Winter Story Summit Adjusts Word Count to 300 Words for Reading Is Fundamental Scholarship
For Best Children’s Story
The Winter Story Summit announced a change in rules for applications to win the Reading is Fundamental Scholarship for the best children’s story. The new word count base is a story of 300 words or more.
“We received a number of earnest requests from authors to adjust the word count down from our original 1500 words or more rule. Because of these requests, we have changed the word count to 300 words,” says Story Summit Founder, David Kirkpatrick. “The applicants were right, some of the best children’s classics are significantly less than 1500 words. Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book, Where the Wild Things Are would not have been eligible (336 words), nor would Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree (661 words).
The new application rule is effective immediately. To learn more about the Story Summit’s Reading is Fundamental Scholarship or to register and upload your unpublished story, go here.
Applications close Friday, December 20, 2019 at 8 PM Pacific.
The full tuition scholarship from Reading is Fundamental will provide full access for the winner and his/or her guest to the Winter Story Summit. Story Summits are conducted seasonally and attended by an international group of writers of all ages and experiences to encourage excellence in craft, creativity, and community.
The winner of the full tuition scholarship will be mentored by Debra Engle and Tab Murphy. Debra Engle is a best-selling author with her new novel, Twenty, in bookstores in January 2020. Tab Murphy in a screenwriter who wrote several Disney animated classics including Tarzan, Brother Bear, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
“To have Deb Engle and Tab Murphy mentoring aspiring children’s writers is beyond exciting,” says Ed DeLeon, Chief Program Officer of Reading is Fundamental. “Children’s stories may be the most important stories of all. It’s where young ones are introduced to love, hope and imagination. Reading is Fundamental is delighted to encourage the storytellers of tomorrow.”
About Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to a literate America by inspiring a passion for reading among all children, providing quality content to create impact, and engaging communities in the solution to give every child the fundamentals for success. As the nation’s largest nonprofit organization for children’s literacy, RIF has provided more than 416 million books to 50 million kids in all 50 states, inspiring
Story Summits acknowledge, refresh and inspire gifted writers in an immersive and inviting global setting. A stimulating community of successful writers guide Summit participants in completing writing projects, the goal being to launch scripts and novels as commercial products. Go here for more information on the summits.
