Highlights for Children Fiction Contest 2014

Well, it's that time of year to put together a fictional story to enter Highlights for Children's fiction contest. The actual deadline is January 31, 2014. This year's theme, holiday stories, is similar to the 2006 category, the true spirit of holiday celebrations. I spent time reading a number of Highlights issues to get a renewed sense of what they publish and to find some of the previous contest winning stories. With no entry fee and good themes, this is one of the best and most competitive contests I've ever entered. Good luck to all those writers that enter this year! No matter the outcome, I've generated another story to add to my growing portfolio of manuscripts. Happy Writing! Ken

My New Friend, Albert

I recently wrote a picture book manuscript as part of PiBoIdMo, which has a monkey for a main character. Doesn't that sound familiar? No, this isn't Curious George pretending to be a monkey named Albert. This monkey's name is REALLY Albert. I'm not going to reveal any of the story, but I drafted the above and below rough sketches while writing the manuscript.