From the Contra Costa Times: Summer’s almost here and with it, road trips and air travel. So this month, we’re focusing our poetic energies on the joys and woes of travel, from scenic vistas to shoeless schleps through airport security. Send your haiku — three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern –to [email protected] by noon June 28.
Pen a haiku to the pet peeve of your choice. Send it – – three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern, extra points for wit – – to [email protected] by noon May 31.
1. Scare the Dickens Out of Us Contest – This contest is for kids and adults. The guidelines are at this link. There IS an entry fee ($20 for adults, $5 for kids) Sponsored by a library, however, and the prizes are $. http://www.clarklibraryfriends.com/
2. The next contest is Textnovel.com Writing Contest with NO entry fee!
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Thank you Judith Marshall, a writer from California Writers Club who told us about a great website call helium.com. On it, they have a lot of writer’s contests. I couldn’t see any age requirements. Check for the various entry dates and topics for submissions.
(And if you decide not to actually enter, this site may give you ideas for writing prompts too.)
Example topics:
Celebrations Creative Writing Contest
Hot Earners Contest
Long-Term Earners Contest
Professionals Contest
Seasonal Earners Contest
Teachers Without Borders Contest
Title Madness Contest
Wide World of Sports Contest
Dogs
When I clicked Dogs, these topics appeared:
Autoimmune disease in dogs: Symptoms and treatments
Best breeds of dogs for runners
Best dog breeds for kids
Causes of Addison’s disease in dogs
Causes of skin irritations in dogs
Common dog pregnancy symptoms
Dangers of dogs eating table food
Dog breeds that don’t bark
Easiest breeds of dogs to train
Guide to using homeopathic remedies for dogs
Homemade dog food ingredients to avoid
How a dog gets worms
How to choose the right dog breed for you
How to crate train small dogs
How to train a dog to sit
Kidney failure in dogs: What to expect after the diagnosis
Overview of extra-large dog breeds
Tips for cleaning a dog sprayed by a skunk
What is dog mange?
When is a puppy considered full grown?
http://writing-contests.helium.com/
“If I had been talking about drowning polar bears, people would have been weeping with me.
But nobody recognizes that a bookstore or library can also be a drowning polar bear.”
Author Sherman Alexie
from Mother Jones interview, Nov/Dec 2009
Trying to raise money for a children’s writing contest is similar to what Alexie says about the fate of bookstores and libraries. A writing contest for kids doesn’t portray a cute and fuzzy animal. Perhaps we need an image of a cuddly animal with a pen in his hand?
But on the subject of fundraising we had a fun and busy Saturday event at the Pleasant Hill Barnes and Noble. It continues this week. If you use our voucher found on the California Writers Club website http://mtdiablowriters.org/ and take it to ANY Barnes and Noble through Friday, Dec. 4, our Young Writers Contest receives 10% – 25% of your purchase! At no cost to you!
If you are a middle school (sixth, seventh, eighth grade) student in Contra Costa County you are eligible to submit essays, (personal narratives), poems, and short stories into our contest. I’ll post them here now and then and they are also available at the above CWC website.
HOLIDAY WRITING CONTEST – Sponsored by the Contra Costa Times
What’s your most memorable holiday decoration? Treasured ornament your now 40-year-old son made his first year in kindergarten? A quirky centerpiece the entire family can’t stand? A funny or unique item your parents gave you when you were little? Snap a picture and write a short explanation about what makes it so endearing (or maybe not) and send it to [email protected] or Joan Morris, P. O. Box 5088, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. The Contra Costa Times will publish as many as they can. Deadline is Dec. 9. Include your name, city and contact information.
California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch
http://mtdiablowriters.org/
Announces a FREE opportunity for students, educators and readers to meet published authors – – – and students, how to win hundreds of dollars by writing!
Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Pleasant Hill Barnes and Noble
522 Contra Costa Blvd. (Phone: 925-609-7060)
*Students! Discover how YOU can win $$$ by writing poems, short stories, or personal narratives!
*Learn how you can take a FREE writing workshop taught by authors Sarah Wilson and Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff.
*Find out answers to questions about writing, publishing, agents, and how YOU can become a published writer!
*Uncover published authors’ writing secrets!
* Receive guidelines for the Young Writers Contest for middle school students and sign-up forms for FREE workshops.
*Get autographs from authors!
Schedule: 11 a.m. – Noon
Nannette Rundell Carroll – Communication and Business Author
Margaret Grace – Author of Mystery Series
Noon – 1 p.m.
Nannette Rundell Carroll – Communication and Business Author
Barbara Bentley – Memoir Author
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Ellen Leroe – Young Adult Author
Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff – Picture Book Author
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Barbara Bentley – Memoir Author
Lynn Goodwin – Journaling Author
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Margaret Grace – Author of Mystery Series
Lynn Goodwin – Journaling Author
Got a yen to haiku?
As the weather chills, thoughts turn to the holidays. So the Contra Costa Times is going cold turkey for their next poetry contest. Pen a haiku, inspired by any aspect of Thanksgiving Day — the food, the pilgrims, the football or parade. Send your haiku — three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern — to [email protected] by noon Oct. 26.
Online
Read more reader-written haiku at ContraCosta
Times.com/haiku or In
sideBayArea.com/haiku
An editor from Tween World.net contacted me with her fabulous website for tweens. There are numerous ways kids ages 8 – 12 can become involved with their creative passions.
**They can become TweenWorld reporters or photographers
**Write book reviews on featured works
**Submit recipe ideas for “Top Tween Chefs”
** Show their writing, art, music talents in the “Got Talent” dept, which is part of our “American Tween Dreams” promotion
** Show talent in multiple categories on a regular page called “XTreme Tweens.”
This site’s goal is to get tweens engaged and involved as contributors!
Here are a few quick links for examples:
http://www.tweenworld.net/reporterdetails.html
http://www.tweenworld.net/twink.html
http://www.tweenworld.net/tummy.html
http://www.tweenworld.net/tracs.html
http://www.tweenworld.contact.html
So if you are a teacher, make sure your students know of this fantastic opportunity. If you are a kid – – check it out! The more experience you get creating and publishing will help you perfect your craft and allow you to get a nice list of credits on your publishing resume.
She also said they will be looking for enlarging their site to include teen writers in the future, too. So check their site and this blog for more information.
Don’t forget to let us know when you get published. It’s always fun to rejoice in each other’s successes!
News from the Rat Lady about Bogey! She is settling into her new home quite well. Although she doesn’t bite, she’s not really comfortable being handled, which tells us she hasn’t had a lot of cuddling in her previous home.
Rat Lady has changed Bogey’s name. First it became Boo. Then Baby Boo. Now it’s Little Baby Boo. She’s getting comfortable with her new cage, and will soon meet her “adopted brothers and sisters.” We’ve been promised some pictures, which I’ll post.
Many thanks to the heroine – – three cheers for Rat Lady!
Writing Exercise: Do you have just the right name for your characters? Try them out very carefully. If the name doesn’t “feel” right, experiment with other names until you’ve got the perfect fit. You’ll know it when you have it. Names say a lot about a character.
Where do you find names? I’ve discovered them in movies, books, name books, telephone books, and school roll call lists! If I need a name for a child in 1936, I’ll just open my dad’s diary or yearbook.
I keep a list of unusual names for future stories. Ever hear a name and get a perfect image of a character to go with that name?
*Open a name book and point your finger to a name. Now write a quirky story about that character!
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Writing Contests for Kids!
READ’s annual student poetry contest. Open to grades 6–12. Six winners will receive $100 each and will be featured in a special electronic issue of READ. All submissions must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2009.
Send poems (maximum of two) to:
Ann Arlys Bowler Poetry Contest
READ Magazine
1 Reader’s Digest Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000
READ’s annual essay contest. Open to grades 6–12. Students are asked to imagine waking up 100 years from now. What is the year 2109 like? What do they see? What is the current technology? How do people live? Four winners will receive $100 and have their essays published.
Send essays to:
“Write Into the Future” Contest
READ magazine
1 Reader’s Digest Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000
All submissions must be no longer than 500 words and must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2009.
The Ygnacio Public Library, in Walnut Creek, California
invites you to . . .
A presentation by Mary Pols
Writing the Book was the Easy Part!
September 17, 2009, 6:30 pm
If you have ever thought about getting a book published and marketed, join us for an entertaining and informative evening with Mary Pols, author of Accidentally On Purpose.
Mary is a former film critic for the Contra Costa Times who now writes reviews for Time Magazine. She will discuss how she got her memoir published, marketed, and ultimately optioned as a TV sitcom, using the latest in media trends.
Free! Sounds like a fun “behind the scenes” event for writers and people who love to read.
Ygnacio Valley Library
2661 Oak Grove Road
Walnut Creek, California 94598
925-938-1481
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