The New Jersey Children’s Writer’s Guild

HungerMountain, the VCFA journal of the arts, is sponsoring the Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing:

One overall first place winner receives $1,000 and publication!
Three runners-up receive $100 each. We choose one runner-up from the YA (young adult) entries, one from the Middle Grade entries, and one from the Picture Book or Writing for Young Children entries.

The 2010 contest judge is author Holly Black; the postmark deadline is June 30th, 2010.

Good luck to any members who decide to enter!

Our thanks to member Danielle Ray for her notice about the contest!

Congratulations to member Al Walker, whose work took first place in The Hot Pink Hubcaps Writing Competition!

The competition was founded this year by NJCWG member Danielle Ray, and she has offered to make this an annual event for Guild members. This year’s winner received a three day paid trip to BookExpo America in New York City.

To read Al’s winning entry, and to learn more about Danielle’s journey as a writer, visit bookremarks.net.

Our thanks to Danielle for her generous support of The New Jersey Children’s Writer’s Guild, and congratulations to Al on his big win!

Cheerios, as part of its “Spoonfuls of Stories” program, is seeking submissions from unpublished authors for its New Author Contest.

The contest has a cash prize, and the winning author’s work will be published by Simon and Schuster. It will also be featured inside specially marked Cheerios boxes.

The deadline for the competition is July 15. Good luck to any of our members who decide to enter!

Thanks to member Danielle Ray for sharing this information!

Just a quick reminder that The International Women’s Writing Guild will be holding its 59th Big Apple Conference on April 17th and 18th. This year’s special events include a memoir workshop and an open house featuring a number of authors and agents. Thanks to member Kathi Kurz for giving us a heads-up about this event!

MARIANNE BAHMANN, Coping With the Limelight: A Manual on Stage Fright, BookSurge Publishing, 2009

SHERRY ELLIS, Now Write!: Fiction Writing Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers, Tarcher, 2009;Illuminating Fiction, Red Hen Press, 2009

HELEN FOGARASSY, The Midas Maze, PageFree Publishing Int’l, 2007

BARBARA HALL, Sadie’s Secret, Author House, 2007

JODY LAGRECA, Afternoon Tea, Xlibris 2008, Suburban Weird, Xlibris, 2008

PATRICIA JEAN LAPIDUS, Red Hen’s Daughters, CreateSpace, 2009

DAHLMA LLANOS-FIGUEROA, Daughters of the Stone: A Novel, Thomas Dunne Books, 2009

JONNA-LYNN MANDELBAUM, Unpredictable Crossing, Outskirts Press, 2009

GRACE ZOLLA PROTANO, As Long As You Can See the Clock, You’re Okay: South Brooklyn in the ’50s, Outskirts Press, 2009

PEGGY SAPPHIRE, In the End A Circle, Antrim House, 2009; A Possible Explanation, Partisan Press, 2006

CARREN STROCK, A Writer’s Journey: What to Know Before, During and After Writing a Book, Gray Rabbit Publishing, January 2010

SUSAN TIBERGHIEN, One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer’s Art and Craft, Da Capo Press, 2007; Looking for Gold: A Year in Jungian Analysis, Daiman Verlag, 2008

MINGMEI YIP, Petals From the Sky, Kensington, March 2010

Full attendance is $180 for IWWG members, and $220 for non-members.

Member Danielle Ray has written in with links to two writing contests offering categories for children’s writing:

Alabama Writers’ Conclave 2010 Competition - Deadline, April 20

2010 Leapfrog Fiction Contest - Deadline, May 1, 2010

Thanks Danielle!

Just a reminder to our Bridgewater Critique Group about the Hot Pink Hubcaps Competition, so generously sponsored by Danielle…

All entries must be sent to NJCWG webmaster Joshua Wright by April 1^st.

Joshua will remove names from the entries, and email to all participating members copies of manuscripts for blind voting.

Your submission’s word count must not exceed 500 words, and participants may not vote for themselves.

Votes should be sent directly to Danielle (along with your name). The winner will receive a trip to Book Expo America!

Member Danielle Ray just informed us about a short story contest sponsored by Words Magazine. The theme is “Kids - stories written especially for children,” and the deadline is April 30th. No fee is required to enter.

Thanks for the heads-up, Danielle!

by Sandra Koehler Lee

Did you know that woodchucks hibernate or that many bats fly south for the winter? These are just some of the factual tidbits you and your child will learn in Animals in Winter, by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder. The book is just what it sounds like: a narrative about what different animals do once the weather gets colder instead of a “story.” However, it is a nicely written explanation for preschoolers and elementary-school children and includes a section of how they can help wildlife during the winter.
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Member Sandra Koehler Lee reviews terrific children’s books for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

December is a month full of holidays. The sparkling lights and inflatable Santas are reminders of Christmas but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa also are observed this month. Books are a great way to introduce the traditions of these holidays whether you regularly celebrate or just want to teach your children about other customs.
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Join member Sandra Koehler Lee as she explores some terrific seasonal book offerings for Thanksgiving.

Whether you want to teach your child the history of Thanksgiving or share a tale from the turkey’s perspective, there are some good books for this holiday. (more…)