holiday prep, travel, family and friend get-togethers, baking, cooking, and wrapping…all with kids underfoot 😊 Busy and wild, but just the best, isn’t it?
In order to fuel up for all that, I think we’d better get right to Something Chocolate! I don’t think we can go wrong with Caramel Mocha Nutella Brownies!
Ooey-gooey-chocolatey goodness! Make some for yourself, make some to give as holiday gifts, sample all of them 😊 Yum! Yum!
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Emily who says, “I am a physical therapist, writer, rock climber, and animal lover – yes, even rats! (They’re really not so bad. Google ‘cute rat pictures’… aww!) I usually write picture books, but inspired by my pets’ antics, I figured it was time to try my hand at a chapter book series. I had a blast writing the first book, and best of all, I didn’t have to watch the Word Count box tick upwards with a feeling of dread! Thank you so much for your feedback on the pitch! Find me on Twitter @emilydurwrites”
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: The Adventures Of Ricky And Flash: Escape From The City
Age/Genre: ChapterBook (ages 7-9)
The Pitch: After double-crossing Slick, the street-hardened stray cat who rules the alleyways, city rats Ricky and Flash race to leave New York City before they get caught. But where will they go? The brothers have never known anything but city life, and country living comes with its own perils! They try to make a home at Wild Down Farm, but just like in the city… cats rule. When two kittens get trapped, Ricky and Flash have a decision to make—help out the fearsome barn cat who has been stalking them or walk away from both the kittens and their new life on the farm.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Emily improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in January, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!
Emily is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to baking some ginger cookies because, you know, it’s important to give the oven a warm-up and let it practice a little before the full work of holiday baking begins! Otherwise it might pull a muscle or something 😊
What a busy week it has been! Apparently we’re at Wednesday already, and do you know what that means?
It means that since tomorrow is Thanksgiving I can no longer put off cleaning my house.
I’ve been waiting for it to clean itself.
I’ve been incredibly patient, if I do say so myself.
But at this point I think it’s safe to say it’s not going to happen so, desperate times calling for desperate measures and all that means it’s up to me.
Some people love to clean. I love things to BE clean, I just don’t like to be the one who has to get them that way 😊 When I’m Queen, I’m going to get someone to do it for me 😊 I’ll take care of their horses and they can clean my palace!
Wow. Just thinking about having to clean makes me require Something Chocolate. We better have something good. I think I’ve got just the thing!
I feel fairly confident that with enough of those I can get the house clean 😊
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Melissa who says, “I have spent the last 15 years living in Tanzania as an English teacher, a journalist and then as a wife, mum and storyteller.”
Find her on the web at Twitter: @MelissaKValente
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Don’t Think About Lions!
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: DON’T: Told not to do something, our minds often wander to doing that very thing. When mum goes out, she leaves a series of instructions, including: “Don’t think about lions!”, but this cheeky monkey and his renegade bush baby buddy get so focused on meeting a lion that they break all the rules. The refrain ‘what if we just…’? encourages little readers to turn the page and follow these wild risk-takers as they get closer and closer and ultimately learn their lesson, in this 400-word rhyming adventure.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Melissa improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in January, so you have a little time to polish your pitch before putting it up for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!
Melissa is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to seeing lots of family this weekend for Thanksgiving! (Even if it does mean I have to clean the house 😊😊😊)
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone, and a delicious, delightful, happy, healthy, family Thanksgiving!!! 😊
I was tootling along, minding my own business, when suddenly I realized it’s November 22!
“Holy Flying Reindeer, Batman!” I said to Violet. “Do you understand the implications of this?”
Apparently she thought I was asking her to BE a flying reindeer and felt no urgency whatsoever regarding the situation!
I, on the other hand, understand the urgency all too well!
There are only TWO WEEKS until the opening of the Holiday Contest and you guys need your guidelines so you can put your thinking caps on and start writing!
I tried to get Violet to put HER thinking cap on but she was very uncooperative so I had to fake it. Clearly, she doesn’t like the fake one any more than the real one.
ANYWAY, the point is that somehow November has flown by and it’s time to tell you what you need to know to get started on your Holiday Contest stories!
Ready?
Everything you need to know to about the. . .
11th Annual Holiday Writing Contest
~ for children’s writers ~
The Contest: Write a children’s holiday story (children here defined as age 12 and under) about a Holiday Contest!
Your contest can be anything you want! Baking, wrapping, decorating (tree or home), raising money or collecting gifts for those in need, ice skating, sledding, caroling, fancy dress, snowman or fort building. . . sky’s the limit! But it must be about a holiday contest!
Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s or whatever you celebrate during the Holiday Season, 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 between 12:01 AM EST Tuesday December 7th and Thursday December 9th at 11:59 PM EST, and must be posted in the comment section of the Official Contest Post which will go up here on my blog on Tuesday December 7th. That post will remain up for your reading pleasure until I post the finalists. There will be no regular posts (Tuesday Debut, Would You Read It, or Perfect Picture Book) for the duration of the contest so everyone will have plenty of time to visit and enjoy. If you have trouble commenting, you can email me (we’ll go over this part in more detail on the December 7th post! 😊 ) but do not email me any entries before the opening of the contest on December 7th! They will get lost in the abyss that is my inbox!
The Judging: My lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to approximately 12 finalists. 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 Tuesday December 14th for you to vote on for a winner. (But it almost always seems to end up taking us longer. . . so it might be a day or two later.) The vote will be closed on Thursday December 16th at 5 PM EST. Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to twelfth place (or wherever we place to), and the winners will be announced on Friday December 17th. (These dates are subject to adjustment if it takes the judges longer than we anticipate to get the judging completed.)
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 Contest! – the rules state a Holiday Contest story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about a contest that in some way relates to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s, or whatever seasonal winter holiday you choose. The story must center on the contest – the contest 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. Please proofread!
5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
6. PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Large numbers of entries make it easy to cut entries that haven’t been entered as we asked.
The Prizes!: The prize list is under construction. . . But I wanted to get the guidelines up so you guys would have as much time as possible to work on your stories! Stay tuned for an updated list – I will be adding to and rearranging/redistributing the prize section over the next couple days! 😊
⭐️ 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!
⭐️ 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.
Developmental Editor, Lou Piccolo
⭐️ 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.
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique(written) PLUS 15 minute Zoom Chat (no nonfiction) from Cindy Williams Schrauben author of THIS COULD BE YOU (Cardinal Rule Press, April 1, 2022)!
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Heather Gale, author of HO’ONANI: HULA WARRIOR (Tundra Books, 2019) which was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2019, one of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles, Featured on the 2020 Rainbow Book List, Featured on the 2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and received a Booklist Starred Review!
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Maria Marshall! Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature fun for children. She’s a judge for the Cybils Awards and the #50PreciousWords competition. Four of her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. The Picture Book BuzzWebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram
Maria Marshall
⭐️ A Reversible Handmade Christmas Stocking or Other Winter or Holiday-Themed Gift Gag from Karen Gebbia PLUS a Personalized Signed Copy of CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY by Nancy Derey Riley to fill it!
⭐️ Personalized Signed Copy of eitherLISTEN (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books 2021) orTWO DOGS ON A TRIKE (Harry N. Abrams 2020) (Winner’s Choice!) by Gabi Snyder
Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for birthday, holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, recommending them for school and library visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊
Wow! It seems like forever since we had a Would You Read It! It’s really only been a couple weeks, but Halloweensie kind of takes over the world 😊
Somehow we’re halfway through November! – how did THAT happen?! – and just 8 days away from Thanksgiving. I am cooking and have barely given it a thought and still don’t know exactly how many I’m cooking for. But you know me. I’m a daredevil. Live life on the edge – that’s me! Leave it to the last minute! That’s my motto 😊
Oh, no, wait. My motto is EAT CHOCOLATE CAKE!
Right now!
Let’s have Something Chocolate!
Since today is our pitcher’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Deborah!!! 😊🎈🎁🎉) I feel pretty sure we can’t go wrong with 24 layers of chocolatey goodness! Grab a fork(lift!) and dig in!
YUM! And since we’re celebrating a birthday, help yourselves to seconds and thirds!
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from birthday girl Deborah. Deborah Foster is a mother, an architectural drafter, and a fantastic cook. She is a member of 12×12, Inked Voices, and SCBWI. She is always looking for more writing friends on Twitter. Follow her @DeborahClaytonF or check out her blog at www.deborahfosterbooks.com.
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Welcome To The Word Factory
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Come along on a tour of The Word Factory and listen as EP (exclamation point) explains how words are discovered, spelled, and defined. Despite the repeated interruptions from Oxford, EP is unaware of the growing problem until the tour arrives at the lunchroom where they find a messed up menu and hangry punctuation marks. Thankfully, EP knows the perfect punctuation needed, “Oh Oxford!”
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Deborah improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in January, so you have a little time to polish your pitch before putting it up for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!
Deborah is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to cleaning my house!
No. You’re right. That is a total falsehood!
How about this? I am looking forward to my house being clean!
That is completely true. I just wish Violet would do the cleaning. But she is busy with other things 😊
Someone needs to savagely chew this toy into a billion pieces and leave them all over the rug! Leave it to me! I’m a total pro!
Today’s perfect picture book is called Goosebumps.
Put a piece of pumpkin bread on a plate, pull up a pillow, and let’s peruse this perfect picture book together!
Ready?
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
On Halloween, Gertie McCrackin fluffed up the straw in her broom tail.
“Let’s go, Blinx,” she cackled to her cat. “We’re going to give those kiddies goosebumps tonight!”
Blinx blinked. He didn’t care what they did as long as they went F A S T while they were doing it.
Gertie mounted her broom, adjusted her bulging panniers, and set Blinx up behind her.
“Away we go!” shrieked Gertie. “AH-HAHAHAHAHA!”
Blinx’s yellow eyes glowed in the dark as they took off into the night.
The broomstick zigged and zagged, zipped and zoomed.
The rushing wind blew Blinx’s fur flat, made his eyes squint, and threatened to blow him off the broomstick.
Was there anything better than speed?
They tore across the sky, emptying the panniers onto the kids below – handfuls (and pawfuls) of dust that Gertie’s magic turned to white crystals in the air.
“Ooh, goody!” the kids crowed. “It’s snowing!”
They danced with delight.
Maybe there was one thing better than speed. . . or at least as good as.
“I told you we’d give them goosebumps,” cackled Gertie.
Blinx had goosebumps, too!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Ah, wasn’t that a perfect picture book?
Alrighty, then.
Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoy your Friday.
Rest up.
Eat some bonbons.
Have a lovely weekend!
Oh, wait!
You guys have got to keep me in line!
I’m not doing Perfect Picture Book Friday today!
So just forget all that stuff above because today is all about. . .
the 2021 11th Annual Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest WINNERS!
As you are all aware by now, we had an amazing turnout for Halloweensie 2021 – 294!!! entries!
I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories and meet so many new writers! And I don’t know about you guys, but for me Halloween is all the better for 294 fabulous stories to read by jack -o’ – lantern light! 😊☢️
With large entry numbers come hard choices, though. 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 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 (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! :))
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: (all-around well-written stories we loved that just missed the finals for one small reason or another!)
Heather Ferranti Kinser for Mean Halloween
Emily Durant for A Helpful Ghost
Barbara Kimmel for The Perfect Pumpkin
Ellen Seal for Halloween Helpers
Kathleen Lowry for Teal Halloween
Molly Ippolito for Itsy B. Spider
Ann Grilli for Tricky Treat
Melissa-Jane Nguyen for Halloween Bites
Pat Finnegan for Gotcha!
2. For Great Use of Language: (not already in the finals)
Alicia Meyers for How To Steal A Halloween Treat
Amy Leskowski for Warning: May Contain Sugar (great tongue twister!)
Jamie Donahoe for My Word – It’s Halloween! (great alliteration)
3. For Spookiest/Creepy Entry: (not already in the finals)
Denise Seidman for Halloween Scavenger Hunt
Glenda Roberson for The Mansion On Maple
Laura Howard for This Pumpkin’s Not For Picking
4. For Excellent Story Telling From Young Writers!
Ames Jegan (age 11) for Capture The Goodies On Halloween
5. For Great Humor: (not already in the finals)
Krista Harrington for The Greatest Night Of The Year
Barbara DiMarco for Ogre’s Halloween
Nancy Derey Riley for Disguise Surprise
6. For Entries That Were Clever & Fun (not already in the finals)
Susan Summers for A Witchy Potion
Patricia Nozell for Tricky Treat
Bonnie Kelso for All Hallows Eve At The Roller Rink
Alexa Tuttle for You Are What You Eat
Samantha Sinclair for The After Party
7. For Poignant Entries (not already in the finals)
JC Kelly for Can We Please Skip The Costumes?
Corine Timmer for Rainbow Bridge
Melissa Miles for Home For Halloween
8. For Nice Message (not already in the finals)
Amy Reitz for Post Halloween Goals
David McMullin for Enough
9. For Great Read For Younger Readers: (not already in the finals)
Kathy Raggio for Pumpkin Train
10. For Unique Concept
Sharon McCarthy for Thank You, Trick-or-Treaters! For Protecting Your Mother
11. For Multiple Well-Written Entries
Sue Ko for It’s Dark In Here, Eyelashes, & Fall
Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com or use the handy contact form in the menu bar above, subject line Prize Winner to collect your prize, which is (and I have to be cryptic here because when I said it right out last year I got a LO-HO-HOT! of spam email!) a gift of a number of dollars that is between 4 and 6, for a large and well-known online store that begins with A, which will be presented to you in an email 😊 You can spend it on one of the many Kindle choices listed in previous contests here, or add it to your account for a gift for yourself or someone else, or whatever else you might choose to do! In addition, you will receive a beautiful badge of achievement that you may display on your blog or print out and frame or turn into a flag to carry with you everywhere and wave out the window of your hybrid pumpkin 😊
A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.
We have 13 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field. My policy is to let the first place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second place winner have second choice, etc. That way hopefully nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that’s valuable to them. All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies 😊
Now.
Finally!
Onto the moment you’ve all been waiting for. . .
. . . THE WINNERS OF THE 2021 HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!
In First Place, winner of the whole entire contest and top of the heap who gets first choice of all the prizes…
Mary Catherine Amadu
for
Trick-or-Treat Night Animals!: A Holloween Story
Congratulations, Mary!
In Second Place,
Jen MacGregor
for
Santa’s Halloween
Congratulations, Jen! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Mary chooses!
In Third Place,
Donna Kurtz for Bunny’s Bored!
Congratulations, Donna! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Mary and Jen choose!
In Fourth Place,
Ingrid Boydston for A Few Of The Scariest Things: A Parody to the tune of My Favorite Things
Congratulations, Ingrid! You get to pick a prize after Mary, Jen, and Donna.
In Fifth Place,
Scott Kinder for Jellyfish George’s Halloween
Congratulations, Scott! You get to pick your prize after Mary, Jen, Donna, and Ingrid.
In Sixth Place,
Colleen Murphy for How Hannah Saved Halloween
Congratulations, Colleen! You get to pick your prize after Mary, Jen, Donna, Ingrid, and Scott!
In Seventh Place,
Kaye Wright for Astronaut Aidan
Congratulations, Kaye! You get to pick your prize after Colleen!
In Eighth Place,
Kristen Littlefield for It’s Halloween In Toothytown
Congratulations, Kristen! You get to pick your prize after Kaye!
In Ninth Place,
Reed Hilton-Eddy for My Last Trick-or-Treat
Congratulations, Reed! You get to pick a prize after Kristen…!
In Tenth Place
Kari Ann Gonzalez for Kit’s Costume
Congratulations, Kari Ann! You get to prize pick after Reed!
In Eleventh Place
Holly Vagley for Pumpkin’s Halloween
Congratulations, Holly! You get to pick a prize after Kari Ann.
In Twelfth Place
Jennifer Kaap for The Witch’s Mistake
Congratulations, Jennifer! You get to pick your prize after Holly!
In Thirteenth Place
Sue Lancaster for The Haunted House High Up On The Hill
Congratulations, Sue! You get to pick your prize after Jennifer!
And, I don’t think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest! Not just anyone can say that 😊
All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com or use the handy contact form in the menu above with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes! If you choose a prize that requires snail mailing, PLEASE include your snail mail address so we don’t have to email back and forth too many times 😊 If you would like a beautiful badge to celebrate your accomplishment, you are most welcome to one! Since everyone’s prize depends on everyone else’s choices, please get in touch as soon as you can.
Congratulations again to all our winners – it was a stiff competition!! – and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest. You all deserve a huge round of applause, a confetti parade, and a truckload of leftover fun-sized chocolate. . . if there is any 😊
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!
And before we go, I will give you all advance warning so you can start planning a little time into your December schedule…
Assuming you guys are up for it – and you’d better let me know in the comments!!! – the 11th Annual Holiday Writing Contest will be coming up sometime in the neighborhood of December 5 so we can all fully enjoy it and still have time for last minute holiday things. I will do my best to post the rules well in advance (maybe a few days before Thanksgiving, good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise! 😊 although yikes that’s just around the corner!) so you all have time to work on your stories! But please let me know if you feel like it’s too much and you’d rather not do it!
Have a terrific weekend everyone, and thanks again for making the Halloweensie Contest such a wonderful time for all! 😊
The Prizes: SO AMAZING! What a generous community we have to donate so much awesomeness!!! 😊
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming or any) or First 10 Pages of a longer MS (winner’s choice) by Kenda Henthorn, author of the forthcoming BAA, BAA TAP SHEEP (Sleeping Bear Press, April 15, 2022)
Kenda works in the aviation industry now so it’s no surprise that her writing inspirations and aspirations are sky-high, too. She resides in Oklahoma and when the winds aren’t sweepin’ down the plains, Kenda enjoys acting, flying, kayaking and riding horses or her motorcycle. (Vroom-vroom!)She has served as a Regional Coordinator for the Oklahoma SCBWI and a Best in Rhyme Award committee member and judge.
⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (rhyming or lyrical) by Randi Sonenshine, author of THE NEST THAT WREN BUILT (Candlewick March 2020) and the forthcoming THE LODGE THAT BEAVER BUILT (Candlewick Fall 2022)
⭐️ Winners of the 6 signed picture books above may also receive their choice of any one of the following writing craft books to go along with their picture book:
Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for birthday, holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, recommending them for school and library visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊
Right up until the moment when I have to narrow a field of 300 fabulous stories down to a finalist list of 12 or so!
That’s the moment when I say to myself (every single time!), WHAT WAS I THINKING???!!! WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS WHOLE CONTEST THING ANYWAY???!!!
It’s all fun and games when the entries are rolling in, and each one is better than the last, and I’m enjoying the stories and marveling over everyone’s talent and creativity.
But then I have to evaluate all those wonderful entries – dissect and weigh and nitpick (and hem and haw and dither over every single one I have to let go) – because really, everyone steps up and does an amazing job, and there is at least something to like about all of them!
So here I am, along with my fellow judges, doing our best impressions of the Pillsbury Dough Boy after all the chocolate we’ve consumed to get us through this torturous decision-making, having not gotten out of our pajamas for days as we read and re-read. . . really, it’s a very good thing you can’t see us right now! 😊
Please know that we did the best we could to make good choices – entries that met the contest criteria, that were kid-friendly and Halloween-y and had a strong element of story (because those were big reasons why many entries were cut – too adult, not Halloween-y enough, not enough story – which we know is VERY hard in 100 words!)
I just want to say three little things before I post the actual finalists (shocking, I know, because normally I’m so quiet you can hardly get a word out of me 😊😊)
First, I want to thank EVERYONE who took the time and care to write an entry for this contest. You all did a fabulous job and provided great enjoyment for many!
Second, I’d also like to thank EVERYONE – writer, reader, or both – who took the time to read as many entries as you could and leave supportive comments. This means so much to the writers who worked hard on their stories. It helps them see what they did well, as well as giving them the joy of knowing that their stories were read and enjoyed. I hope you all got as much delight and entertainment out of the reading as I did! Plus, we got to meet quite a few new people which was a wonderful added bonus! 😊
Third, I want to reiterate how difficult it was too choose! There were so many amazing entries. Really. I could find at least something terrific about every single one. The sheer volume of entries meant that many good ones had to be cut. So if yours didn’t make the final cut please don’t feel bad. There was a huge amount of competition. Judging, no matter how hard we try to be objective, is always subjective at a certain point – we all have our own preferences for what makes a great story. And the fact that you didn’t make the final cut DOES NOT mean you didn’t write a great story. Everyone who plonked their butt in a chair and worked hard to write a story for this contest is a winner! You showed up. You did your best work. You practiced your craft. You wrote to specifications and a deadline. You bravely shared your writing with the world. And you have a brand new story that is now yours to revise, expand, and polish if you like and maybe submit at some point to a magazine or as a PB manuscript. A lot of people have successfully done that at this point – we have quite a few books in the world that were born in Halloweensie, Holiday, or Valentiny Contests, plus a chapter book series that came out of the Fractured Fairy Tale Contest one spring! So bravo to everyone who entered!
So.
Are you ready for the finalists?
I hope you like them!
Please read through them all, then vote for your favorite in the poll below by Thursday November 11 at 3 PM Eastern (so I can post the winners on Friday!)
And I’d like to be very clear about the voting process. You are MOST welcome to share a link to this post on FB, twitter, or wherever you like to hang out, and encourage people to come read ALL the finalists and vote for the one they think is best. Please do that. The more people who read and enjoy these stories the better, and the more objective votes we get the better. HOWEVER (and I want to be very clear on this) please do notidentify yourself or ask others to identify you as a finalist on social media, please do not ask people to vote for a specific number or title, and please do not ask people to vote for the story about the broomstick-riding vampire princess or whatever. Trolling for votes or trying to influence the outcome is counter to the spirit of this competition which is supposed to be based on merit. I thank you in advance for respecting this.
“Just wait until my friends see how good I look. How creepy. And SOOOOO boney!”
George visited Susie Sponge’s house first. He rang her bell with excitement, full of goosebumps.
The door opened.
George could see envy seeping from Susie’s pores as she gave him candy.
She wanted bones too. And he was FULL of them.
George floated the night away, collecting goodies and passing his jelly buddies with their silly mediocre masks.
He felt like a king.
UNTIL he noticed …
David Dogfish eyeing him.
And DROOLING.
UH-OH.
2. SANTA’S HALLOWEEN
‘Tis Halloween evening, and up at the pole ol’ Santa sneaks into his sleigh, with one goal.
“I know it’s not Christmas but I need a snack! I’ll gather some goodies and—WHOOSH—I’ll be back.”
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and—YIKES! I didn’t expect to see skulls stuck on spikes!”
“Monsterly mayhem and ghouls on the streets? Galloping goosebumps! Now where are the treats?”
But glow-in-the-dark decorations galore shock Rudolph so much that he’s shook to his core.
“My poor little reindeer have had such a fright. We’re outta this town—good riddance, good night!”
3.TRICK-OR-TREAT, NIGHT ANIMALS!: A HOLLOWEEN STORY
Coyote was first to spot the stampede. “Trick-or-Treaters! Hide!” he yelped with alarm, hurrying into the big tree’s hollow.
Goose heard Coyote. If Trick-or-Treaters scared fierce Coyote, they must be goosebump worthy. She honked and joined Coyote inside the tree.
Racoon heard Goose. If Goose and Coyote feared Trick-or-Treaters, Racoon couldn’t mask his nerves. He chattered, then crammed into the hollow.
Cat heard Racoon. She didn’t fancy herself a fraidy-cat, but Trick-or-Treaters sounded ferocious. She hissed, then jammed into the tree with the others.
Deep in the hollow, Coyote’s sharp teeth glowed-in-the-dark.
“Goody,” he drooled.
“Trick AND treats.”
4.A FEW OF THE SCARIEST THINGS: A Parody to the tune of My Favorite Things
Witches on broomsticks and vampires flying, Frankenstein monsters and zombies not dying, Ogres and aliens, all ghastly green! I’m getting goosebumps ‘cause it’s Halloween!
Halloween night doesn’t make me feel merry. Walking around in the dark is too scary. Glow in the dark, that’s what I need to be. Trick or treat goodies would all be for me!
Hey I’ve got it! I could light up…. I know what I’ll be! Bright lights and some tinsel, a glittering star! A Halloween Christmas Tree!
5.BUNNY’S BORED!
“Won’t Easter ever come?” sighs Bunny. “I’m bored.” He checks his calendar. “Yay! Tonight’s Halloween—I’ll hide yummy glow-in-the-dark goodies.” Hopping through creepy woods, Bunny hears branches shake. “What’s that?” Goosebumps spike up his back. “ROARR!” Out jumps Monster. “Eee-yoww!” Bunny dashes. “Wait!” Laughing, Monster removes his mask. “Santa?” “I got bored waiting for Christmas.” The ground trembles— Killer-Robot clanks from the dark. “Great costume!” cheer Bunny and Santa. Red beams shoot from Killer-Robot’s eyes— ZAAPPP! Bushes explode into flames. “Eee-yahh—he’s real!” Bunny and Santa skedaddle. Killer-Robot’s head slides off. “Tee-hee-hee!” Ms. Claus grins— “HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!”
6.HOW HANNAH SAVED HALLOWEEN
A wicked storm blows out the lights up and down the street. With costumes set, the children fret, “They’ll cancel trick-or-treat.” Except for hopeful Hannah who, as always, starts to plan, certain she will find a way to shift from can’t to can. She first imagines fireflies, “Too scattered to control.” She next considers candlelight. “Too hard to hold and stroll. Aha!” she says as goosebumps form. “A perfect resolution! We’ll use my sticks that glow-in-the-dark for lighting substitution! I’ll ride throughout the neighborhood, deliver while it’s bright, then everyone can still collect their goodies when it’s night.”
7. MY LAST TRICK-OR-TREAT
It was the biggest house, once showy now spooky and scary with oodles of stairs that led to darkness; but this was my last Halloween.
Leaves crunched and the wind cried.
Alone except for goodies bumping in my bag.
Ahead, a glow-in-the-dark hand on a curtain at the window. A ghost? A ghoul? Goosebumps form.
Shadows surround me.
At the top a door – large and looming.
Knock, Knock.
CRRREEEEEEK.
A hand materializes from the darkness behind the door.
PLUNK.
I look in my bag.
I am filled with horror.
Looking back at me, one small box of … RAISINS!
8. THE HAUNTED HOUSE HIGH UP ON THE HILL
Across a front door where no one dared roam, Spider had woven a web-tastic home. Dead in the middle, she stifled a cry. “What?!” grumbled Goosebump, a ghost floating by. “Halloween’s coming, the ONE night they call! Children won’t notice… my cobweb will fall!” Goosebump replied: “I know what to do…” Then into the derelict mansion he flew; He reappeared holding a luminous potion, Splattered it over the web in one motion. When tricksters arrived for their goodies, they spied A cobweb that glowed-in-the-dark, stretching wide. “Best not approach,” someone sounded unsure, He scurried away…
To try the BACK door!
9.KIT’S COSTUME
“Finally, Halloween!” Kit couldn’t wait to go trick-or-treating. The ooey-gooey goodies, the goosebumps, the KIDS! All he needed was a bit of black paint and he could be part of it! One last glob… “Purrrrfect!” Under the moon’s glow-in-the-dark light Kit crept to the corner and peeked. “Look Mum, a kitty!” Kit beamed, finally walking freely. And with so many people in sight! Kit marched with creative costumes, devoured thrills, chills and too-much candy Until… He felt a wave of wet. “SPRINKLERS!” Kit raced to stay dry but, the paint had… “Run! SKUNK!”
Goosebumps covered Aidan’s arms. This Halloween he was flying into space.
No huge piles of goodies like last year, he thought. No parading through the streets with his brother either.
Nervously he waited to take flight.
“The nurses have a special surprise for you,” Mom encouraged.
Do all astronauts feel this topsy-turvy before take off, he wondered.
“Ready, Astronaut Aidan?” the nurse called.
Slowly the lights dimmed. One by one, glow-in-the-dark stars shone from above.
Reassured, Aidan smiled.
From his seat aboard the radiation machine rocketship he bravely counted. “3, 2, 1 … blastoff!”
11.IT’S HALLOWEEN IN TOOTHYTOWN
It’s Halloween in Toothytown, The ghouls and goblins gather ‘round.
Their trays arranged with cakes and pies, In hopes of grabbing this year’s prize.
Miss Dragon’s Breath, the crusty judge, Turns up her snout at Franky’s fudge.
She sneers at Ogre’s goosebump blintz, And gags on Troll’s toejam with lint.
But Gremlin’s spicy pepper bread, Makes Dragon hold her scaly head.
Her nostrils flare. She starts to wheeze, And lets out a gigantic…
SNEEZE!
The goodies sizzle, snap, and spark, Like pumpkins glowing in the dark. Miss Dragon’s eyes begin to brim, “Now that’s a treat! Let’s all dig in!”
12.THE WITCH’S MISTAKE
OH, GOODY, my first victim! Goosebumps prickle my warty body. “Trick-or-treat!” At last I will turn these horrid children into delightfully frightful black cats!! It was an easy potion: dog tears, firefly butts, swamp mud, and a fingernail of salt. Looks just like king-sized chocolate bars! Yes, they all come running now. Greedy goblins! I stifle a cackle and wait… But instead of feline screeches and yowls, I hear… “Woah! Check us out! We glow-in-the-dark! Best. Halloween. EVERRRRRR!!!” OH, BOO! I can’t believe I mixed up the sugar and salt again. Worst. Halloween. Ever.
13.PUMPKIN’S HALLOWEEN
Alone near the farm truck, Pumpkin sagged and straightened his white tag like a tie.
Ryan zigzagged through the pumpkin patch. “Here’s the last one!”
Grandpa shook his head, “Cracked.”
Ryan touched Pumpkin’s white tag. “What’s it say?”
“Sound it out.”
Ryan traced the letters. “F-R-E-E. We’ll take Free home! Put two happy eyes and a great grin on his goose-bumply face!”
Glowing-in-the-dark on Ryan’s stoop, Pumpkin enjoyed the costumes. The giggles. “Halloween is beautiful…”
Ryan thanked her shining friend with goodies. “Your midnight snacks.”
Soon, Pumpkin’s light faded. His eyes drooped. But his smile didn’t. “I’m Free.”
So there you have them! Your 2021 Halloweensie Finalists!
(And yes, I realize we posted 13 finalists and 12 prizes, so I’ll dream up an extra prize!)
Please vote for your favorite in the poll below by Thursday November 11th at 3PM Eastern!
Tune in Friday November 12th to see THE WINNERS!!! – same bat time, same bat station 😊
Thank you all so much for taking the time to write (if you did), read, and vote! These contests simply wouldn’t be what they are without all of you!
I truly cannot wait to see who you choose as the winner! Good luck!!! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
You must be logged in to post a comment.