Attention Little Authors: Check Out the PBS Kids GO! Writing Contest

Do you have a little story teller in your family? If your child is in kindergarten through third grade, loves to write or tell stories and wants a chance to share a story with children nationwide, you should check out this year's PBS Kids GO! Writing contest.

The PBS Kids writing contest occurs on both a local and national level. First, your child's entry must be submitted to your local PBS station before the deadline (local deadlines vary; check here for yours). Then, if your child's story is picked as a local winner, it will be entered into the national story contest for a chance at winning a laptop computer, digital camera or mp3 player and to get featured on the PBS Kids GO! Website. All participants will, just for entering, receive a certificate of achievement featuring characters from the PBS children's shows.

If your local station isn't participating in the writing contest, your child will be eligible to participate independently by filling out this entry form.

To be eligible, your child and your child's story must meet certain criteria. These are as follows:

1. Children must be in the grades K-3. No younger or older children should participate.

2. "Children of employees of PBS, PBS stations or their affiliates, WNED, sales representatives, subsidiaries or parent companies, advertising/sales promotion agencies, and judges are not eligible." Basically, if you're in a position in which you can alter the outcome of this contest regardless of if you'd do it or not, your child shouldn't participate.

3. Children have to be legal residents of the United States. If they are not, they may face disqualification.

4. Only one entry per person, so you and your child will have to pick your favorite one for entry if there are several written.

5. No co-authored stories. This means brother and sister teams or best friend teams are out. Each child should come up with their own story for entry.

6. Eligible genres include fiction, nonfiction, poetry and prose. This leaves the topics wide open, but if your child is a skilled kindergarten contract lawyer who insists that's all she'll write, this may not be the contest for her.

7. There are rules on word count. Kindergarten and first grade authors must have a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 200. Second and third grade authors are required a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 350. The words "a", "an" and "the" count toward word count, but words on the illustrations (title page, thought bubbles, words on signs) do not.

8. Text must be printed legibly or typed. If your child cannot yet write, they may dictate the story to someone else (you, for example) and have that person type it up for them.

9. "Text may be on the illustration pages or submitted separately."

10. Non-English text must be translated on the same page. The translation, not the original non-English text, must meet the word count. If it is 50 words in Spanish but only 49 words translated to English, it may be disqualified.

11. "Invented spelling is accepted."

12. In addition to the story text, you child is required to provide at least 5 clear and colorful illustrations. These could be drawings, photographs, collages or 3D.

13. "Stories must be created on one side of the paper and numbered on the back of each page."

14. An official entry form is required to be completed and signed by the participant's parent or guardian. If the entry form isn't complete or legible, the entry will face disqualification. You can download the entry form online at your local PBS's website in most cases. If your station isn't participating in the contest, you must fill out this independent entry form.

15. If your child would like their story returned after the contest, you must submit a self addressed stamped envelope with the entry.

Judging will be based on creative expression, originality, storytelling and the integration of text and illustration. If you'd like to see what stories wowed the judges last year, you can view the previous winners here. Remember, although winning would be great, don't pressure your child too much. This is supposed to be a fun contest that teaches the joy of writing, not one that emphasizes having to be the very best.

National winners will be announced in June 2010. Local picks will likely be announced sooner. All of the national winning stories will be posted on the contest section of the PBS Kids GO! reading website for the summer of 2010 so children all over will be able to enjoy the stories.

For more information, please visit the official contest site or take a peek at the official rules, regulations and prizes. Good luck to all the young authors who participate!