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Mrs. P…from the fabulous website http://www.mrsp.com is hosting her 5th annual Be-A-Famous-Writer contest for grades K-4.  Beginning in September, your child’s teacher can enter for the classroom.  So if you have a child who loves to tell or write stories, now is the perfect time to have some of those stories published on Mrs. P’s web page. Her site is also filled with stories to read and listen to.  Mrs. P reads some of her favorites in her own unique way.  Be sure to check out her site for the full details.  Happy writing!

Sakura of America joins Powell’s Books as official sponsor of  popular contest. Other companies to provide a host of prizes to entrants. 

Los Angeles, CA.—www.MrsP.com, the popular, award winning kids’ entertainment site, announced that Sakura of America joins Powell’s Books as a sponsor of its 3rd annual “Be A Famous Writer Contest.” The contest will be open for entries beginning September 1 through October 15, 2011.

“Mrs. P’s philosophy is all about sparking the imagination in children”, said Kathy Kinney, who before Mrs. P was best known as Mimi on “The Drew Carey Show.” “Sakura’s advocacy of individual self-expression makes them a perfect new sponsor of Mrs. P’s writing contest.”

Entries will be judged this year by: Bonny Becker best-selling author of the Bear and Mouse picture books, including “A Visitor for Bear” winner of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award; David L. Ulin book critic of the Los Angeles Times and author, most recently, of “The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time”; and Renèe Watson author, educator and poet, her book “What Momma Left Me” debuted as the New Voice for 2010 in middle grade fiction by The Independent Children’s Booksellers Association.

Two grand-prize winners will have their stories read by Mrs. P (sitcom star Kathy Kinney) in videos featuring original illustrations and produced by a Hollywood production team. The videos will be posted for viewing by a global audience at the website. Each winner will also receive a bound copy of the illustrated story, as well as prize packs http://www.contest.mrsp.com/Prizes.aspx filled with goodies from Powell’s Book, and Sakura of America.

This year Mrs. P has also teamed up with “Penelope the Purple Pirate” author Melissa Northway, and popular story time audio app company Tales2GO, to provide some incentives for entrants to get their stories submitted.

“We also don’t want to forget the important role teachers play in our writing contest”, said Kinney, “we have teamed up with Westcott, known for their excellence in classroom products, to provide supplies to classrooms and also one lucky school will win a one-year subscription to Tales2Go, our new teacher page http://www.contest.mrsp.com/Teachers.aspx has all the details.

Stories submitted for the contest may cover any topic, fiction or nonfiction, and should be between 250 and 1,000 words. To find out more details go to the contest website http://www.contest.mrsp.com/.

Children’s writing contest-winning stories available at free website and iTunes

March 2, 2011 – www.MrsP.com, the popular, award-winning children’s website, will participate in the National Education Association’s Read Across America campaign today by releasing videos of the winners of its 2010 writing contest for kids, and with an in-person appearance by website host Mrs. P (TV star Kathy Kinney) at one of the winners’ schools.

The two grand prize-winning stories of Mrs. P’s Be-A-Famous-Writer contest will be released on iTunes and can be downloaded for free. Mountain Dog, written by Briana Beebe, 8, from Colorado, and Lucky the Bamboo Chopper, by Bill Wang, 12, of Oregon, are bundled together with a total running time of 16:30. Last year, over 20,000 copies of the contest videos were downloaded in just the first day.

In addition, actress Kinney (best known as Mimi on The Drew Carey Show) will bring her quirky Mrs. P character to Rosemont Ridge Middle School in West Linn, OR today to read contest winner Wang’s entry at a special assembly. She will also present Wang with a bound and illustrated copy of his story. Briana Beebe, the winner of the other grand prize, will be one of the featured authors at her own school’s Read Across America program.

Read Across America is an annual event established by the NEA to honor children’s author Dr. Seuss.

MrsP.com announced today the names of the two Grand Prize winners in its second “Be a Famous Writer” contest, a nationwide creative-writing competition for children held every September.

Briana Beebe, 8, of Centennial, Colorado, won top honors in the 4- to 8-year-old category for “Mountain Dog,” the story of a beloved pet that disappears during a family’s move to a new home.  Bill Wang, 12, from West Linn, Oregon, won in the 9-13 age group for “Lucky the Bamboo Chopper,” the fable of a young panda bear who learns an important life lesson.

“I was thrilled with the entries this year, which came in from 26 states – more than half the country,” said TV star Kathy Kinney, who portrays Mrs. P and is one of the creators of the website.  “I was also very happy about the number of teachers who used the writing contest as a class project. Encouraging one child to write an original story is wonderful.  Encouraging 30 is absolutely amazing.”

The Grand Prize winners will have their stories produced as videos featuring Mrs. P, which will be presented on her popular free, interactive digital website. Original artwork by award-winning Portland, Oregon-based illustrator Robin E. Kaplan will help bring the stories to life. The videos will be posted on the website (www.MrsP.com) beginning in March.  Each winner will also receive an actual bound copy of the story and illustrations.

Powell’s Books (www.Powells.com), the country’s largest independent bookseller and the sponsor of the contest, will provide the Grand Prize winners and eight other finalists with gift certificates to its store. The stories will also be available as a free download bundle from iTunes on March 2nd in celebration of Read Across America Day.

MrsP.com announced that it will produce two other stories from the contest as videos: “The Peanut Butter and Jelly Hotdog,” written by a 5-year-old and chosen because of its clever and compassionate look at grade-school bullies; and “Ramona and the Fire,” honored for its amusing twist on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” fable.

The judges for this year’s contest included some of the world’s most famous writers: #1 best-selling author Meg Cabot (“The Princess Diaries”); Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, the most popular cartoon strip in the world; and Danny Kallis, creator of the Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “The Suite Life on Deck,” television’s top-rated shows for kids.

MrsP.com was launched in 2008 to encourage a love of reading. The website is the recipient of the American Library Association’s “Great Website for Kids.”