Tails of Hope short story contest for kids back in Pickering

The best way to ignite that creative writing spark is to start ‘em young and that’s exactly what Pickering Animal Services and the Pickering Public Library is doing with the annual Tails of Hope, a short story contest for children aged 5-12.

Previous winning entries have included literary adventures like The Turtle and the Coyote (Isabella), The Little Rescue (Katelyn) and The Tiger of the Underworld (Erum) and Animal Services Supervisor Lindsey Narraway said the goal is to help cultivate a generation that is “kind, confident, and empathetic” towards animals.

“This program promotes literacy and inspires children to express their individual creativity and love for animals,” Narraway said. “When these young authors see their stories professionally published, they experience the joy of accomplishment and the excitement of contributing to their local library’s collection.”

The program, delivered in partnership with the Library and HiFive Kids Dental & Braces, encourages children to develop an animal-related story for the chance to have it professionally published and made part of a permanent collection at the library.

There are three age categories: 5-7, 8-10 and 11-12.

Submission guidelines:

• Each page should be 8.5 x 11 (and be 14 to 20 pages long)
• All stories must have a biography of the author
• The story must include a cover with the title and ‘Written By’
• No watermarked images
• Only emailed stories will be accepted (do not submit cell photos for quality purposes)

Those interested are invited to join staff at George Ashe Library & Community Centre for a how-to workshop on May 27 at 4:30 p.m. with Pickering author, Sue Palmer, who will guide the young authors on how to write their own book.

Visit pickering.ca/StoryContest to learn more about the workshop, view submission guidelines, and register. The deadline to submit a story is July 12.