Category Archives: Competition

Short Kid Stories Author published on Amazon!

GP POP

While working on his book of memoir stories, POP was asked to write a children’s tale based on an illustration given by a magazine publisher.

Soon after, he began a competition with himself, to write another one… better than the other one.

Now, after much fanfare from kids and grandkids he has published his first children’s eBook… “Tales From The Hill And Burrow.”

(The print version is soon to come in late spring)

Three charming contemporary folk tales for young and old alike.

Just click on the picture below and there you go to Amazon!

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day Story Competiiton Results

Kids' short story author Deirdre McCarthy playing harp at an Irish music festival Kids' short story author Jim McCarthy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the wife and husband writing duo of Deirdre and Jim McCarthy for winning this year’s St. Patrick’s day story competition with their joint entry Micheleen Emmett O’Shea. This story will be featured on the site through St. Patrick’s day and for the rest of next week. Alongside is featured one of Deirdre’s other works, The Rescue of Fairy Queen Maeve. You can read more about Deirdre McCarthy and Jim McCarthy on their author bio pages.

If you are in search of other stories of an Irish nature, check out our Irish Story Catalogue.

Laughing-leprechaun

 

Have  a great St. Patrick’s day on Mar 17th and celebrate the green!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa

Christmas competition results

 

I was delighted with the quality of the entries received for the The Night Before Christmas Santa and his sleigh with the reindeerChristmas story competition and for other submissions generally with a Christmas theme. It was a very difficult decision to make as any number of stories were worthy winners. But unfortunately I had committed to announcing one winner and putting them on the front page of the site, so in consultation with my co-judges (aged 8 and 11) we decided upon a winner.

But firstly there are a number of honorable mentions I would like to make.

Honorable Mentions

 

Brendan Farrell author photoThe Heart of Christmas by Brendan Farrell.

It’s Christmas-time, and Santa is tired – too tired to visit all the children of the world.   Who can he possibly find to take his place?   Can he find someone who understands what it takes to be Santa – who understands the heart of Christmas?

 

 

Carol-Bennett-author-photoThe Baby by Carol Bennett

The fictional story The Baby takes us back to the inn of Bethlehem. Leah and Naomi, two sisters living in a cruel world, come to the aid of strangers–and discover their Messiah.

 

ann lang author photoThe Seagull who couldn’t fly by Ann Lang

Flying was impossible for Sammy Seagull. His wings would just not open!
Last to leave his safe nest he had to find food and shelter before Christmas. Does he manage to do this?

 

jan fenimore author photoA Child of Light by Jan Fenimore

A re-telling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match-Seller set in modern times. It is the story of a child without a family who finds an older woman living on the streets and befriends her on Christmas Eve.

 

 

Sharon Krager author photoThe Christmas Visitor by Sharon Krager

A family put up a stranded stranger and discover the true meaning of Christmas.

 

 

Non-competition mentions

Dulce Rodrigues author photo signing bookRudolph the red-nosed reindeer by Dulce Rodrigues

Dulce’s explanation of the history of the famous story about  Rudolph, the most famous reindeer of all and retells it in her own words. Not specifically a competition submission, but is proving very popular on the site this Christmas

 

 

The Santa FlowerThe Santa Flower by Brian Martin

Everyone else was having such fun writing their Christmas stories, I had to get in on the act! Here’s a story I made up for my daughter, who kindly agreed to illustrate it. When the annual Santa Flower doesn’t bloom properly, everyone is worried. Then Annika gets a visit from a famous reindeer and takes a magical trip to the North Pole. Can she help Santa and save Christmas?

 

Kids' short story author Jim McCarthySanta’s Helpers and Santa and the Leprechauns by Jim McCarthy

These were not submitted specifically for the competition, however if you need a Christmas poem or two, check out Jim’s page.

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If you want to check out all of the Christmas content on Short Kid Stories, check out the full Christmas Stories Archive.

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Winning Entry

It’s hard to pick a winner when the submissions are of such quality. However I think you’ll all agree that the winning entry below is a worthy winner.

 

Noel 1 Naughty Noel by Nathan OserNaughty Noel by Nathan Oser.

It’s not easy for Noel being the son of Santa, especially when he’s the naughtiest kid in the North Pole.

 

 

A bit about the author:

Nathan Oser author photo

Nathan Oser

After moving from Kentucky bluegrass to the deserts of Arizona, Nathan Oser has found a home with his wife and daughter on the Japanese oceanside where he spends his days teaching English as a second language, exploring the cuisine, restringing his shredded guitars, sketching the scenery, and scribbling out stories.

Visit him at nathanoser.com for more yarns and doodles.

Congratulations Nathan, your story will be featured on the front page of Short Kid Stories over Christmas.

Conclusion

quill and inkKids flying on a book like a magic carpet ride

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first ever Short Kid Stories story competition. I really enjoyed receiving and reading all the entries and the quality was extremely high. I look forward to running more competitions next year, so keep writing!

 

Christmas Story Competition

Santa Claus with a small Christmas treeI don’t want to panic you, but it won’t be long before Christmas will be upon us!

Christmas is a great time for spending time with kids and reading them stories. I’d like to invite all authors out there to submit a Christmas story for the site.

Competition rules below. Get writing and submit please via the submission page. Good luck!

1st Prize: I’ll feature the winning story and author on the front page of ShortKidStories.com at Christmas. 

  • Word Count: 500 – 5,000 words
  • Submission deadline: 7th Dec 2014 @  midnight GMT
  • Include: Synopsis for the excerpt, word count and target age range
  • If you have not submitted to Short Kid Stories before, please provide a brief bio of yourself.

Children dancing around a Christmas tree for Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Fir Tree"

 

 

Illustration from Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story, The Fir Tree.