Inspiration Comes From Young Authors!

Sometimes it is difficult to come up with inspirational ideas for this blog.  Sometimes a big heap of inspiration falls right in my lap.  That is what happened when I found out that MrsP.com was going to be announcing the winners of their second "Be A Famous Writer" contest and they were asking for blogs and websites to announce and celebrate the winners along with them.

I jumped at the chance!

As writers, we are so often faced with a wall of doubt and obstacles to following our dreams.  But these kids can be our inspiration and example.  The came, they wrote, they won!  So, allow me to diverge from my regularly schedule posting and celebrate these awesome authors and tell you a little bit about them and the contest.

The amazing winners of this national contest are:

Briana Beebe, 8, of Centennial, Colorado, won top honors in the 4- to 8-year-old category for “Mountain Dog,” the story of a beloved pet that disappears during a family’s move to a new home.   

and

Bill Wang, 12, from West Linn, Oregon, won in the 9-13 age group for “Lucky the Bamboo Chopper,” the fable of a young panda bear who learns an important life lesson.

Congratulations Briana and Bill!  And in case being a famous writer wasn't enough, these creative and talented kids will also have their stories produced as videos on the website and will feature Mrs. P (TV star Kathy Kinney, who portrays Mrs. P and is one of the creators of the website) and original artwork by award-winning illustrator Robin E. Kaplan.  The videos will be posted on the website (www.MrsP.com) beginning in March.  Each winner will also receive an actual bound copy of the story and illustrations.  

Powell’s Books (www.Powells.com) will provide the Grand Prize winners and eight other finalists with gift certificates to its store. The stories will also be available as a free download bundle from iTunes on March 2nd in celebration of Read Across America Day. 

MrsP.com also announced that it will produce two other stories from the contest as videos for the website: “The Peanut Butter and Jelly Hotdog,” a clever and compassionate look at grade-school bullies; and “Ramona and the Fire,” a twist on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” fable. 

The judges for this year’s contest included: #1 best-selling author Meg Cabot (“The Princess Diaries”); Jim Davis, creator of Garfield; and Danny Kallis, creator of the Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and “The Suite Life on Deck."

Now, dear readers, kids from 26 states entered this contest.  That's a lot of aspiring writers!  So, I suggest we get our pens in high gear and churn out some AMAZING stories if we expect to be able to compete with this upcoming generation.  And it wouldn't hurt to get a few things out there to maybe inspire them right back.