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We’ve got a MASSIVE sack full of books worth over $2000 to give away to one lucky customer! And we’re not talking about a pile of slow-moving titles; we’re talking 40+ new release, best-selling titles, including books by Ian Rankin, Geraldine Brooks, Donna Hay, Jo Nesbo, Tom Keneally, Shaun Tan, Bill Bryson, Peter FitzSimons, Adam Spencer, […]

  Looking for great  gifts to buy for your Dad? Books make fantastic gifts for Father‘s Day! And to make your job easier, we’ve released our 2015 Father‘s Day Catalogue. If you order from our Father‘s Day Catalogue before midnight on Sunday 31 August, you’ll get FREE shipping on your order when you use the promotional […]

CoverMatcher is a simple game of matching book covers and has found a loyal following among book reviewers and bloggers. To date, the game has been played 835,201 times by avid readers.

I absolutely love playing CoverMatcher on Freado! It’s a great way to unwind after a stressful day, and unlike most games it has real prizes instead of virtual prizes! I love the selection of books available, and have been able to bid on books everyone in my family will enjoy – Teresa Delaney

Now based on the feedback that power readers like you have provided, we’ve taken CoverMatcher to a whole new level of awesome. You can now win, not just the best-seller that we list on the page, but also use the nifty search feature to hunt through Amazon’s book lists and select a book of your choice.

In case you’ve had your nose stuck in a book for the last few years and don’t know what CoverMatcher is …

CoverMatcher is a game where you can win a hard copy of your favorite best seller (priced $15 or less) by simply matching the most number of book covers in a day. We show the books of our participating authors in the game. The game is a form of advertising for them. As you play the game, you land up discovering new books. It’s a win for you. A win for our authors. And a win for us. Even if you don’t win the contest of the day, you will still enjoy the mental exercise and potential exposure to your next great read. Try it.

Carol MacAllister copied me on this contest, yesterday. I don’t usually bring you contests with more than a $10 entry fee, but this one sounds like fun, is giving feedback on all submissions, cash prizes, and has gotten a lot of buzz, so I thought I would let you know about it for you to decide.

The Short Story Challenge 2015 Early Entry Deadline is Today!

The 9th Annual Short Story Challenge is a creative writing competition open to writers around the world.  There are 3 rounds of competition.  In the 1st Round (January 16-24, 2015), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment.  They have 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words.  The top 5 in each heat advance to the 2nd Round (March 12-15, 2015) where they receive new assignments, only this time they have just 3 days to write a 2,000 word (maximum) short story.  Judges choose finalists to advance to the 3rd and final round of the competition where writers are challenged to write a 1,500 word (maximum) story in just 24 hours (April 24-25, 2015).  The top writers receive thousands in cash and prizes and feedback from the judges is provided for every entered story.  Sound like fun?  Make sure to register by the early entry deadline of December 11th before the entry fee goes up!

OFFICAL RULES and PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

EARLY ENTRY FEE: $45 – Get $5 off if you tweet or post on facebook
EARLY ENTRY DEADLINE: Today – December 11th.

Click Here to Visit the Forums.

In addition to the cash prizes listed below, we will be announcing many more great prizes for the 2015 competition soon!

1st Place • USD$2,000 Cash

2nd Place • USD$750 Cash

3rd Place • USD$500 Cash

4th Place • USD$250 Cash

5th Place • USD$100 Cash

Good Luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

The snowy illustration above was sent in by Lidia Gurling-Mielcarek to help us celebrate this time of year that brings in the cold. Brrr! 

Lidia is an freelance illustrator from Poland. She works in traditional and digital medias and loves to create children’s illustrations.

Call for:

Kudos for Friday post

Holiday Illustrations (at least 500 pixels wide)

Christmas Poems

Hanukkah Poems

New Year Poems

Send to Kathy.temean(at)gmail.com Put December Illustration or December Poem in subject area. Thanks!

Last week I pointed out that the 7 Point Story Structure System could work even with short Stories. Here is an opportunity to try it out with this no fee short story contest. Here are the details:

2014 NIGHTLIGHT READING WRITERS CONTEST

Nightlight Reading is requesting submissions for our 2014 Nightlight Readings Short Story Writers Contest that is geared to at-risk boys in the 10-12 year age group who often stop reading for pleasure.  Nightlight Reading’s goal is to fund and promote literature that appeals to boys and keeps them engaged and reading.

• The 2014 CONTEST THEME is ADVENTURE.
• The written piece should be considered a SHORT STORY with a MAXIMUM COUNT of 5,000 WORDS.

JUDGING
The 2014 contest entries will be pre-screened and read by a jury panel who may be scholars, librarians, teachers, and special guests who will decide on 10 semi-finalists.  Then, a jury of young readers selected from our target readers will read all 10 entries and vote on the winners.

PRIZES
Prizes will be awarded for First, Second, and Third Place as follows:

• First Prize: $1,000 award plus certificate and publication of the story.
• Second Prize: $500 award plus certificate and publication of the story.
• Third Prize: $300 award plus certificate and publication of the story.

All award winners will be publicized nationally by Nightlight Reading.

OWNERSHIP
The authors will retain ownership of the stories, but Nightlight Reading will have the right to publish and distribute the story without compensation and in ways consistent with its mission for up to 2 years from the date of the awards are announced.

RULES
The Nightlight Reading Writers Contest is open to anyone who loves to write stories for boys, and may be a professional writer, student or budding writer.

Submissions must not have been previously published or won any other writing contest.  However, simultaneous submissions to other contests are acceptable.

DEADLINE
Deadline for submission for the 2014 contest is December 31, 2014.

Use this link to enter: http://www.nightlightreading.org/contest-entry-form/ Good luck!
Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

2014 is drawing to a close and what another fantastic year of books and reading it has been. To celebrate we are giving away 8 copies of one of our favourite books of 2014; The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (you can read our review here). All you have to do is […]

Almost missed sharing this wonderful illustration sent in by Michelle Kogan. She is an illustrator/painter/instructor and writer from the Chicago area. Here is her website: www.michellekogan.com Her cards are available in her Etsy shop – www.MichelleKoganFineArt.etsy.com

Last Thursday I posted the Halloween Poems sent in for the holiday. I was impressed with the talent out in the audience and will repeat this for other holidays. I decided to create a poll and let everyone chose their favorite poem. I left out Eileen Spinelli on purpose.

I will give the winner of the favorite Halloween poem a chance to be interviewed by me on this blog and show off their work: Book, illustrations, Poems. The winner can hold on to the win for when their book comes out or they can use it immediately. So if you had a poem on last Thursday’s post or have a friend who had their poem posted on October 30th, vote and tell all your friends to vote, too.

Click here to read the poems: 

Voting is open until November 9th.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

A chance to WIN a copy of Ursula Dubosarsky’s ‘The Terrible Plop‘, AND YOU can ask her a question in an exclusive interview, to be featured on the Boomerang Books Blog! To win: 1. Head to My Little Story Corner and LIKE the page. 2. Find the Competition post, pinned at the top of the […]

Warm up your computer and write a 150-word Kindergarten story and win $500.00!

The winning stories in this Kindergarten Story Contest will be published in the January eNews newsletter.

In addition, we will publish the winning entries our website.

Win one of five cash prizes

The contest offers five cash prizes: $500 for the winner, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places. These alone are a lot of good reasons to write and enter.

To enter our Kindergarten Story Contest, submit a fiction or nonfiction story about family, friends, life, play, or school—really anything—for ages 5 to 6, up to 150 words. The story should be appropriate for kindergarteners who are just learning to read on their own. It should be fun, use appropriate vocabulary and syntax, and be interesting to youngest readers.

Please take care to not write too high for this age group. Know what a five- or six-year-old can and cannot read. Originality and the overall quality of writing will be important. Publishability is the ultimate criterion.

Entries must be received by November 7, 2014

Entries must be received by November 7, 2014. All entries pay a reading fee of $15, which includes a six-month subscription to Children’s Book Insider newsletter and a six-month membership in the writer’s community CBI Clubhouse. Winners will be announced in the January eNews newsletter. Prizes: $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.

Obtain Official Entry Form or make online submission

You may submit your entry either online or by regular mail.

If you choose to enter online, you’ll need to first save your manuscript to a file on your computer and submit it through our safe and secure entry page. Please make sure to submit your entry and reading fee at the same time.

Your online entry is encouraged. Please click here to continue to the submission page.

You will be directed to the section requiring the pre-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.

Contest Rules

• Entries must be accompanied by a reading fee of $15 (credit card, check or money order accepted).  Please add GST for entries from Canada.
• The fee will also entitle you to a six month subscription to Children’s Book Insider plus six months access to the CBI Clubhouse website, an interesting and active community for writers.

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.

You will be directed to the section requiring the pre-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.

Word Count:  Kindergarten Story Contest: 150 words.

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 the January eNews newsletter, which receives first rights to the prize-winning manuscripts, after which all rights revert to the authors.

Good Luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Real Simple’s Life Lessons Essay Contest

Prize: $3,000.00.
Entry fee: $0.00.
Deadline: 09-18-2014.

WRITING CONTEST WEBSITE

Real Simple magazine is seeking entries for its annual Life Lessons Essay Contest, which awards $3,000 to the writer who has written the best essay of non-fiction. Second-place wins $750, and third-place wins a $500 cash prize.

The theme is on sharing a “Eureka!” moment–a powerful thought that made you suddenly realize that something or someone had contributed to the happiness and/or success in your life.

To enter, submit online a nonfiction essays of no more than 1,500 words. The editors of Real Simple will judge all entries according to the these rules: novelty, creativeness, writing style, and relevance of theme.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

In the international bestseller, And Then I Met Margaret, real estate entrepreneur  and founder of Mind Adventure, Inc. Rob White recounts 21 stories of personal transformation brought about by his encounters with everyday, ordinary, unassuming gurus who crossed his path over seven decades of living. These stories chronicle how “everyday, ordinary gurus” surround us and come into our lives when we need them most. The overwhelming response from readers who were eager to share their own stories and personal shift of perspective for “guru spotting” inspired Rob to found the “Ordinary Guru Project.” Now Rob invites you to share your own story of personal transformation with a chance to win $5,000 and become a published author in a book tentatively titled The Ordinary Guru Project.

We’re looking for short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, cartoons, and poems about ordinary gurus. Ordinary gurus teach us what we  need to know in order to expand our view of ourselves and the world. These gurus aren’t just people— they can also be anything in nature that offers you an insight or life-lesson, perhaps a pet, a wild animal, or even a tree that helps you see yourself or life differently.

Whomever/whatever the ordinary guru, your story must embody a personal experience. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 1,200 words, and can be as short as a few sentences. Your story must be an original creation. It can detail a recent encounter or it may be related to an ordinary guru from your past. Additionally, we will need a 50-100 word bio. If your entry is selected for inclusion in The Ordinary Guru Project, your bio will be positioned directly after your story, so as to allow for maximize exposure of your blog, website, or previous publications and works.

We welcome and look forward to reading your tales of transformation!

PRIZES:

• First Prize: $5,000
• Second Prize: $2,500
• Third Prize: $1,500.

SUBMISSION FEE: There is NO fee to enter.

TIMING: The contest will run from 12:00 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on April 1, 2014 to 11:59 p.m. ET on August 31, 2014.

JUDGING: The contest will be judged by the team members of Mind Adventure, Inc.  Winners and finalists will be announced on or about October 1, 2014. All contest entrants who enter will be notified by email of the judges’ decisions, which are final. (See the Official Rules for details of judging and other aspects of the contest.)

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

• Authenticity & believability (33.3%)
• Relevance to theme (33.3%)
• Heartfelt feeling (33.3%)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST!

Good Luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

I hope you had a good two weeks off. I know I did. My WIP is up to 16K (hooray!), not as far as I’d like to be, but all progress is good so I’ll celebrate that! Today I’m giving away my ARC of a YA novel that I’ve heard compared to Harry Potter. (Yeah, […]

This colorful fun illustration was sent in by Louise Bergeron Lousie was feature on Illustrator Saturday May 26th, 2012. Here is the link:http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/illustrator-saturday-louise-c-bergeron/ Take a look. Her artwork is so much fun.  website:  www.illustrationquebec.com/louisecbergeron

Do you love to play with words, arrange them in artistic ways?  Have you written poetry or a short story?  If the answer is yes, then maybe you will want to consider The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest. The people at Dream Quest say if you have an ability to dream, you have an ability to win. Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes. All works must be original.

Guidelines: Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed.  And/or write a short story, five pages maximum length, on any subject or theme, creative writing fiction or non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Also, must be typed or neatly hand printed. Multiple poetry and short story entries are accepted.

Postmark deadline: July 31, 2014 All contest winners will be published online in the Dare to Dream pages, on September 20, 2014. Entry Form: http://www.dreamquestone.com/entryform.html

Prizes: Writing Contest First Prize is $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $100. Poetry Contest First Prize is $250. Second Prize: $125.  Third Prize: $50. Entry fees: $10 per short story. $5 per poem.

To send entries: Include title(s) with your story (ies) or poem(s), along with your name, address, phone#, email, brief biographical  info. (Tell us a little about yourself), on the coversheet. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation.

Mail entries/fees payable to: “DREAMQUESTONE.COM” Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest P.O. Box 3141 Chicago, IL  60654

Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com for details on how to enter!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

The Mark Twain House & Museum’s Inaugural “Royal Nonesuch” Humor Writing Contest for writers of all ages from all corners of the globe!

Recognizing that Samuel Clemens (aka: Mark Twain) began writing at an early age and to encourage other young authors, we welcome submissions for two categories:

• Adult (age 18 and over at time of submission) at $22 per submission, and
• Young Author (age 17 and under at time of submission) at $12 per submission.

Celebrity Judges for Adults are: Roy Blount, Jr., Colin McEnroe, and Lucy Ferris.

Celebrity Judges for Young Authors are: Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever, and Jessica Lawson, author of The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher.

Submit your original humorous essays and stories for a chance at a cash prize, the opportunity to meet bestselling authors at our annual “Mark My Words” event, and best of all - bragging rights!

“If Mark Twain were alive, he’d be happy about this contest, because he’d win it.” – Andy Borowitz

DEADLINE: June 30, 2014

FEE: $22.00 “Adult/18 and over” categories 

FEE: $12.00 “Young Author/17 and under”

It happens to the best of us. We get burned out, feel uninspired or just can’t take that next step in our creative endeavor.

You have my permission to relax, take the day off, and read some of the inspirational quotes below.

over.

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Slow and steady wins the race…

Time to get back to the old drawing board with your writing. Even if you don’t find this contest your cup of tea, at least start something new. It could be just the thing for the next contest. Maybe Barbara DiLorenza illustration below will inspire you. Barbara was featured on Illustrator Saturday on April 14th, 2012. Click Here to View.

The Elderberry Prize for Short Fiction.

Content

Short Fiction submissions may fall in any fiction genre allowed by the General Rules.  We are looking for fresh ideas, creative story lines, and interesting characters.  Authors are encouraged to express their own style and unique perspective, and to tell stories that are compelling rather than formulaic.  As always, stories should be free of spelling, grammatical and typographical errors.  Please proof-read your work before submitting.

Length

Submissions should be no longer than 5,000 words, and while there is no lower limit to the acceptable word-count we are generally expecting work in the 3,000 to 5,000 word range.  Submissions longer than 5,000 will be accepted, but no content after the 5,000th word will be considered (i.e. we will stop reading after 5,000 words).

Fee: $18

Submission Deadlines

In 2013, the Elderberry Prize for Short Fiction will be awarded in June, September and December, so submission deadlines for 2013 are May 31, August 31 and November 30.

Awards

A cash prize of $500 is awarded to the winning submission in each Elderberry Short Fiction contest.  In 2013, three such prizes will be awarded in accordance with the Prizes section of the General Contest Rules.  Additional, small cash prizes may be awarded for non-winning submissions at Scribulous’ sole discretion.  The winning entry for each contest will be published in the Winners’ Works section of the Scribulous web site for a period of one year, and will be archived in a format that can be searched and retrieved by readers in perpetuity.

Elderberry Short Fiction Rules Fiction Contest Rules

The Elderberry Prize for Biography.

Content

Each submission for the Biography contest must fit within a fairly traditional definition of biography.  It must be a non-fiction account of the life of a real person, written by someone other than the subject of the biography.  It is not necessary to cover the subject’s entire life in this format – biographies that explore a period in the subject’s life, or even a single event in the subject’s life are acceptable.  Note that autobiographies are not appropriate for this contest.

In judging biographies we will be looking for stories that communicate truths or lessons-learned that transcend the life of the subject or the author.  While the stories themselves may be very personal, they should communicate something of relevance to the reader.  A connection to a larger community, society or culture is what gives the story meaning.

Length

Submissions should be no longer than 5,000 words, and while there is no lower limit to the acceptable word-count we are generally expecting work in the 3,000 to 5,000 word range.  Submissions longer than 5,000 will be accepted, but no content after the 5,000th word will be considered (i.e. we will stop reading after 5,000 words).

Fee: $18

Submission Deadlines

The Elderberry Prize for Short Biography will be awarded in April, July and October of 2013 and January of 2014, so submission deadlines for 2013 are March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.

Awards

A cash prize of $500 is awarded to the winning submission in each Elderberry Biography contest.  In 2013, three such prizes will be awarded in accordance with the Prizes section of the General Contest Rules.  Additional, small cash prizes may be awarded for non-winning submissions at Scribulous’ sole discretion.  The winning entry for each contest will be published in the Winners’ Works section of the Scribulous web site for a period of one year, and will be archived in a format that can be searched and retrieved by readers in perpetuity.

Elderberry Short Biography Rules Biography Contest Rules

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Enter to win $16,000 in prizes! There’s getting published in style and then there’s getting published in a way destined to make every other author in the world jealous.
Featuring everything an indie author could possibly need to publish, promote, and sell their book, this grand prize is positively packed with goodies. This is our most amazing grand prize package ever!

The Grand Prize includes:

• BookBaby — Premium eBook Publishing Package (A $249 value!)
• BookBaby Print — 300 Books, Deluxe Cover Design, Interior Formatting (A $3,000 value!)
• HostBaby — 12 Months Web Hosting (A $199 value!)
• BEA Trip — BEA Passes, Transportation, Hotel, Book Signing (A $4,000 value!)
• IndieReader.com — Interview & Review (A $500 value!)
• Circle of Seven — Book Trailer Production/Distribution (A $2,000 value!)
• Smith Publicity — Press Release, Media Blast (through Net Galley), Publicity Consultation (A $3,000 value!)
• BookDisplays.com — CityStand Book Stands (A $80 value!)
• JKSCommunications — 15-Date Virtual Book Tour (A $1,750 value!)
• PR Newswire — Web Reach Plus Release Distribution (A $400 value!)
• PR by the Book — Social Media Consultation (A $900 value!)
• Total Prize Value: $16,078

There’s no cost to enter. Hurry! Deadline for entries is April 30, 2013.

Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Deadline for entries is April 30, 2013. One winner will be chosen at random on May 6, 2013.

Someone has to win, so enter. What do you have to lose?

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

THE GREENHOUSE FUNNY PRIZE

At Greenhouse we love all sorts of writing. We love edgy, wincingly close-to-the-bone YA fiction, we love thrilling, commercial concepts with big surprises, and beautiful and heartfelt younger stories. In short, we love quality. And there’s something that we don’t see enough of: Funny.

So we’re waving the flag for funny books.

Last year we ran the first Greenhouse Funny Prize, a competition to find new funny writing talent. We had over 700 entries and Pip Jones was our winner. Julia quickly sold Pip’s book, SQUISHY McFLUFF, THE INVISIBLE CAT, to Faber Children’s Books in a 4 book pre-empt.

We had such a great time working on the prize that we’re going to do it again. And bigger. This year we’re opening it up to the world, so if you’re American or Canadian, or writing from anywhere on the planet (as long as your work is in the English language) then come and make us laugh.

Our judging criteria is very simple. Funny, and we are wide open to all ages. The winner may be a picture book like OLIVIA or DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, or a young series à la HORRID HENRY, FLAT STANLEY, THE GREAT HAMSTER MASSACRE or UNDEAD PETS, or for 8-12 year olds like Lemony Snicket or M.T. Anderson’s WHALES ON STILTS. It could even be for teen readers, like Adam Rex’s COLD CEREAL series, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, or THE PRINCESS DIARIES. It’s going to be the person with funny in their DNA. Perhaps the winner will have a slow-burning, sly wit. Perhaps a Python-esque sense of the absurd, or zany as Tina Fey’s 30 ROCK. Or maybe the concept, the freshness and fun, will pull us in.

ENTRY GUIDELINE BELOW:

The Greenhouse Funny prize is open to un-agented writers writing funny fiction for children of all ages.

To get a good sense of the voice and where the character is headed, we’d like to see the first 5,000 words PLUS a short description (a few lines) of the book AND a one page outline that shows the spine of the plot. Please send this as a Word doc attachment.

If you’re submitting a picture book (or shorter fiction that comes in under 5,000 words), then send the complete text.

Please send your entries to [email protected]

If you’re writing from the US or Canada (ie, North America), please put NA in subject line. If you’re writing from UK or the rest of the world, please put UK in subject line.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, 29 July.

The shortlist will be announced Monday, 12 August.

The winner will be announced Monday, 19 August.

The US/Canada and the UK will have separate judging and shortlists and we will choose a winner in each territory.

Entrants will receive an acknowledgement on receipt of script, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

North American entries will be judged by John Cuscik and guest judge Jill Santopolo, Executive Editor at Philomel, Penguin. UK entries will be judged by Julia and guest judge Leah Thaxton, Publisher of Faber Children’s Books.

Winners will receive an offer of representation from the Greenhouse and the UK winner will also get full weekend ticket to the wonderful York Festival of Writing (worth £525). The runners up will each get five of Greenhouse’s favourite funny books.

What are you waiting for? Show us the funny!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

THE GREENHOUSE FUNNY PRIZE

At Greenhouse we love all sorts of writing. We love edgy, wincingly close-to-the-bone YA fiction, we love thrilling, commercial concepts with big surprises, and beautiful and heartfelt younger stories. In short, we love quality. And there’s something that we don’t see enough of: Funny.

So we’re waving the flag for funny books.

Last year we ran the first Greenhouse Funny Prize, a competition to find new funny writing talent. We had over 700 entries and Pip Jones was our winner. Julia quickly sold Pip’s book, SQUISHY McFLUFF, THE INVISIBLE CAT, to Faber Children’s Books in a 4 book pre-empt.

We had such a great time working on the prize that we’re going to do it again. And bigger. This year we’re opening it up to the world, so if you’re American or Canadian, or writing from anywhere on the planet (as long as your work is in the English language) then come and make us laugh.

Our judging criteria is very simple. Funny, and we are wide open to all ages. The winner may be a picture book like OLIVIA or DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, or a young series à la HORRID HENRY, FLAT STANLEY, THE GREAT HAMSTER MASSACRE or UNDEAD PETS, or for 8-12 year olds like Lemony Snicket or M.T. Anderson’s WHALES ON STILTS. It could even be for teen readers, like Adam Rex’s COLD CEREAL series, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, or THE PRINCESS DIARIES. It’s going to be the person with funny in their DNA. Perhaps the winner will have a slow-burning, sly wit. Perhaps a Python-esque sense of the absurd, or zany as Tina Fey’s 30 ROCK. Or maybe the concept, the freshness and fun, will pull us in.

ENTRY GUIDELINE BELOW:

The Greenhouse Funny prize is open to un-agented writers writing funny fiction for children of all ages.

To get a good sense of the voice and where the character is headed, we’d like to see the first 5,000 words PLUS a short description (a few lines) of the book AND a one page outline that shows the spine of the plot. Please send this as a Word doc attachment.

If you’re submitting a picture book (or shorter fiction that comes in under 5,000 words), then send the complete text.

Please send your entries to [email protected]

If you’re writing from the US or Canada (ie, North America), please put NA in subject line. If you’re writing from UK or the rest of the world, please put UK in subject line.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, 29 July.

The shortlist will be announced Monday, 12 August.

The winner will be announced Monday, 19 August.

The US/Canada and the UK will have separate judging and shortlists and we will choose a winner in each territory.

Entrants will receive an acknowledgement on receipt of script, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

North American entries will be judged by John Cuscik and guest judge Jill Santopolo, Executive Editor at Philomel, Penguin. UK entries will be judged by Julia and guest judge Leah Thaxton, Publisher of Faber Children’s Books.

Winners will receive an offer of representation from the Greenhouse and the UK winner will also get full weekend ticket to the wonderful York Festival of Writing (worth £525). The runners up will each get five of Greenhouse’s favourite funny books.

What are you waiting for? Show us the funny!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Night Owl Reviews is running another awesome Scavenger hunt. Full Moon Halloween Scavenger Hunt runs from Sept 1st through Oct 31th. Click on the banner then visit the blogs, find the information and plug it in to win. Tons of incredible prizes, free books, jewelry, and more. Continue reading →

MeeGenius!–a e-picture book app for young readers for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Google TV, and the web–have just kicked off a contest.

They are searching for the next great children’s book author, and is extending an invitation to aspiring and published authors to submit a manuscript. Winning manuscripts will be beautifully illustrated, professionally edited, and published online at MeeGenius. It’s as simple as writing, submitting, and having MeeGenius’ online community vote.

Open to both aspiring and published authors, the MeeGenius! Author Challenge 2011 will award one winner $1500 and a publishing contract as well as offering a MeeGenius! library to the school of the winner’s choice. Three runners-up will win $500 and publishing contract.

Submissions will be posted on the MeeGenius! website where visitors can vote on their favorites. The most popular picks become finalists.

Length

• Stories should be between 10 and 20 pages in length.

Submit Your Story by November 1, 2011

No illustrations.

Manuscript Voting Round

November 28 – December 18, 2011

Finalists Round

January 31 – February 21, 2012

Winners Announced!

March 7, 2012.

Make sure you check out this link for a sample manuscript, since they do not want it submitted in the standard format: http://meegenius-static.s3.amazonaws.com/challenge/01/ManuscriptFormattingExample.pdf

For complete rules and guidelines, visit www.MeeGenius.com.

Here are some good reasons to enter:  Everyone has a chance to win.  They are not asking for a entry fee, and you have over a month before the deadline, so I expect to see a lot of your stories on line at the end of November.  Good Luck.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy