It’s Susanna Hill’s 8th Halloweensie Writing Contest!

Aaahhhrrroooooo!  Yippee and tee-hee-hee! It is Susanna Hill’s Annual Halloweensie Contest and my Teensy-Weensy Witch is back for another adventure!

The challenge: Write a Halloween story suitable for children (under 12) in 100 words or less, making sure you use the words shiver, cauldron and howl. Easy right!!

Since 2015, my Teensy-Weensy Witch has been causing havoc and mayhem in The Little Red Story Shed at Halloween, and she is back for another instalment this year! So without further ado, here is…

Potion Commotion

(100 words)

A candy munching monster helped the Teensy-Weensy Witch

to mix up a concoction when his nose began to twitch.

The sticky, steamy vapours started conjuring a sneeze,

that burst through doors and windows and howled upon the breeze.

The cauldron took a wobble and the gooey gloop took flight,

splashing trick-or-treaters who were lurking in the night.

The witch looked through her fingers, gave a shiver, then a wink.

She shouted “Happy Halloween, we’ve turned the night bright pink!”

She leaned into the kettleful to try a little lick,

“We’ve spun up cotton candy, now all we need’s a stick!”

 

Don’t forget to rush over to Susanna’s blog (susannahill.com) to read all the wonderful entries, and there is still time to enter, deadline is Wednesday 31st October at 11.59 PM EDT.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Mr. Joao and Dindim the Penguin finds a home with Kids Can Press, plus writing contests and why you should enter.

In March of this year, I entered Vivian Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Word Contest with Mr. Joao and Dindim the Penguin and I am thrilled to announce that it will be published by Kids Can Press (www.kidscanpress.com) and illustrated by the incredible Mr. Pierre Pratt (www.pierrepratt.com).  I cannot wait to see how he will bring this story to life!

What I love about writing contests is they give you an opportunity to dig through your ideas notebook, research a little or a lot, share your writing with our wonderful Kidlit community, and most importantly get your precious words onto paper!

My vignette was based on the true and remarkable story of Dindim, the Magellanic penguin, and Mr. Joao Pereira de Souza. Joao found the bird washed up on the beach covered in oil near his home in Rio de Janeiro, he saved him, their bond grew and Dindim regularly makes the long trip back to visit his best ‘penguin’ pal.

Vivian’s fifty word limit allowed me to really focus in on the bones of my story, which later grew into the story that will find its home in book form in fall 2020.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to win Vivian’s contest! The prize, a critique from the wonderful Essie White of Storm Literary Agency, gave me my biggest wish of finding an agent. I cannot thank Essie enough for believing in those first 50 words and making a dream come true.

So, to all of you aspiring children’s book authors…make sure you get that idea book out and get your stories on to paper and out into the world, because you just never know where that story may lead.

Here are a few places to check out:

• Susanna Hill’s Halloweenie contest is about to begin (https://susannahill.com/2018/10/08/the-nina-the-pinta-and-the-guidelines-for-the-8th-annual-halloweensie-contest/). She also organises a holiday contest (www.susannahill.com).
• Vivian has her 50 Precious Words contest in March (www.viviankirkfield.com)
• plus there’s a fabulous list of contests and awards on Kidlit 411 (www.kitlit411.com).

Thanks for stopping by and happy writing!