Two contests crossed my desk that I thought might be interesting. The first is for anyone. Chronicle Books is looking for a new humorous book, of any length or genre, to publish as their second (annual?), The Great Tumblr Book Search. Unpublished writers are encouraged to submit a story.
For every hit, there has to be a sequel. The Great Tumblr Book Search is back and the search for the next big humor book is on! Last year, Chronicle Books partnered with Tumblr on the first-annual Great Tumblr Book Search. The winning Tumblr was Sht Rough Drafts by Paul Laudiero. Chronicle offered Laudiero a publishing contract and now Sht Rough Drafts the book is coming to a bookstore near you on April 15th. And YOU could be next!
How to Enter: Use Tumblr to explain your humor book idea. Then our editors will judge the entries and choose a grand-prize winner whose idea will be considered for publication. You may use an existing Tumblr or create a new Tumblr to illustrate your book idea. Just make us laugh!
Contest Details at Chronicle Books Tumblr
Hurry, the contest ends 3/31/2014. Read the official rules and submit your Tumblr entry now! Winners will be announced by April 30th.
1 Grand Prize:
- Book idea considered for publication
- $300 of Chronicle books
- Feedback session with a Chronicle Books editor
3 Runners-Up:
- $100 of Chronicle books
- Written critique from Chronicle Books editors
Questions? Email [email protected]
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“The second contest is for kids. Peachtree Publisher is asking kids to write an essay in celebration of the April release of Charlie Bumpers and the Nice Gnome (reviewed here). Mrs. Burke, Charlie’s teacher, will explain.
You vs. Who? Contest & Giveaway
“Since the title of Teacher of the Year was bestowed upon me, I’ve received a number of inquiries on an array of subjects.
“What is my first name? What activities are best for fourth graders? Did I suffer any lasting effects from the flying sneaker incident? How is my snap so impressively loud?
“I’ve been asked to answer a few of those questions here today.
“The Snap”
“The snap, I’m afraid, is one of the most fiercely guarded secrets of the Empire—Mrs. Burke’s Empire, that is. The technique was passed down in a sacred trust from my mother, and I couldn’t possibly divulge it here.
“Actually, I suppose I could, but my hood of ninjas would instantaneously escort every person reading this post to a remote island surrounded by man-eating octopi. I doubt the secret of the snap would do you much good in such an exile.
“Activities, however, I am happy to share!
“1. Plays: Each year, the citizens of Mrs. Burke’s Empire perform a play. I’m not given to bragging, but this year’s—The Sorcerer’s Castle—might be this director’s masterpiece. I’ve found that my students learn quite a bit about themselves when they’re forced to play someone else.
“2. Writing: I suggest having your students write about their own experiences. Here’s a prompt that works well with my own students: You vs. Who?
“Students must write a story about a time they faced some sort of obstacle. Stories can be silly or serious; true or fictional; about school, home, or extra-curriculars! Give it a title like Suzie Rice vs. The Vacuum of Suction Destruction or Mrs. Burke vs. The Slippery Ramen Noodle.
“3. Contests: When all other hope is lost and mutiny seems inescapable, make it a contest. In fact, let’s do just that! Have your child, student, or library patrons answer the You vs. Who? prompt.
“You (the teacher, librarian, parent, etc.) must send the stories to the folks at Peachtree Publishers via e-mail or snail mail before the deadline. (March 26, 2014) See details below. Win a glorious prize and bring honor to your own empire!”
CONTEST DETAILS
PRIZE: Peachtree Publishers is giving away ten (10) Charlie Bumpers prize packs!
Nine winners will receive one (1) hardcover copy of Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year, (reviewed HERE), and one (1) galley of Charlie Bumpers vs. The Really Nice Gnome (April 2014!).
One Grand Prize winner will receive one (1) hardcover copy of Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year, one (1) hardcover copy of Charlie Bumpers vs. The Really Nice Gnome, and one (1) Audio Book CD of Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year (performed by author and Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Bill Harley!).
TO ENTER: Students must write a story about a time they faced some sort of obstacle like Charlie does. Adult must send the stories in to Peachtree Publishers via e-mail or snail mail. Stories can be silly or serious; true or fictional; about school, home, or extra-curriculars!
E-mail Address: publicity(at)peachtree(dash)online(dot)com
Snail Mail Address:
Peachtree Publishers
Publicity Dept.
1700 Chattahoochee Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30318
DEADLINE: Contest ends March 26, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST
OPEN TO: US Addresses Only
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Okay, what are you waiting for? Get those sharp pencils or fully charged computer out and get to writing. Imagination encouraged!
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The Dreaded Intent – Food Fight ’14
Julie Rowan-Zoch has started an interesting story in honor of WORLD READ ALOUD DAY. The story, beginning on her website, is about a food fight, but she needs your help to get it to the end. Bring your best food and a good arm. To read more, including the story thus far, go HERE! Or here: http://julierowanzoch.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/the-dreaded-intent-food-fight-14/#comment-6582 And for more on the WORLD READ ALOUD DAY go HERE! or here: http://litworld.org/litworldorg/2014/1/31/the-world-read-aloud-day-2014-banner-is-here.html
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THE DREADED INTENT
“It was a lunch hour like any other at Bacon Elementary, when a chill ran up Mateo’s spine. His hair stood at attention down his bony arms. Cautiously he lifted his gaze, millimeter by millimeter. He dreaded the worst. And sure as a pop-tart is sugary, there she was, staring straight at him. Priscilla Weatherspoon – the meanest, leanest prankster this side of the Mississippi. Her eyes grew smaller as they locked onto his. Slowly, slowly but sure as a mosquito bite, she drew her chin towards her chest and that’swhen Mateo saw The Intent, right there under her thick, dark caterpillar eyebrows knit between her tightly pulled braids. Those chesnut-brown peepers were. not. cute. He knew then and there. He had just become her business. It was a speck of a second, but felt like slow-motion sickness. As the sweat started to gather in his armpits, and a heat rose to his ears, he lowered his sandwich with his left hand as he went for the juice box with his right…” continue reading . . .
(Check out comment #3 – Erik, our friendly kidlit kid; and #5, me, your wanna be writer of all things humorous.)
Thank you Julie Rowan-Zoch for the great illustration of Mateo. I think Julie’s illustrations are fantastic! Okay, now what are you waiting for? Go! Go on and continue Mateo’s story and remember to READ ALOUD TO SOMEONE TODAY! Preferably a book.
For more food fight sotries in honor of WORLD READ ALOUD DAY, go to WriterOutline. Or start your own story and add it to the list.
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Thank You Ohio Voters Many of the public libraries in my Ohio won funding in this last election. This doesn’t replace all the funds lost in the budget cuts of the past couple of years, but it sure helps. Here are the winners: NEW Funds Cuyahoga Falls 0.6 mill NEW plus 1.3 mill replacement Dayton [...]
Candlewick Press launched a year-long tribute to the picture book beginning this month. Every day for the next year, a new video will highlight authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, readers, and YOU! Yep, that’s right–YOU! If you love picture books and believe they have a purpose in young reader’s lives, or in your own, you too [...]
Hi Everyone! First, let me apologize for not having a review for you today. It is summer, and with summer come all sorts of fun things to do and see. I wish my summer were one of those fun summers. Instead, this weekend has been straight out of a horror novel. Every year, these little [...]
5 Stars Psst! If you are a kid, come closer. If you’re not a kid, stop reading! Right now. We’re not kidding. This book is FOR KIDS ONLY. Okay, now here’s what’s inside: Open to any page and find fascinating facts and brain-building activities guaranteed to make you smarter, funnier, more interesting, and better [...]
Kindness ROCKS! To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I’m participating too! Kindness is POWERFUL. Even the smallest gesture can fuel a person and keep them going. All over [...]
Welcome Back to Kid Lit Reviews After last thirty days of wildly romping through April from A to Z, I needed to take a little rest. No kidding, my pinky finger on my writing hand went numb. The finger was totally and completely numb from the tip to the edge of the hand. Now that [...]
This was my first A to Z Challenge and while I had fun, it was much harder than I thought it would be. Heck, all I had to do was write a review, nothing more. I didn’t need to write an original poem every day or draw something original. I didn’t need to write a [...]
A to Z Challenge: Day 5: E Evaluations is the theme for today. I don’t have a book review for today, so I thought I would share an evaluation I found on the web. It was truly by accident that this was found and I was thrilled to have found it. I also got the [...]
Happy Birthday!! Dr. Seuss! Theodor Seuss Geisel was born today, March 2 in 1904. I learned to read with Dr Seuss books, first with Dr. Seuss’s A B C, and Hop On Pop. I learned to count with the help of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Ten Apples Up On Top. Even as [...]
I received the Leibster Award from Erik, the prolific reviewer at This Kid Reads Books
If I understand this correctly, the Leibster Award is given to a blog with less than 200 followers, that someone (Erik) finds especially interesting and wants others to notice. To accept there are a few things I must do.
1. I must publicly thank the giver of the reward.
2. Tell Five Things About Yourself.
1. I was a social worker, and before that a photographer.
2. I have systemic lupus.
3. Recently, I ran my car into the brick building I live in, taking out a bush, but no bricks.
4. Occasionally, I am a pet sitter. My company is called CS Pets, because too many use the name Critter Sitter, so I shortened it to CS Pets. I own the domain - need a website.
5. When the two ends of the month do not meet, I also mystery shop. Yep, there really are mystery shoppers, but it isn’t as profitable as you might think. Sometimes I actually do get to get an item, but usually it is returned “as part of the evaluation.” Once, I mystery shopped five Subways in one day. No returns. By number three: ”Yuck!” The highest paying mystery shop I have done was at a hospital (I cannot say the name). I played an ER patient to evaluate the department. I was there eight hours — but it was worth it.
3. Nominate 5 Websites I Love and Want to Share.
- Kids Read, this is written by a recent graduate and new librarian. The reviews are sharply written and a good source for parents.
- Filipino Book Bloggers, a collection of book reviews by people all over the world who are Filipino. It can be quite interesting with so many voices.
- Author Diane Mae Robinson, whose book titled Sir Princess Petra was recently reviewed HERE.
- Author Sue Glader, her ground-breaking book titled Nowhere Hair was reviewed HERE.
- My favorite
A warm welcome to Raspberry Prose, a brand new service for writers based in Johannesburg.
Raspberry Prose offers:
- A full range of specialist workshops for prospective and professional writers, screenwriters and photojournalists
- Facilitation and guidance in publishing and film production;
- A writer’s reference library;
- Personalised writing therapy for victims of trauma
- Writers’
The local seven eleven went low techjpg Originally uploaded by damariasenne I've posted an article about Eskom' regular power cuts ( load shedding) on my blog Mobile Life. Like all other South Africans, I'm very frustrated with this practice.It affects our productivity, throws our schedules and deadlines into disarray and at the end of the day, I'm just sooo exhausted from the stress
This post is a shameless promotion of a friend's business, so if you're not interested in places to eat in and around Johannesburg, please skip to the next post.
I’ve previously mentioned that friends of mine have launched a new restaurant serving North African cuisine in Rosebank in Johannesburg.
The restaurant is called Hightable and on Saturday Baby and I had the chance to explore it and
Intellectually I knew Baby was growing and that soon, my nickname for her (Ngwana) would be a misnomer. That time seems to be approaching very soon.
She turns 10 in May, and she's 1.43 metres tall, about 14 centimetres shorter than I am. But it was on Saturday that I trully began to appreciate how much my little girl has grown.
While shopping at Exclusive Books, she found a beautiful board book
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Damaria,I only wish I could have a meal here. Maybe one of these days I can. I hope to return to Africa one of these soon days.Wanted to let you know I'm participating in Eric Maisel's "The Van Gough Blues" blog book tour. I'm day two, and our conversation on connection is now posted. I think you'd enjoy it.Janet Riehlwww.riehlife.com