Mrs. P Shares Her Be- a- Famous Writer Contest

Mrs. P during the interview

Interview with Mrs. P - Celebrating 5 Years of her “Be-a-Famous Writer” Contest for Kids Grades K-4

What are you doing to celebrate the 5th anniversary of your writing contest? Well, I decided to check back in with past winners and finalists of the contest and created a “Where are they Now” series on my Reading is Cool blog. It will run for 8 weeks, and it will feature excerpts from the past winners new works & Q&A’s with the various young authors. It was so inspiring to read what these talented young writers have been up too, that I really wanted to share what they had to say to other kids and parents. There are some very wise insights.  Several have gone on to win some major writing awards, like the Scholastic Arts and Writing Contest, the Betty Award and the PBS Kids Go Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.  

I understand that you have made some changes this year for the contest can you tell me what they are?  Yes, we decided to work directly with teachers this year. We realized that it was a bit of a barrier for the parents to have to sign the permission form online, so now the teachers will be submitting the entry on behalf of their class.  Teachers will have a choice to do a group writing project for their story, or have individual stories done and then have their class vote on the one to submit.  Each class will be submitting just one story. We also changed the age groupings to have just one category from grades kindergarten to fourth grade.  Additionally, we have extended the contest to run from September 1st to November 15th, so there is more time for the teachers and students.  I am also very excited that we will be promoting a “live” event using Google Hangout and YouTube to stream my reading the winning story live!  Teacher Link    Here is a video just for teachers too!   Link to video

So what will the winning schools get as prizes?  Our sponsors, BuyerTopia, Tales2Go, Powell’s Books, Polka Dots Publishing, Penelope the Purple Pirate and myOn Reader are all great companies that promote the importance of reading for children.  They are making possible the purchase of books that the schools get to select themselves, and also an audio listening license from Tales2Go. 

Link to Prize Page

• Buyer Topia Gift Certificate for $100 to purchase books.
• One-year Subscription to Tales2Go for your Class Up to 10 users ($180 value)
• $150 in Powell’s Book Gift cards
• Penelope the Purple Pirate & Polka Dots Publishing will be making possible 2 copies of the story made into an actual book with color illustrations created by Robin Robinson for the classroom & school library
• The whole classroom will receive their very own Official Mrs. P Magic Universal Bookmarks (guaranteed to work in any book in the world!)

Who are the judges this year (wink, wink)? Well, we are thankful to have you as a judge with us this year!  You probably didn’t realize you were signing up to help my other elves did you?  And we also have Melissa Peterman  who is an actress and comedienne, best known for her role as Barbra Jean in the television comedy series Reba. Currently, she stars as Bonnie Wheeler in the ABC Family series Baby Daddy, and as host of ABC Family's Dancing Fools, ABCs Bet On Your Baby, and CMT's The Singing Bee.  She's also a mom to a 8 year old, so knows how to spot a good story.  And one more will be announced before the contest opens.  I have to keep a few surprises coming you know! Link to Judge Bio's

Why do you feel this type of contest is important for kids? It helps build confidence and self esteem.  And many of the students have gone on to be role models in their school or state of being a good a writer.  This is so important for others kids to see. Just like in sports and music programs where kids can win a competition, it’s important for kids to be able to be recognized for their writing.

Thank you for sharing. Can I check back later and ask the elves some insider information concerning the magic library? Of course, if they are not bowling or riding on their magic carpet to worlds beyond.

The contest opens September 1st for entries.  http://www.contest.mrsp.com/