Category Archives: story

23

May. ’12

Fire Escape Writing Contest

_MG_4614 "Fire-Escape"

_MG_4614 “Fire-Escape” (Photo credit: Michael Menard)

Here is a contest that will appeal to many Houston youth that have at least one parent born in another country.
The following information comes from Mitali Perkins, an author who navigates the border between her Bengali roots and her California upbringing. For more information, please visit her website:
Do you love to weave words together?
Were you and/or one or both of your birth parents born in another country?
Do you live in the United States or Canada now?
Are you 13-19 years old?
If you answered yes to ALL of the questions above, YOU qualify to enter the 2011 Fire Escape Writing Contests! Submit an original, unpublished poem or piece of prose (fiction or non-fiction) that reflects some of the joys and struggles of growing up between two cultures in America. Mitali’s Fire Escape will only consider one poem and one piece of short fiction per person, so send your best work.

Contests
Poetry (up to three poems)
Short Fiction or Essay (up to 1000 words)
Prizes
Winner in each category: $50

How to submit an entry

  • Paste your poem or story into an e-mail message and send it to
    contests – at – mitaliperkins.com. I will not open attachments.
  • Proofread thoroughly and keep your presentation simple. Entries with spelling, grammar or punctuation errors and funky characters/fonts may be disqualified without notice. Do not include any clip art, images, or photos with your entry. Words only, please. Fiction longer than 1000 words will not be considered.
  • Include your name, age, and e-mail address in your e-mail. Also include your countr(ies) of origin. You and/or ONE of your birth parents must have been born outside North America. If you were born in Puerto Rico and are now living in one of the states or Canadian provinces, you qualify.
  • Current U.S. or Canadian residents only please, and previous winners are not eligible.
To qualify, your entry must be received by June 1, 2012.
REPEAT: You must be an immigrant or internationally adopted teen (or a teen with one immigrant parent) currently living in the United States or Canada.
NOTE: Failure to follow all of the contest guidelines will disqualify your entry.
Winning Poems and Stories will be published on the Fire Escape. Winners will be notified by July 30th. If you do not hear from us by September 15, 2012, you can assume that your entry was NOT a winner. Prizes must be claimed by September 30, 2012. Please note that editorial or any other personal comments will not be provided for contest submissions. The Fire Escape reserves the right to award no prizes if no entry meets the judge’s standards.
The Fire Escape seeks the following permissions from young authors: permission to publish your work on the web site, and permission to include your work in online archives after publication. Authors retain the copyright to their work. Once selected, winners must send their school information and a mailing address so that the Fire Escape can validate the entry and send the prize. Read the Fire Escape’s privacy policy for more information.
Posted by . Categories: contest, creativity, education, essay, family, poetry, story, student, student writing contest, writer, writers in the schools, writing. Tags: , . Leave a comment

11

May. ’12

Tiger Trouble

Roar! Roar! I hear the sound nearby. I see 10,000 black stripes. I am scared. “I am in India. I must watch out,” I say to myself. There is the sound again. Roar! Roar! Roar! I look back, then yell like crazy. There is an entire herd of tigers. They charge at me and are close on me. “Help! Help!” I yell. I run to a tree and scamper up it. Caw! Caw! I hear a crow who warns me of the tigers. I jump out of bed and look around. Phew!

By Sahana, 2nd grade

Posted by . Categories: animal, story, student, writers in the schools. Tags: . 1 Comment

18

Apr. ’12

Celebrate Earth Day with Writers in the Schools

Houston school children will celebrate Mother Earth at A Light in the Forest this Sunday afternoon at the Houston Arboretum. Please join us!

Who: Talented students from HISD schools

What: Come hear students from the WITS program read their nature-inspired poems, essays, and stories in celebration of Earth Day.

When: Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Where: Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Drive (map)

Cost: FREE and open to the public

Sponsors: Shell Oil Company, Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Kroger, The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation, Copy.com, and the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center.

Posted by . Categories: education, event, family, Houston, nature, poetry, Reading, spoken word, story, student, writers in the schools. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a comment

25

Mar. ’12

Secret Paradise

Forest Collage

Forest Collage (Photo credit: zebble)

I touched the magic pool of water and closed my eyes. The wind blew past my hair, whoosh. When I opened my eyes, I was in the forest!

I walk through a tangle of vines and branches. Aware of every detail around me, I listen to the wind whispering the secrets of the jungle, shhhh. I bend down, sniffing the delicate scent of the flowers.

As I rest in pleasure, a gentle rain starts to fall, plink, plink, plink. The combination of the fresh drizzle and the sweet honey tastes wonderful. When the drizzle stops, I can smell the warm, moist air and feel the wet leaves and soft ground. Feeling calm and pleasant, I lie down to rest as the little birds lullaby me to sleep, tweet, tweet, tweet.

By Elena, 2nd grade

Posted by . Categories: creativity, nature, place, story, student, writing. 1 Comment

22

Mar. ’12

The Rooster Chase

Rooster Polski: Kogut

Rooster Polski: Kogut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One morning my sister was going to feed the chickens.  She got dried corn and poured it on the floor of the porch.  Accidently, she put too much down, so she had to pick some up.  The fat rooster saw her, and he got mad.  His red hair stuck up on his head, and he charged at her.  My sister screamed!  After 3 or 4 laps around the house, she jumped onto the trampoline.  She thought the rooster would not be able to get her there, but he saw the corn in her hand, and he hopped up there.  He stared really mean at my sister.  My sister dropped the corn in a flash, and the rooster gobbled it up.   Now, my sister and I are really careful when we feed the chickens.

By Carmen, 4th grade

Posted by . Categories: animal, family, Houston, story, student, writers in the schools. 1 Comment

21

Mar. ’12

The Good Forest

Bears On The Beach

Bears On The Beach (Photo credit: RickC)

One day in the forest there was a mama bear and her two bear cubs, one girl and one boy.  They were trying to catch fish, and a crocodile came, but the littlest bear and the crocodile didn’t fight.  They became friends and shared the fish.  They went to the bears’ cave and the crocodile met the bears’ family.  The family didn’t like the crocodile.  The mom bear told her daughter, “Don’t be friends with that crocodile because it might be dangerous.”  The mom was right.  The crocodile was mean and hungry.  The little cub did not listen to her mom.  She thought the crocodile was nice, so she played with it.  Then, the crocodile tricked them. The little cubs were eating fish, and he came up behind them to attack.  But, the mama bear saw him.  She saved her cubs, but the crocodile bit her.  The bite was big and the mama bear couldn’t resist anymore, so the baby bears weren’t safe again.  Then, a little deer appeared and tried to help the bears.  But, the son of the crocodile came to help his dad.  The deer used her antlers to poke the crocodile.  She won.  The bears were all happy.  But, the deer was still a little mad because once at a party, the mama bear had tried to bite her, and her dad had attacked the bear.  The moral of this story is to always be nice to others because you never know when you might be in danger, even in a good forest.

By Cendi, 2nd grade

Posted by . Categories: animal, nature, story, student, writers in the schools. 2 Comments

02

Mar. ’12

Call for Submissions: Slinging Ink

From our friends at DiverseWorks:

Slinging Ink is a war of words in which you are invited to submit your own writing about a given theme.

Deadline for submissions: March 15, 2012.

The selected winner receives $100!

Stories and more – both true and imagined – from all the points of view of the babysitting experience: the parent, the babysitter, or the babysat.
Jockeying for an in-demand sitter on date-night, or coming home to a house in turmoil.  Making mad stacks as a pre-teen, raiding the fridge, or finding out what it takes to put the brats to bed. As a child: testing limits, exploring mischief while free of ordinary restraint, or falling in love.
As we know, babysitters may be adept or inept; they may be kind or cruel.
We’re looking not only for creative writing, but other short forms and documents, like letters, reports, memories, wish-lists, notes, manuals, proposals, complaints or recommendations.

Dig these out of your shoebox, or write them down for us.

To submit your brief submissions (between 1500 and 1800 words), first download the doc form or download this Google Doc form.

Please send COVER SHEET and RESPONSE TO THEME (in .DOC format) to slingingink@diverseworks.org by March 15.

A “blind” panel will select four writers in April and will invite them to read their work for an audience on May 8, 2012.

The audience will select a winner for the evening who will take away a $100 prize.

The review panel:  Hank Hancock, Kate Schmitt and Kyle Henricks.  More info about the panel here.

Send questions to Hank Hancock at hank@diverseworks.org.

Posted by . Categories: contest, essay, event, story, student, student writing contest, writer, writers in the schools, writing, writing prompts. Tags: , , . Leave a comment

03

Feb. ’12

PBS Kids GO! Writing Contest

HoustonPBS presents: PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest
Here is an announcement from our friends at HoustonPBS about the 2012 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest:

Calling Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Authors and Artists to enter the 2012 PBS KIDS GO! Writing Contest!

Children write and illustrate their own stories and enter for a chance to win great prizes at both the local and national level.

Entry deadline is Monday, March 19, 2012.

For Official Entry Form and Rules click on the link below or pick up a copy from the children’s librarian at your local public library.

Every child who enters will receive a certificate of achievement and 1st Place winners for each grade will represent HoustonPBS in the national contest.  Have fun writing and illustrating!

2012 Entry Form | 2012 Rules

Posted by . Categories: contest, creativity, story, student, student writing contest, writers in the schools. Tags: , , , . Leave a comment

08

Dec. ’11

Houston Texas Online Contest for Young Writers and Artists

Target by Jasper Johns

2012 Children’s Contest Rules

Subject = Adventure

The final deadline for entries is March 31, 2012. Children are encouraged to submit their work to Houston-Texas-Online as soon as possible. They will receive 10 extra points if they submit their work prior to December 31, 2011. These extra points will count toward the final judging.

Entries will be displayed on the web site once they are received so more people will be able to admire their work.

AGE  Children in grades 1 & 2 (also those who are 6 years old and not yet in 1st grade during the year of the contest) are eligible.

Children in grades 3 – 5 (also children in 6th grade who are 12 years of age any time during the year of the contest) are eligible.

QUALIFICATIONS  Children must be residents of Harris or Fort Bend County, Texas and may attend public or private school or be home schooled.

REGISTRATION  Any child who plans to enter the contest should be registered as soon as possible. You may simply send an email with the child’s name, grade, age and parent’s contact information.

ENTRIES  1st-2nd Grade – may compete in art. Only one entry may be submitted per child.

3rd-5th Grade – may choose only one category – either art, poetry or short stories. Only one entry may be submitted per child.
ART WORK  Art work must not exceed 18″ x 24″ and may be media of the child’s choice. If you are considering submitting art work other than water color, oils, pastels, chalk, crayons, colored pencils, etc., please send an email describing the type of art you are considering so that we may verify if it would be acceptable.um number of entries in each category = 100. The first 100 entries received will be eligible. Please submit your work as early as possible.

Original art entries should be delivered to Linda Moore. Please contact Linda when you have an art entry ready to drop off and she will furnish you the location.

POETRY Poetry must be neat and easy to read and limited to one single page. It is preferable if the entry is typed and double-spaced (Times roman, 12 pt), but may also be printed if child does not have access to a computer and printer.

SHORT STORIES  Short stories is a new category for 2012. Short stories should be no longer than two single pages, preferable typed (Times Roman, 12 pt.) and double spaced. If child does not have access to a computer and printer, they may print as long is it is very legible and limited to two single pages.

Entries for poetry and short stories may be emailed to Linda Moore or you may contact Linda for mailing instructions or address for personal delivery.

Each entry must have an entry form completely filled out in order to be eligible.

IMPORTANT  Do not put the child’s name or any other personal information on the “front” of the entry or they may be disqualified.

ENTRY FORMSEntry forms must be completely filled out and attached to the back of the entry

To print out an entry form, click here

If you cannot print the entry form, you may type or print the following information and either tape, tack or staple to the back of the submission

  • Child’s full name
  • Child’s birth date
  • Parent’s name
  • Home address (must reside in either Harris or Ft. Bend County)
  • Phone # (home, work, cell)
  • Email address
  • School Name
  • Grade
  • Principal
  • Teacher
  • Contact information for teacher or principal (phone # and/or email address)

AWARDS CEREMONY  Children must attend the awards ceremony to receive their awards. In case of an emergency, another family member or their teacher may accept the award for them.

Posted by . Categories: art, contest, essay, homeschooling, Houston, poetry, publishing, story, student, student writing contest, writers in the schools. Tags: . 1 Comment

28

Oct. ’11

Make Your Own Halloween Comics

MakeBeliefsComix.com is a site that invites you to make your own comics. This year they’ve created a special program to help you make scary comics for Halloween. The Halloween Digital Write-Able asks: Imagine you could create a frightening ghost story. What would your opening lines be, your key characters, and your closing lines?  Go fill out your story now!
Posted by . Categories: art, creativity, Holidays, story, student, writers in the schools, writing prompts. Tags: , , . Leave a comment

25

Oct. ’11

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMO) for Kids!

It’s time for young writers (and their teachers!) to sign up for National Novel Writing Month, which begins Nov. 1, 2011.  In 2010, 41,000 young writers participated in this fun, free event.  They committed to writing an entire novel in one month. Visit the NaNoWriMo website to register, and you will find support, resources, curriculum guides, and plenty of encouragement to help you meet your daily word count goal.

Once you sign up, you will be able to visit with fellow writers on the young writers forum, receive pep talks to keep you motivated, and even post your novel-in-progress at Figment!  It’s a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors.

Posted by . Categories: education, event, fiction, story, student, writer, writers in the schools, writing. Tags: , , , , . Leave a comment

14

Oct. ’11

Live, Laugh, Love with Allen Shamblin on November 3rd

Writers in the Schools (WITS) invites you to A Celebration of Story on November 3rd -  an evening of storytelling through music. Our featured performer, Allen Shamblin, is famous for penning chart-topping hits like Clay Walker’s “Live, Laugh, Love” and Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” He will be inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame along with country music superstars Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, John Bettis, and Thom Schuyler on October 16 in Nashville.

WITS will honor Katherine Center, best-selling novelist and former WITS writer for her influence on Houston’s literary arts community and for embodying the mission of WITS through her life’s work. Center’s work includes The Bright Side of Disaster, Everyone is Beautiful, and Get Lucky.

Join us for an inspirational celebration of music, power, and story! Proceeds from the event will provide yearlong literacy programs for underserved students in schools, hospitals, community centers, parks, hospitals, and homeless shelters.

Click here to purchase tables and tickets or contact us at 713.523.3877. For more information about table and ticket sponsorships, click here.

If you are unable to attend but would like to support WITS, visit our donate page. The schedule for the evening includes:

6:00 PM VIP reception

7:00 PM Registration and silent auction

8:00 PM Dinner

8:30 PM Story songs by Allen Shamblin

Silent auction items include: United Airlines vacation getaway, Wii and PS3 gaming systems, sports memorabilia, gift certificates from t’afia, Alley Theatre, Benjy’s, Houston Ballet, and many others.

Original art donated by:

Joe Acker
Ian Anderson
Michael Arcieri 
Long Chu
Aaron Courtland
Michael Guidry
Rebecca Kveton
Van McFarland
Tami Merrick
Donna E. Perkins
Patrick Palmer
Nicola Parente
Liz Conces Spencer
Richard Varela
Wendy Wagner

and many others.

SPONSORS

Poet Laureates
Kroger
Travelers

Pulitzer Prize Winners
H-E-B Tournament of Champions
Susman Godfrey, LLP
Wells Fargo

Newbery Medalists
Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing / Lizzie and Scott Fletcher
Deborah Detering
Christina Gonzalez
King & Spalding
Karen McKibben Morris and The Honorable William Morris
Xavier Peña
Sysco Corporation
Vinson & Elkins LLP

NY Times Bestsellers
Bristow Group Inc.
CenterPoint Energy
Jenny and Jim Elkins Fund
Eva Geer
MaryScott Hagle and Daniel Kornberg / Antonia Day and George Helland
Julie and David Itz
Lenora Noroski & Fred Insulbuch
Marcia and Michael Nichols
Emily and James Blackwell / Michael Pipkin
Patricia Delaney and Warren Rawson
Josephine and The Honorable Bill Rice
Nancy and Ken Spitler
United Airlines
Ann and Benjamin Ziker / BHP Billiton

HOST COMMITTEE

Greg P. Audel
Jessica Rossman and Gordon Bethune
Emily Pipkin Blackwell and James Blackwell
Stanley Chan
Carliss Chatman
Nicola Parente and Aaron Courtland
Jennifer Langdon and Joe Crownover
Melanie Malinowski and Andy Cunningham
Robin and Tony Davidson
Lizzie and Scott Fletcher
Nancy and Joe Ford
Tina and Craig Freedman
Jennifer LeGrand Howard
Lenora Noroski and Frank Inselbuch
Karen Walrond and Marcus Jennings
Shelley and Alexander Kaplan
MaryScott Hagle and Daniel Kornburg
Jacqueline S. Martin
Karen McKibben Morris and The Honorable William Morris
Whitney Botsford Morgan
Isabel Cowles Murphy and Christopher Murphy
Marcia and Michael Nichols
Roberta Weldon and James Pipkin
Josie Edwards and Monica Pope
Patricia Delaney and Warren Rawson
Josephine and The Honorable Bill Rice
Dr. Roxanne Riefkohl
Susan and Tom Scotty
Ginya and Clayton Trier
Laurette Veres
Andrea Ferguson White and The Honorable Bill White

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Xavier Peña, President
Christina Gonzalez, Vice President
Michael Pipkin, Treasurer
Garrick Malone, Secretary
Mark Cervenka
Brian S. Cheadle
Jane Creighton
David Francis
Beth McFarland Haag
Barry Hammond
Danielle Houston
Chanler Langham
Marcia Nichols
Amanda Martin Nicolo
Chris Porter
Sheleah Reed
Carolyn Rodz
Rachel Etheridge Solar
Julie Tran
Ann Ziker

Posted by . Categories: books, event, Houston, poetry, story, student, writers in the schools, writing. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

10

Oct. ’11

Africa

A rhino charging through Brum...

Image by Ned Trifle via Flickr

One day I traveled to Africa to see the animals.  When I got there, it was better than I thought.  I thought it was going to be plain and dry, but the landscape looked amazing.  I grabbed a backpack, a tent, a hunting knife, flashlight, and a shotgun, and I set off to the savannah.

I hiked for 3 days until I got to a pond where I saw 17 lions.  They were in their pride, and a few were laying down in the water.  I  hid behind a rock.  Then I got startled because a gazelle ran past me.  The lions noticed the gazelle too, and started to chase it.  I saw one lion pounce on it and smash it to the ground.  Then he suffocated it.  The rest of the pride went over and started to gnaw on it until it was a pile of bones.

I decided to take the long way home.  I passed elephants, zebras, and hyenas.  I was getting low on water on the 5th day.  I found a pond to fill up my canteen and then set out again.  That night I made camp and fell right to sleep.  I heard a slithering sound around midnight.  I pulled out my flashlight and saw a rattlesnake crawling near my sleeping bag.  I whipped out my knife and chopped off its head.  Its body was still moving, so I threw it out the tent.

After a rough night, I started off again.  I was following my compass north.  After a few hours of travel, I encountered a rhino.  He was charging at me.  I had just enough time to pull out my shotgun and shoot him between the eyes several times.  He fell right at my feet.  I was frightened. I had barely escaped that time.  I knew I had to get back to my camp.  I’d been gone two weeks.  I took the rhino’s horn as a souvenir of Africa.

When I got back home to the United States, I showed my friends the rhino horn, and they were astounded.  I told my friends I’d take them on a tour of Africa someday, as long as they learned how to shoot a shotgun first.

By Cameron, age 13

Posted by . Categories: essay, story, writers in the schools. Tags: , . Leave a comment