Hello wonderful readers!
Well... this has been an amazing two months. I have had an absolute BLAST hosting the first annual Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest.
First and foremost, I have to thank you, Kid Judges. You are AMAZING and I could NOT have done this without you! I hope you had a really fun experience and learned a bit more about your taste throughout this process.
Now to our finalists, thank you all so much for your patience. I know the time frame on this contest was longer than most. But with kid judges, it was super important to me to keep the contest manageable for the kids. So thank you all for your patience!
And thank you for just making this entire experience an absolute blast. I am beyond grateful for the kind emails, positive comments, and connections made. What a wonderful thing we have done together. I am truly grateful!!
And now, it's time. Time to announce the WINNERS of the 1st ever Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest. Today, I will be announcing the winners. And then, over the course of the next few weeks, I will be sending the kid judges' comments out to our participants. You can choose to keep them to yourself or share them as you desire. I will also be creating posts with some of the general comments from the kids so that everyone can benefit from seeing their thoughts. This will take place over a few weeks as it's a LOT.
For those on this list, HUGE CONGRATS! To those who received an honorable mention, HUGE CONGRATS. And to those participants who were brave and put themselves out there, HUGE CONGRATS!! I am so happy with how this contest played out. Your entries were truly incredible. You should be proud of yourself simply for putting yourself out there.
Now, you are about to see the winners. I will then reach out to each of the winners and allow them to select a prize from our list of prizes. First, I will reach out to all three 1st place winners, then all three 2nd place winners, and so on and so forth until all the prizes are claimed. Please be patient with me as this may take a bit of time. If you are a winner, please have the prizes ranked in your mind so that you can choose quickly.
And now...
The WINNERS of the 1st Annual Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest
(For ease of reading, I will only be posting the titles and authors in this post. In future posts where I analyze the winners and kid comments, I will post the samples).
Young Adult Winners
1st Place: I'M NOT THAT INNOCENT
By: Ashlee Hashman
2nd Place: SCREAM QUEEN
By: Jessica Haster
3rd Place: FULL MOON
By: Bethany Walker
4th Place: THE WITCHES OF WONDERLAND
By: S.E. Reed
5th Place: THE NOTE
By: Sabrina Shah
6th Place: YEAR 2070
By: Kala Senthi
7th Place: FIRE GIRL
By: Amy Reitz
8th Place: 1917
By: Raluca Sirbu
Middle Grade Winners
1st Place: THE SECRET OF SCAREMERE FOREST
By: Gayle C. Krause
2nd Place: EVA AND THE CROWS
By: Cheryl MacAller
3rd Place: IT'S A DOG'S LIFE
By: Colleen Fogarty
4th Place: SCHOOL OF SECRETS
By: Penny Nolan
5th Place: PIRATE'S BOOTY
By: Mark Huffman
6th Place: IZZY HOFFMAN IS NOT A WITCH
By: Alyssa Alessi
7th Place: CANDYBOT
By: Ellen Seal
8th Place: SUNSET SISTERS
By: Abbi Lee
9th Place: THE HOUSE THAT ATE THE BOY
By: Sondra Eby Eisenstat
10th Place: FOUR HOURS TO GO
By: Jeannette Lee
Picture Book Winners
1st Place: I WANT A MOOSE
By: CJ Penko
2nd Place: THE SECRET ROOM
By: Becky Walker
3rd Place: TURTLE LOVES WAFFLES
By: Michaela Almeida
4th Place: SIR TOOTS
By: Hollie Wolverton
5th Place: GROWN-UPS HAVE IT ALL WRONG
By: Kimberly Bellanti-Bartho
6th Place: THE RUNAWAY UNDERWEAR
By: John P. Conery
7th Place: PORCUPINE PLOP
By: Katie Brandyberry
8th Place: THE OLD LADY WHO LIVED IN A...
By: Melanie Rowsell-Docherty
9th Place: NEVER-EVER!
By Julie Fruitticher Schroeder
10th Place: THE SUNSHINE CLUB
By: Kimberly Horch
11th Place: TIME TO GO!
By: Sasha Harris-Lovett
12th Place: UP YOUR NOSE
By: Tonnye Fletcher
13th Place: THE GIFT WRAP TRAP
By: Allison Strick
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR WINNERS!! I am seriously so blown away by the stories and by the community and connections made. If any of your Kids' Choice entries go on to find agents, be published, etc. Please let me know!
To all the winners, please check out THIS POST HERE to review the prizes and have your top choices in mind. I'll start reaching out to the winners today, but please feel free to make contact via Twitter DM or through my Contacts Page. If you can send me your email address, that will make this process even faster.
And again, I have to give another HUGE thank you to our Kid Judges. Without them, none of this would have been possible! And to everyone who entered, thank you! This was an amazing year and I'm already excited to host again in 2023!
I hope you'll leave a comment below congratulating our winners and making even more connections! And to everyone, the very best of luck on this journey. I cannot wait to have your stories on my shelves.
About Kailei Pew
Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's debut Middle Grade Book, KID MADE will be coming to you from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Winter 2024.