The 2015 Holiday Contest WINNERS!!!

Hi there!

I'm so glad you're here!

I have something of great import to discuss with you, and it really cannot wait another minute.

No, not the questionable decision to place Holiday Inflatables in your front yard... although if you do that we should probably talk... :)

And no, not the age old question of what that stuff in fruit cake really is... because darn tootin' it's no kind of fruit I could identify!

I think you can guess what it is. . .

. . . the thing that is first and foremost on all of our minds today. . .

. . . and that is. . .

. . .

. . .what our Official Holiday Elf Names should be!!!

Seriously!  We're running out of time to decide!

Apparently I've got a choice of 5:

Cupcake Gingersocks
(generated by http://christmas.namegeneratorfun.com/ - random)

Cinnamon Embercrystals
(generated by http://christmas.namegeneratorfun.com/  - based on first and last name)

Elvis McJingle
(generated by http://mix108.com/if-you-were-an-elf-what-would-your-name-be-find-out-now/ 

Candy Sparklepants
(generated by http://965kvki.com/whats-your-elf-name-generator/ 

or

Sugar Candykirk
(generated by http://www.elfontheshelf.com/content/elf-name-generator 

I'm torn!

I really am!

I think I have to go with either Cupcake Gingersocks or Candy Sparklepants, though... although Elvis McJingle is very appealing too!  Which one do you think I should pick?

And you should go get yours!  Right now!  And share it in the comments!  You know you want to... :)  I'm all about the giving over here - I went and researched these helpful links just for you, so that you could waste a little time spend the holidays being called by your official Elf Name :)  Think of it as my little holiday gift to you :)

So now, happy holidays!  See you in 2016!  May the force be with you etc.!


What?


You were expecting to discuss something else?


Something more important than official Elf Names? (as if there could be anything more important...!)

Oh!

Right!

I knew there was something else. . .

:)


                    The 5th Annual Holiday Contest!!!!

WINNERS!!!

As always, I was thrilled to see so many wonderful stories!  Really!  It is amazing and inspiring, not to mention VERY entertaining!  There is just so much talent out there amongst you all!

But with large entry numbers, all of high quality, come hard choices.  My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Tuesday for your vote.

There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another.

So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:

1.  For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
     David McMullin for Christmas In Discomfort (also so original and creative)
     Jaclyn Kruzie for A Rockin' Christmas Wish
     Sam Steinfels for Unsilent Night
     Melissa Bulls for Santa's Stain (also a fun-for-kids mystery)
     Heather ??? for A Real Christmas Tree

2. For Great Kid Appeal: (not already mentioned in the finals or other categories)
     Wendy Greenley for Cookin' Up The Holiday Kid-Style
     Kirsten Bock Mel The Marshmallow's Cocoa Catastrophe (also great ending!)
     Gabi Snyder Christmas With Kevin The Nanny Bot

3. For Excellence In Evoking Mood And Holiday Spirit And Tradition:
     Joni Klein-Higger for Happy Festival Of Lights
     Shelly Bond for Christmas Story Time!
     Tracey Cox for Zippin' Around On Christmas Eve

4. For Beautiful Rendition Of The Christmas Story:
     Kristi Veitenheimer for A Christmas Birth
     Aileen Stewart for Huddled Around The Stable Door

5. For Most Original Setting:
     Anne Sawan for The Outback Christmas Hop
     Lorraine Nelson for A Very Spacey Christmas

6. For Favorite Character:
     Marla LeSage for spunky, resourceful, entertaining Sheila in Holiday Heist

7. For Best-Written Original Point Of View:
     Julie Bergman for The Little Burnt Latke (POV of a latke!)
     Joanne Sher for Precious Cargo (POV of the donkey who carried Mary)

8. For Fun Story In Fewest Words:
     Miranda Ireland for Christmas Party Hop (4 lines, 44 words - the overworked judges love you :))

9. For Best Entry For Parents :)
     Shari Schwarz for Rocking Beside The Christmas Tree (so sweet :))

10. For Best Entry For Writers :)
     Debbie Austin for What Happened When I First Sat Down To Write This Story (so clever and entertainingly done! - writers you will not want to miss this one!)

11. For Fun Well-Written Animal Entries:
     Ashley Franklin for Picture Perfect (dog)
     Catherine Flynn for Pouncing Around The Christmas Tree (cat)
     Carol Lescinski for Rockin' Reindeer
     Jo Hart for Jungle Bell Rock (a whole menagerie :))

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about) (and if you request a paperback, please include your snail mail address!)

For Kindle:
Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

The Easy Way To Write Picture Books That Sell by Robyn Parnell OR

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR

The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Ultimate Fiction Thesaurus by Sam Stone OR

In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell, OR

The Six Senses In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Bleak To Bold Narrative by Jessica Bell OR

Adverbs And Cliches In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions Of Adverbs & Cliches Into Gourmet Imagery by Jessica Bell OR

Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR

Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt, OR

Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard


And now...

...the moment you've all been waiting for...

The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2015 HOLIDAY CONTEST as voted on by you!!!

rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat

DDDRRRUUUMMM RRROOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

In First Place...

Winner of the whole shebang...

who gets first choice of all the prizes...

Jennifer Reinharz

for The Hanukkah Elf!!!

Congratulations, Jennifer, on a fabulous entry that was clearly very popular!!! :)

In Second Place...

Vivian Kirkfield

for The Christmas Seed

Congratulations, Vivian!!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Jennifer makes her choice.

In Third Place...

Suzy Levinson

for City Critter Christmas

Congratulations, Suzy!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Jennifer and Vivian choose theirs.

In Fourth Place...

Cindy Williams Schrauben

for Jugglin' High For Pumpkin Pie

Congratulations, Cindy!  You get to pick after Jennifer, Vivian, and Suzy.

In Fifth Place...

Kris Allen

for The Incident

Congratulations, Kris!  You get to pick after Jennifer, Vivian, Suzy, and Cindy.

In Sixth Place...

Lisa Connors

for The Gift Of The Magpie (And Friends)

Congratulations, Lisa!  I'm sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now :)

In Seventh Place...

Sandy Jones

for Red Berries In The Snow

Congratulations, Sandy!  You get to pick next :)

In Eighth Place... a 4-way tie!

Linda Schueler

for Randolph, Not A Reindeer

Nancy Tandon

for No Peeking!

Sheila Lynch-Afryl

for Clucking Christmas

Jen Bagan

for Ned's Christmas Wish

Congratulations, Linda, Nancy, Sheila and Jen!  You get to pick after Sandy!  And we'll just have to sort it out between us since you tied!

And in Twelfth Place, rounding out the top dozen of these amazing finalists and the 97 Holiday Contest Entries for 2015...

Deborah Boerema

for A New Classic?

All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes!  And for your convenience, the whole prize list is included at the bottom of this post.

Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest.  You all deserve a huge round of applause and a Holiday Treat which is not fruitcake! (unless you happen to like it :))

Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals.  It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!

As I... hmm... maybe didn't mention...?, I'm taking a little blogging break so I can spend time with my family - I've got children to fetch, cookies to bake, Christmas presents to shop for and wrap, and my sister and her family are arriving form Georgia on Monday! :) -  Oh, and we're going to see the new Star Wars movie on Wednesday!  So I will see you all in a couple weeks - most probably Wednesday January 6th for Would You Read It :)

So now, I want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday filled with love, laughter, joy, and family, and a happy, healthy and successful new year!  It is a pleasure and a privilege to get to spend time with you all, and I'm happy and grateful to know each and every one of you!

Looking forward to all the things we'll do in 2016!

Happy Holidays, and all best wishes for a wonderful New Year!!!

Love,

Susanna

The Prizes!!!  (items in color are links for more info!):

- A Picture Book Manuscript read and critique (winner's choice of in-person, on the phone, or via email) by Claire Dorsett, Editorial Assistant, Roaring Brook Press!!!
   A bibliophile and outdoor enthusiast, Claire spent her childhood summers road-tripping across the United States, reading constantly on the long car rides between parks and museums. Her love of literature led her to pursue a BA in English from Cornell University, where she was involved with campus publications The Daily Sun and Rainy Day literary magazine. Claire then completed the six-week intensive Columbia Publishing Course before finding a home at Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, assisting VP and Publisher Simon Boughton. She has worked on a range of projects during her time at Roaring Brook, including Lane Smith's middle-grade debut Return to Augie Hobble, Steve Sheinkin's National Book Award finalist Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War, and picture books The Skunk, There is a Tribe of Kids, and Ned The Knitting Pirate. 
- a brand new Picture Book Webinar Bundle including one webinar on Concept Books and the other on Rhyme, Verse and Lyricism in Picture Books, generously donated by Emma Walton Hamilton, author, editor, writing coach, and teacher of the fabulous Just Write For Kids courses.
- a 2016 Membership to Children's Book Insider, including their Children's Writing Knowledge Base, an absolutely fabulous resource for kid lit writers of all kinds, generously offered by Jon Bard and Laura Backes
 - A Picture Book Manuscript Critique by talented author/illustrator Iza Trapani, author of JINGLE BELLS, OLD KING COLE, ITSY BITSY SPIDER, and many, many more!
 - A Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the fabulous Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS!
 - an e-copy of the fantastic How To Promote Your Children's Book generously donated by Katie Davis!

 - Enrollment in Making Picture Book Magic (my online picture book writing class - in January or a later month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and me)
 - A 6-Month Membership to the new and fabulous One Stop For Writers Site!
 - 2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market  and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
- another 2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market  and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
- a pack of Susanna Leonard Hill's amazing What's The Story Cards (hitherto un-introduced to the world!) - writing prompts for every occasion :)
 - another pack of Susanna Leonard Hill's amazing What's The Story Cards

I can't thank these authors and other industry professionals enough for their incredible generosity!  Please visit their sites, buy and recommend their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, write them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you've read and liked their books, and show your appreciation to them in any way you can!

The Contest Winner gets first choice of the prizes.  2nd place gets next choice of what's left and so on.  I do it this way in the hopes that no one will get something they already have and also because I think all the prizes are fabulous and I wouldn't want to make anyone feel less valued by giving them as 6th place as opposed to 1st. :)

2015 Halloweensie Contest WINNERS!!!

As you all know, I do not normally post on Thursdays.

That is because Thursday is my day for lying on the couch eating bonbons.

I am making an exception today because I have something VERY important to discuss with you.

Something that I know has been weighing as heavily on your minds as it has on mine.

Something very crucial!

Something so earth-shatteringly important that it probably kept you up all night!

So let's just lay it out on the table, shall we?

What is the deal with nuts in dessert items?

I'm serious!  Whose idea was that???

Obviously a dessert like pecan pie requires nuts.  I'm okay with that.

But brownies, cookies, and ice cream were made to be fudgy, chewy, and creamy respectively.  I'm sure you can see how adding hard, crunchy nuts is totally counter to the texture experience and therefore to the true enjoyment of said desserts!  Such appalling effrontery!

I think it's high time we take a stand, don't you?

NO MORE NUTS!  NO MORE NUTS!

What?

You think I'M nuts???

I won't lie.  I'm a little hurt.

Sad face.

Sniffle-sniffle.

Were you expecting a discussion on another topic?

I'm not sure anything needs our attention as much as the ongoing nuts/no nuts debate...

...except maybe...

THE WINNERS OF

The 5th Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!

WA-HOOOOOOO!!!!!

(But wait!  Before I announce, do you want to state your opinion on whether nuts belong in dessert items?

No?  You're sure?

Alrighty then.  Don't say I never gave you a chance to be heard :))

As you are all aware by now, we had a record turnout for the Halloweensie Contest - 145 entries! (Plus 2 that came in after the deadline!)  Holy Halloweensie!  Who'd-a-thunk it?

I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories and meet so many new writers!

But with large entry numbers come hard choices.  My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Monday for your vote.

There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! :))

So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:

1.  For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
     Mishka Jaeger for The Little Trick-or-Treater
     Vivian Kirkfield for Halloween Fever
     Sandy Jones for Frank-N-Stein's Store      
     Gabi Snyder for Jack's First Night (which could also have placed in Best Original POV for being told from a pumpkin's viewpoint!)

2.  For Best Entry For Teen Readers:
     Lori Dubbin for Indelible! (beautifully done!!!)
  
3.  For Great Kid Appeal: (not already in the finals)
     Charlotte Dixon for Arabella's Web
     Stacy Jensen for Gilda's Zombie Fix
     Julie Rowan-Zoch for Creeeaak....
     Shaelyn Berg for Scaredy House
     Saundra Jones for Halloween Countdown (youngest readers)

4.  For Best Descriptive/Mood Piece:
     Rosi Hollinbeck for The Halloweensie Party
     Becky Shillington for Monster Bash

5.  For Best Use of Poetic Language:
     Randi Sonenshine for March Of The Gargoyles
     Suzy Levinson for Trick For Treats

6. For Spookiest Entry: (not already in the finals)
     Bradin Farnworth for Buddy
     Amanda Sincavage for The Haunted Dash

7. For Funniest Entry: (not already in the finals)
     Stephanie Salkin for Mummy Unveiled (which also had great poetic language!)
     Mike Allegra for Night Ninja
   
8. For being Judge #3's Favorite Entry :)
     Lynne Pisano for Boo Who?
   
9.  For Best Written Original Point of View:
     Johnell DeWitt for Dark's Knight (POV of the dark!)
     Marlaina Gray for YIPE! (POV of a terrier :))
   
10.  For Originality/Creativity:
     Carrie Burrows for Sophie And The Teal Pumpkin (because we learned about the Teal Pumpkin for allergy-sensitive trick-or-treaters!)
   
11.  For Favorite Character:
       Lisa Riddiough for Mo, The Ghost Who Said Moo

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about)

For Kindle:
Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR

The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell, OR

Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR

Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt, OR

Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR

Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard

Now then.  A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.

We have 9 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field.  My policy is to let the first place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second place winner have second choice, etc.  That way hopefully nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that's valuable to them.  All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies :)

Now.

Finally!

Onto the moment you've all been waiting for. . . 

. . . the reason you got out of bed this morning. . . 

. . . to tell the world once and for all how you feel about nuts in your dessert!

. . . THE WINNERS OF THE 2014 HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!

In First Place, winner of the whole entire contest and top of the heap who gets first choice of all the prizes...

Shelley Kinder

for

A Meaty Trick-or-Treat

Congratulations, Shelley, on a delightful entry that was all around well done and clearly very popular!!!

In Second Place,

Sam Steinfels

for

Spooky Spies

Congratulations, Sam, on an exceptionally clever premise beautifully executed! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Shelley chooses!

In Third Place, a tie!!! between

Marla Lesage                         Polly (sorry I don't know your last name!)

                   for                                                                    for

 Pirate Prepares For Halloween                                   Nothing To Wear

Congratulations, Marla and Polly, on entertaining, well written entries that we all loved!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Shelley and Sam choose!

In Fifth Place, a three-way tie!!!

      Buffy Silverman                    Cathy Mealy                           Jana Locke

               for                                       for                                           for

Spider's Halloween Debut       Goodnight Halloween     The Unicorn Ate My Candy Corn:

                                                                                                  A Halloween Tall Tale

Congratulations, Buffy, Cathy and Jana, on your wonderful entries!  You get to pick your prizes after Shelley, Sam, Marla and Polly!

In Eighth Place,

Patricia Nozell

for

Leila's First Halloween

Congratulations, Patricia, on a standout entry that was markedly different from the others with its unique theme!  You get to pick your prize after Shelley, Sam, Marla, Polly, Buffy, Cathy, and Jana!

In Ninth Place, Julie Abery for The Teensy-Weensy Witch!  Congratulations, Julie!  What a determined little witch!  You get the idea of the prize picking by now I'm sure :)

And, I don't think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest!  Not just anyone can say that :)

All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes!  Finalists who did not finish in the top 10 (Stephanie, Jacqueline, Jean, and Chrystal) may also contact me for their choice of the Kindle or paperback prizes listed above.

Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest.  You all deserve a huge round of applause, a confetti parade, and a large amount of chocolate cake :)

Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals.  It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!

And before we go, I will give you all advance warning so you can start planning a little time into your December schedule...

The 5th Annual Holiday Writing Contest will be coming up sometime in the neighborhood of December 7-11 so we can all fully enjoy it and still have time for last minute holiday things.  I will do my best to post the rules well in advance so you all have time to work on your stories!

Have a terrific Thursday everyone, and thanks again for making the Halloweensie Contest such a wonderful time for all! :)

The Prizes:  we've got some seriously amazing prizes! (words in color are links to more info)

 - a read and comments on a PB ms by fabulous agent Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency!!!

 - a picture book manuscript critique by picture book author Diana Murray!  website

 - a query critique from Heather Ayris Burnell, founder of the Sub It Club

- a 6 month subscription to One Stop For Writers (value $50)

 - an e-pub or PDF copy (winner's choice) of Linda Ashman's Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books

  - personalized signed copies of Sarah Frances Hardy's Dress Me! and Paint Me! (Reviewed HERE for PPBF)

 - a personalized signed copy of Amy Dixon's Sophie's Animal Parade (Reviewed HERE for PPBF)

- a personalized signed copy of Corey Rosen Schwartz and Rebecca Gomez's What About Moose?(Reviewed HERE for PPBF)

 - a personalized signed copy of Penny Parker Klostermann's There Was An Old Dragon Who Swallowed A Knight (Reviewed HERE for PPBF)

Please join me again in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N or anywhere else if you like them, or supporting them in any other way you can dream up :)

The 2014 Holiday Contest WINNERS!!!

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Yes, yes!  I know what day it is!

Normally, I would tease you for a while and pretend I didn't know what brought you to this neck of the woods or what you were after, but not today.

Nope.

Today I'm going to get straight to the point.

No beating around the bush.

Nosirree Bob!

I'm going to give you what you came for . . .

. . .  just as soon as we come up with an answer to that eternal burning question: whose idea was tinsel anyway and does anyone actually use it?

Because seriously, that stuff is as bad as Easter grass!  It gets everywhere!

In your hair!  In the carpet!  On the dogs...

And who has the patience to separate it out into single strands to drape artfully over the limbs of your Christmas tree?  (And let's face it, it does not have the same effect if you just glob it on in clumps...!)

And we're not even going to TALK about if you have cats!  By golly!  That's just a disaster waiting to happen!

You're all writers!  Let your imagination run amok with the idea of cats, tinsel, Christmas trees...

Yikes!  Truly, I shudder to think!

So anyway, where was I?

Oh, yes!

I was not beating around the bush.

I wonder what bush it is that I'm not beating around?

Is it the same as the bush in "Here we go 'round the mulberry bush?"

Or maybe the bush that a bird in the hand is worth two birds in?

I'm guessing if there are two birds they are turtle doves, because that's how the song goes.  You know, "On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves..."  Yeah.  Like that.

Except not a partridge, because he was in a pear tree and we are certainly not beating around the pear tree!

Boy!  All this not beating around things is making me a little dizzy!

So maybe I'll stop and just tell you about

The 4th Annual Holiday Contest!!!

WINNERS!!!

:)

I was once again thrilled to see so many wonderful stories!  Really!  It is amazing and inspiring, not to mention VERY entertaining!  There is just so much talent out there amongst you all!

But with large entry numbers, all of high quality, come hard choices.  My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Tuesday for your vote.

There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another.

So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:

1.  For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
     Leslie Tribble for The Perfect Christmas Tree
     Anne Bromley for Christmas Eve At Gate 25   
     Lauri Meyers for Jimmy Cantore Steals Christmas

2. For Fabulous Fun Kid-Friendly Stories (That Sadly Fell Short On The Weather Element But Were Too Good Not To Recognize!):
     Stacy Jensen for How Do I Fix This?
     Bridget Magee for Dear Santa
     Margaret Greanias for A Little Christmas Wish
     Pam Vaughan for My Snowman Is Sick
     Jim Jones for Snowflake...A Christmas Tail

3. For We-Loved-It-But-Thought-The Humor-Was-A-Little-Too-Grown-Up :)
      (and seriously, these were terrific entries, well written and funny!)
     Mike Allegra for Carbon Christmas
     Heather Preusser for Dreaming Of A White Christmas  
     Kristen Foote for Polar Warming
     Hilary (Swann?) for No Sweat Santa
     Kathy Halsey for Whether Or Not To Ho-Ho-Ho
  
4. For Sweet Stories That Exemplified Christmas Spirit:
     Sharon Wilson for A Little Christmas Miracle
     Patricia Corcoran for The Christmas Miracle
     Sally Suehler for Just Ice And Snow
   
5. For Fantastic Word Play:
     Amy Ozay for Rain, dear

6.  For Best First Line:
     James Lloyd for Pablo's First Christmas
   
7. For Best-Written Original Point Of View:
     Carol Lescinski for The Best Christmas (excellent stuffed dog POV!)
     Summer Hinderer for The Snow Miracle (POV of gingerbread people in Gingerbreadville!)

8. For Best Action Story:
     Caren Cantrell for Northern Exposure

and

9.  The Keep Up The Great Writing Award goes to:
     Ms. Leach's First Grade for Hopeful Christmas Eve
     And first graders, your special prize will be Happily Ever Madlibs and Once Upon A Madlibs, which we hope you will enjoy doing as a class on days when you can't go out for recess or something :) as well as 2 StoryWorld Create-A-Story Kits: Quests And Adventures and Fairy Magic which can be used in lots of fun ways to inspire writing and storytelling (and for even more fun you can pull cards from both decks to expand possibilities!)  Thank you for writing another wonderful story for all of us to enjoy!

Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories!  You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about)

For Kindle:

Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard OR

The Easy Way To Write Picture Books That Sell by Robyn Parnell OR

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR

The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR

The Ultimate Fiction Thesaurus by Sam Stone OR

In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell OR

The Six Senses In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Bleak To Bold Narrative by Jessica Bell OR

Adverbs And Cliches In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions Of Adverbs & Cliches Into Gourmet Imagery by Jessica Bell OR

Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR

Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt

And now...

...the moment you've all been waiting for...

The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2014 HOLIDAY CONTEST as voted on by you!!!

rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat

DDDRRRUUUMMM RRROOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

In First Place...

Winner of the whole shebang...

who gets first choice of all the prizes...

Randi Sonenshine

for The Rumbledy Jumbledy Holiday Feast!!!

Congratulations, Randi, on a fabulous and fun entry that was clearly very popular!!! :)

In Second Place...

Elaine Kiely Kearns

for 'Twas The Stormy Night Before Christmas

Congratulations, Elaine!!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Randy makes her choice.

In Third Place...

Katey Howes

for Snow Swirls

Congratulations, Katey!  You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Randy and Elaine choose theirs.

In Fourth Place...

Julie Abery

for Santa's Satnav

Congratulations, Julie!  You get to pick after Randy, Elaine and Katey.

In Fifth Place...

Anika Denise

for Little Christmas, BIG SNOW

Congratulations, Anika!  You get to pick after Randy, Elaine, Katey, and Julie.

In Sixth Place...

Bronwyn Deaver

for Jack Quits

Congratulations, Bronwyn!  I'm sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now :)

In Seventh Place...

Sylvia Liu

for Polar Woes

Congratulations, Sylvia!  You get to pick next :)

In Eighth Place...

Amelia Shearer

for The Night The Sun Stayed Up

Congratulations, Amelia!  You get to pick a prize after Sylvia!

In Ninth Place, we have a tie! between

Johnell DeWitt                      and                      Teresa Robeson

for A Djiboutian Christmas                              Sandstorm Santa

Congratulations, Johnell and Teresa!  You get to pick next!

In Eleventh Place...

Kirsten Bock

for Hurricane Coal

And in Twelfth Place, rounding out the top dozen of these amazing finalists and the 100 Holiday Contest Entries for 2014...

Carol Ann Martin

for Wish You'd Been Here

All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes!  And for your convenience, the whole prize list is included at the bottom of this post.

Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest.  You all deserve a huge round of applause, a tinsel parade (clumpy or stringy, however you like it :)), and a large amount of Figgy Pudding (which truthfully I don't know what that is, but apparently it's something we all want some of :))

Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals.  It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!

As I... hmm... maybe didn't mention...?, I'm taking a little blogging break so I can spend time with my family - I've got cookies to bake, Christmas presents to shop for and wrap, and my sister and her family are arriving form Georgia on Monday! :) -  so I will see you all in a couple weeks - most probably Wednesday January 7th for Would You Read It unless I have something really important to impart on Monday the 5th... but I'm not really foreseeing that :)

So now, I want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday filled with love, laughter, joy, and family, and a happy, healthy and successful new year!  It is a pleasure and a privilege to get to spend time with you all, and I'm happy and grateful to know each and every one of you!

Looking forward to all the things we'll do in 2015!

Happy Holidays, and all best wishes for a wonderful New Year!!!

Love,

Susanna

The Prizes!!!

- A picture book manuscript read and critique by Shari Dash Greenspan, Editor of the multi-award winning Flashlight Press!  I encourage you to sign up for their newsletter HERE!

 - A picture book manuscript read and critique by Jennifer Mattson, Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency!

 - Enrollment in Renee LaTulippe's highly praised and recommended Lyrical Language Lab Course (in a month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and Renee) ($249 value!)

 - Enrollment in Jon Bard and Laura Backes's fantastic Kindle Kids Mastery Course ($197 value!)

 - A website or blog design or redesign by Arturo Alviar.  Arturo will design (or redesign if you already have one that needs updating or a new look) a website or blog for the winner of this prize. The site will be built on Wordpress so that after he is done designing it, the winner can manage it themselves with ease. Arturo will include a Home/Welcome page, an About Me/Bio page, a Works/Books/Gallery section, and a Contact section (4 pages total), as well as a blog section if the winner would like to have that integrated with the new site. Different organizations can also be made, for example if the winner would like a "Services" section with separate "School Visits" and "Critiques" pages, or a "Works" section divided into "Black and White" and "Color" illustration galleries. The winner can choose any of the Wordpress themes (if they choose one that isn't free, the cost of the theme will be covered by them), or have Arturo choose a theme based on their vision, and Arturo will modify it based on their color and layout preferences (some themes will have more constraints than others). Arturo can also design a personalized banner or header image to customize the website.  If you already have a website and/or blog and prefer a redesign to update, refresh, or just redecorate, Arturo is willing to work with Blogger, Wix, Drupal, and Wordpress.

 - Enrollment in Making Picture Book Magic (my online picture book writing class - in March or a later month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and me)

 - A picture book manuscript critique by fabulous author Amy Dixon, author of MARATHON MOUSE and the forthcoming SOPHIE'S ANIMAL PARADE.

- A picture book manuscript critique from Katy Duffield, author of more than 20 books for children including Farmer McPeepers And His Missing Milk Cows (Cooper Square Publishing 2003) and upcoming titles Loud Lula (Two Lions) illustrated by Mike Boldt and Aliens Get the Sniffles, Too (Candlewick) illustrated by K.G. Campbell.

 - A picture book manuscript critique (rhyme or prose) from Penny Parker Klostermann who, after extensive experience critiquing for writing partners, members of various kid lit groups, and clients of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, is opening her own critique service!!!

Penny Parker Klostermann writes picture books and poetry. Her debut book, THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT, is coming from Random House Children’s, August 2015. Penny is represented by Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Click HERE to learn more about her critique service. 

 - 2015 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, a signed copy of Boy And Poi Poi Puppy by Linda Boyden, and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

 - a pack of Deb Lund's amazing Fiction Magic Cards

 - another pack of Deb Lund's amazing Fiction Magic Cards

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest - WINNERS!!!

Good Monday, everyone!

(Doesn't that sound so Shakespeare-y?  It's like Good Morrow :))

I know none of you has gotten a minute of rest or a wink of sleep for days, what with the torturous anticipation of finding out who the winners of the contest are!

The First Ever Pretty-Much-World-Famous Illustration Contest!!!

You've probably gnawed all the erasers off your pencils, bitten your nails to the quick, and lost 5 pounds from being unable to contemplate the idea of sustenance whilst in such a heightened state of suspense!  (That's okay, it means you can have triple helpings of chocolate on Wednesday when you stop by for Would You Read It :))

So I will not keep you in suspense any longer!

(I would not want to be responsible for one more brow wrinkle or gray hair of consternation and anxiety! :))

I just have one quick thing to say, which is that EVERYONE who entered this contest should be very proud of themselves.  You all showed up, put in the work, produced GORGEOUS book covers (which our authors are all so thrilled about!), followed guidelines, and worked to a deadline - all very important skills to practice when illustrating and/or writing is your profession :)  Even if you didn't make the finals, be assured that your illustrations were greatly enjoyed by many upon many!  Seriously!  I am not making this up.  The contest post with all your links had around 3 thousand views, which means lots of people were visiting you, even if they didn't all comment!  So we are giving you a round of thunderous applause - clapclapclapclapclap!!!!! - and you should pat yourselves on the back and have an extra slice of chocolate cake - you did good! :)

Also, I had a lovely time at the Hudson Children's Book Festival on Saturday.  I got to see my dear friends Iza Trapani (she of illustrious judging fame :)) and Nancy Furstinger, and I had the honor of being placed at a signing table right next to none other than Jane O'Connor (you know, Fancy Nancy Jane O'Connor!)  I felt like I was very much in the wrong place next to all that famousness!

And then I spent all day Sunday driving to Boston...

What?

You don't care?

That's kind of rude, don't you think?  When I was about to tell you about how I was forced encouraged to listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall straight through from start to finish at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning?  Which is not the most uplifting set of tunes, let me tell you, even though there's a lot of great music involved.  And I can tell you that by the end of the entire day of driving, certain parts of my anatomy were unComfortably Numb...

What?

Oh gosh!  Right!  I was supposed to be telling you about the winners!  Sorry.  My bad!

DDDDDRRRRRUUUUUMMMMM  RRRRROOOOOLLLLLLLLLL  PLEASE!!!!

The winner of the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest and a portfolio critique by Michael Garland!!! is:

Julie Rowan-Zoch

with her stunning cover for Elliah Terry's The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster!

Congratulations, Julie!  That is some cover!  It knocked a lot of socks off! :)

In second place, winner of a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials is

Donna Marie

with her bold and colorful cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Donna Marie!  Your cover was absolutely fabulous!

In third place,*

Louis Davilla Wiyono

with his humorous cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Louis!  Your cover was arresting! :)

In fourth place,*

Colleen Kosinski

with her winsome cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Colleen!  Your sweet cover made us feel sorry for the naughty Goldi :)

In fifth place,*

Anne Mitchell

with her delightful cover for Jennifer Caritas's The "Princess" And The Pete

Congratulations, Anne!  Your cover was so appealing!

In sixth place, winner of a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils is

Tiemdow Phumiruk

with her mischievous cover for Elliah Terry's The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Congratulations, Tiemdow!  Your cover was such fun!

* Third, fourth, and fifth place winners each have their choice of any one of the following books:

      - Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

      - A Caldecott Celebration - Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal by Leonard Marcus

      - Show & Tell - Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration by Dilys Evans

      - 2014 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market by Chuck Sambuchino

Winners, please email me so we can talk details :)

Thank you again to all the illustrators who participated in this contest and treated us all to such beautiful artwork; to our wonderful judges, Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing, without whom we could not have done this!; and to all the readers and viewers who visited, commented, and voted to celebrate these talented artists!  It is all of you who make these contests fun and worthwhile!  Hear! Hear!  What the heck!  Even though it's not Wednesday, let's have a little chocolate all around! :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, ALL!!!

Have a magnificent Monday, everyone! :)