In it to win it!

I’m self-advocating-challenged at times (read as: I would rather sleep with a boa constrictor than brag) but, I have had a magical writing year so far. I love writing contests. They can trick me into writing new pieces which would otherwise not come to life. Plus, there's the sense of community which is a wonderful bonus in a very solo job. 

Some good news to share:  

My poem “Affectionately, the Pig” won fourth place in the Institute for Children’s Literature Rhyming Animal Poetry Contest. Here’s the certificate to prove it! If you get the ICL newsletter you can read my poem this week. *PLUS* my good friend Rebecca Gardyn Levington won 2^nd place for her frantic-checking-under-the-sheets-inducing poem “Centipedes Make Peculiar Pets.”

(Isn’t that fun? Honestly, it’s igniting my teenage joy of getting certificates. Totally displaying it next to my 8^th grader’s haul of certificates, trophies, and cords from the end of middle school.)

I had a very short run in Madness Poetry losing to the wonderful poet Jill Purtee. Our word was GRIDLOCK and the voting matched the theme. Read my poem and others here.

In May I was a finalist in the Spring Fling Kidlit contest with my poem “Weather is Funny” which you can read here. 

In April I made the list of winners in Vivian Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Words with my “Caterpillar Tea” which used some of the knowledge of larval plants from my days creating the school butterfly garden.

In March I won first place in the Kids Choice Kidlit Writing contest for my story HOW TO WALK A BANANA. I was particularly thrilled when a kindergarten class reached out to say they LOVED it.

  That’s the stuff right there!

In February I did not win at all!  But the Little Thoughts Press Silly Sonnets contest gave me a fun reason to describe my love for cheeseburgers. And Susanna Hill’s Valentiny let me play with things we think of in pairs. 

HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to my critique partners who play the games too and level up my work.

So, writer friends, why not join the fun? As the lotto guy always said, "You gotta be in it to win it." But in the case of writing contests, even if you don’t “win,” you still wrote something new which is its own prize.