2008 WTCI Young Writers & Illustrators Contest
Sponsors
About the Contest
For over 20 years Reading Rainbow has provided PBS viewers with TV good enough to read....encouraging children to discover books, reading and the love of learning. Now in it's fourteenth year, Reading Rainbow's Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest extends the mission by encouraging, challenging and rewarding pre-kindergarten through fifth graders to share their stories by creating their own picture books. Local Contest 1st place winners in kindergarten through third grade are sent on to the National Contest.
Write and illustrate your own story, and you could win Reading Rainbow books and DVDs, or other cool prizes!
The Contest is designed for easy partnering with schools, libraries, bookstores and other appropriate organizations/businesses. This is an excellent opportunity for community partners to encourage children's writing and story telling literacies.
Above all, Reading Rainbow's Young Writers and Illustrators Contest is meant to be fun -- and for children to be recognized for their creative efforts. WTCI provides certificates of achievement signed by host LeVar Burton to award to each child that enters.
Overview
All you need to do is tell your own story using your own words and pictures. All stories in the same grade will be judged together. Check out the entry form for guidelines for each grade.
Awards
WTCI's first through third place winners in each grade will receive a special prize package (including a Reading Rainbow video) and have their stories published on WTCI's Web site,
Every child is a winner! Just by sending us your story, you'll get a special certificate of achievement signed by Reading Rainbow's host, LaVar Burton.
For more information, contact Kevin Lusk, director of public information and community outreach, at 423-702-7815 or klusk@wtciTV.org.
Rules
1. How To Enter To enter, each participant and his or her parent or guardian must completely fill out, sign and submit the entry form (the “Entry Form”) available through participating PBS stations during the Contest Period or via the open qualifying competition. The information requested marked “optional” on the Entry Form may be completed at participant's discretion. Limit one entry per participant. Entry form must accompany the emtry. In the event of multiple entries, the first entry will be accepted and all other entries will be ignored. Sponsors reserve the right to verify that each prize recipient is qualified and entitled to receive his or her prize. Submission of an Entry Form constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) for Sponsors to use the participants' name, likeness, biographical information, information and materials contained in the Entry Form, photographs and any statements or remarks made about the Contest for advertising and promotional purpose without additional compensation.
2. Contest The Contest is open to students in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade. Each Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First grade participant must submit an original, single authored story (no co-authored stories) with a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 200 words. Each Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade participant must submit an original, single authored story (no co-authored stories) with a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 350 words. For purposes of counting words, include such words as “a”, “an”, and “the”, but do not include words on non-story pages such as the title page. Stories may be fact or fiction, prose or poetry. Text must be typed or printed legibly. Participants who cannot write may dictate their story to an adult, but the story must be the original work of the child. Invented spelling will be accepted. Stories must include at least five original, clear and colorful illustrations. Text and illustrations (or a combination of both) must appear on one side of each piece of paper and page numbers must appear on the back side of each piece of paper. Any failure to adhere to these Contest rules may result in disqualification.
The Contest includes both local qualifying competitions and a national competition. Local competitions will be sponsored and administered by participating PBS stations. Each participating PBS station will select a first place Kindergarten, First, Second and Third grade winner from the local competition entries. These first place local competition winners will have his or her entry submitted to the Sponsors for inclusion in the national competition. All winning local entries must be submitted by PBS stations to Sponsors for national judging no later than April 25, 2008. All WTCI submissions for the Tennessee Valley competition must be received no later than March 28, 2008.
3. Judging Entries will be judged on originality, creative expression, storytelling and integration of text and illustrations. Local qualifying competitions will be judged by a panel of judges selected by each participating PBS station. The open qualifying competition and the national competition will be judged by a panel of judges selected by the Sponsors. Judging for the national competition will occur during May and June, 2008. All decisions of the judges are final and not subject to appeal or review.
4. Prizes Prizes for the national competition shall be awarded for each grade level as follows: First Place Winner in each grade level shall receive a laptop computer; Second Place Winner in each grade level shall receive a flat panel TV with DVD player; Third Place Winner in each grade level shall receive an MP3 player. Winners in all of the above categories will also win 3 sets of 5 Reading Rainbow DVDs and feature books – one each for their school, community library and home.
Prize recipients should allow 4 to 6 weeks from notification for delivery. Prizes are non-transferable. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any prize for a prize of equal or greater value. Prizes for the local qualifying competitions shall be determined and awarded by participating local PBS stations.
5. Eligibility The Contest is open to students in Kindergarten, First, Second and Third grades. Employees of Sponsors, any participating PBS station or their affiliates, manufacturers, sales reps, subsidiaries or parent companies, advertising/sales promotion agencies, judges and the immediate families of each are not eligible. Void where prohibited. Entry materials become the property of Sponsors and may not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsors are not responsible for lost, late, damaged, misdirected or illegible Entry Forms or unsuccessful attempts to notify the prize recipients. All materials submitted as part of the Entry Form must be the participant's own original work. The Entry Form may not contain any unauthorized use of names, likeness or biographical information of any third parties.
6. Conditions All Federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsors are not responsible for any expenses incurred in connection with participation in the Contest. By submitting an Entry Form, each participant (and parent or guardian) agree to be bound by these Contest rules, and the decisions of Sponsors are final. Each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to release and hold Sponsors their employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, representatives and its subsidiaries, parent companies or other affiliated companies harmless from any and all damages, losses, claims and/or liabilities arising out of participation in the Contest or resulting from acceptance or claiming of any prize hereunder. Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to terminate, suspend or otherwise cancel the Contest at any time. Income and other taxes are the responsibility of the prize recipient.
7. Use Of Information Upon submission, each entry and the Entry Form become the sole property of the Sponsors. By submitting an entry and Entry Form, each participant (and parent or guardian) assigns all right, title, and interest in and to the entry and Entry Form to the Sponsors and warrants that the participant (and parent or guardian) have the authority to assign such right, title, and interest. In the event that any applicable law requires certain formalities to be fulfilled to effectuate such grant of rights, each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to cooperate with the Sponsors to achieve fulfillment of such formalities at Sponsors’ request.
8. Winners After August 1, 2008 visit (pbskids.org/readingrainbow) for the Reading Rainbow 14th Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest winners.
