Kindergarten Story: Exploration! Contest

This June illustration was sent in by Amalia Hoffman. It looks like another character fell down the rabbit hole. Amalia was featured on Illustrator Saturday September 9, 2010. Here is the link: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/illustrator-saturday-amalia-hoffman/. You can also visit her site at: www.amaliahoffman.com 

Do you write picture books? Can you edit to tell your story in 150 words or less? If so, this Contest put on by Children’s Writer® might be right up your alley.  It does cost $15 to enter, but the fee will also pay for an introductory eight-month subscription to Children’s Writer, a monthly 12-page+ emailed digital newsletter that’s dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on children’s writing.

The contest is for fiction about exploration for kindergarteners up to 150 words. The story should be appropriate to children 5 to 7 learning to read on their own. The theme of exploration could be set at home, down the block, at school, on vacation, in books: Use your imagination! The story should be fun, colorful, use well-targeted words, and have special interest for the age group. Do not write too high for this readership. Know what a five or seven-year-old can and cannot read. Originality and the overall quality of writing will also be considered. Publishability is the ultimate criterion.

There are five cash prizes: $500 for the top winner, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.

Entry Fee: $15

Entries must be received by July 12, 2013.

Contests Rules

Submission Requirements: Any original, unpublished piece not accepted by any publisher at the time of submission is eligible. The first contest entry is free to Children’s Writer subscribers who include their Account Number on page one of their manuscript.        There is no charge for your first manuscript entry if you are a current subscriber to Children’s Writer. Additional entries require a reading fee of $15.

Non-subscribers may enter by submitting a reading fee of $15 (credit card, check or money order accepted). The fee will also entitle you to an introductory eight-month subscription to Children’s Writer. GST added for Canada.

You may submit your entries either online or by mail. Please be sure to read and follow the directions carefully for the method you select. We cannot return submissions, please retain a copy of your manuscript. All manuscript submissions must meet the entry deadline outlined in each contest. Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced. Please put your name, address, and account number (if a subscriber) on the first page of your manuscript, and your name on all following pages. To see an example of how to format your contest entry, please click here. No entries containing violence or derogatory, racist, or sexist language or        situations will be accepted, at the sole discretion of the judges. No employees or relatives of employees or former employees of the Institute or its divisions are eligible. Obtain Official Entry Form or make online submission You may submit your entry either online, using our safe and secure entry page, or by regular mail. If you choose to submit online, you’ll need to complete your manuscript and save it to a file on your computer. If you need to pay a reading fee you will be directed to the payment section first. Children’s Writer Subscribers (online submission): To submit a free entry online, you will need your Children’s Writer account number, which is located in our email to you or on your Children’s Writer mailing label in the name/address block. For subscribers who are students, it is the same as your student number. Please click here to continue. You will be directed to the Free Entry section. Non-subscribers (online submission): If you do not subscribe to Children’s Writer, your online entry is welcome. Please click here to continue. You will be directed to the section requiring the payment of a $15 reading fee. For Mail-in Entries: To submit manuscript entries through the mail, please click here to obtain an entry form. Judges: All entries will be read by faculty and editorial staff members of the Institute. Winners will be notified by mail approximately 105 days after the close of the contest. Once the winners are announced, all entries are released for submission elsewhere. Winners: The winners will be announced in Children’s Writer, which receives first rights to the prize-winning manuscripts, after which all rights revert to the authors.

Good luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy