CARRIE KARNES-FANNIN
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50 Precious Words 2023 Winners & Honorable Mentions

3/20/2023

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 Congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions in this year's 50 Precious Words contest!

​This was an amazing outpouring of creative talent--756 entries!--as well as support and celebration by the kidlit community. (Check out the list here. ) A heartfelt thank you to Vivian Kirkfield and the rest of the judges for all the time and care they put into reading and making decisions, as well as the generous prize donors. 

​I'm pleased to say my entry MY BEST FRIEND IS GONE AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS CHEW THE FURNITURE is among the honorable mentions. My muse for this piece Bodhi is stoked at being a little bit famous. 
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My Best Friend Is Gone and All I Want to Do is Chew the Furniture - My 50 Precious Words Contest 2023 Entry

3/3/2023

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It's that time again ~ the 50 Precious Words International Writing Contest.

This fun competition started in 2016 thanks to Vivian Kirkfield's unflagging enthusiasm and support for the kidlit creative community. Thank you to Vivian, the judges, and prize donors for your time and generosity!

Entries can be silly or serious, poetry or prose. You can let your imagination run wild! But, whatever the piece, it must be an actual story (with a beginning, middle, and end) and no more than 50 words.

Quite the challenge, right? I always love seeing what people come up with--you should check it out here, too. {{link}}

My 50-word entry was inspired by watching my dog cycle through the 5 stages of grief repeatedly one afternoon, as he ripped up one cheap squeaky ball after the other in quick succession. I had fun getting inside my pup's mind for this one.

Let me know what you think in the comments! 
MY BEST FRIEND IS GONE
AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS CHEW THE FURNITURE
by
Carrie Karnes-Fannin

 
So chewy! So slimy!

Ball and me. Me and Ball.

Best buds,
fur-ever.
 
Uh-oh. No.
 
NO.
 
Shh...Ball’s asleep.
​
Right?
​
Ball? Ball?
 
Grrr! C'mon, bounce...

Please? Pretty please?? I promise I’ll fetch you.

 
Oh, Ball. I miss...
 
...Woof!
 
So shiny! So fast!
 
Frisbee and me. Me and Frisbee.
 
Best buds,
fur-ever.


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2023 Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest Finalists and Honorable Mentions

3/1/2023

12 Comments

 
I'm thrilled to see my YA piece 'The Trouble with Chloe and Olivia' listed as an honorable mention! If you'd like to read my story, check it out here.

Read all about the finalists in PB, MG, and YA, as well as additional honorable mentions on Kailei Pew's blog here. 
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Baby's First Valentine

2/12/2023

15 Comments

 
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Just in time for Valentines!

​Once again, one of Susannah Hill's fun holiday-themed contests is getting the kidlit community's creative juices flowing. Between now and February 14th, enter a 214-word max story for the chance to win one of many fabulous prizes. [Check it all out here.]

The gist of the rules is that it must be 1) Kid appropriate, 2) Valentine themed, 3) incorporate this year's prompt/concept, which is skepticism, 4) and be a real story, with a beginning, middle, end.

I don't know how well I did with the story arc aspect.  But even so, I had fun with this little piece, which is a love letter to newer parents everywhere.

What do you think? Drop a note and let me know in the comments if you relate to this one.

Thanks for reading!
Baby's First Valentine​
by
Carrie Karnes-Fannin
PictureDescription: Toddler in yellow dress is being chased by toddler in dinosaur onesie, against a pink background. Heart confetti floats down all around them. (Illus. composed by me with Canva.)
You
might not believe this
​right now...
 
You
might not feel it,
with my small, sticky hand flung
across your face, with just one hour left
to sleep.
 
You
might be pressed
to imagine this as you discover the two bites
I took from the very last piece
of double-chocolate
pie.
 
You
might not see it,
while you scrub those knee-high crayon marks 
from the bathroom wall.
 
You
might not believe this
right now,
but...

...I love you.

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2nd Annual Kids' Choice Kidlit Contest

1/26/2023

16 Comments

 
My first writing contest entry of 2023 is officially in the books! And it's such a fun contest, too. 200 words max, with picture book, middle grade, and young adult categories. I love that this kidlit contest has kids--our actual readers-- as the judges. How perfect is that?

​(Check out the details and entries here. https://www.kaileipewbooks.com/post/the-second-annual-kids-choice-kidlit-writing-contest-is-open)
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A quick note about my entry: this story idea was inspired by a quote I came across recently:

“Then may I tell you that the very next words I read were these – ‘Chloe liked Olivia…’ Do not start. Do not blush. Let us admit in the privacy of our own society that these things sometimes happen. Sometimes women do like women.” - Virginia Woolf, A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN)


The Trouble with Chloe and Olivia
by
Carrie Karnes-Fannin

Word Count
: 195

Age Group: YA

My secondhand sneakers are scuffed. A splotch over the left toe resembles that old mystery director, Alfred Hitchcock.

Or maybe my grandfather.

Grandpa loves Hitchcock movies. While I’d never tell him this, I think it’s because he looks like Hitchcock. I’ve had time to study the Grandpa/Hitchcock stain since I’ve spent all morning avoiding this school...avoiding these new kids.

Only that isn’t right. They aren’t new—I am.

Two sparkly white tennis shoes and a pair of cowboy boots are ahead of me in line. I notice mud clinging to worn boot heels. Then they’re both turning...turning...turning toward me.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

It’s Tennis Shoes. Unicorn socks show above her double-knotted shoelaces. Her voice is low and musical. A leading lady’s voice.

I try to look up...to reply, “Chloe.”

My fingers twitch, longing for my camera. Why was everything easier behind a lens? My red canvas-covered right foot covers Hitchcock as my stomach flips. The smell of burnt fries and spoiled milk wafting through the cafeteria isn’t helping.

Even Alfred Hitchcock couldn’t solve the mystery of making friends here.

“Come on, Olivia,” Cowboy Boots says. “She’s weird.”

They go away.
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And The Fall Writing Frenzy Winners Are...

11/2/2022

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Image credit: Daniele Colucci for Unsplash // Image description: A narrow street or alley, paved with stone and lined with attached houses. It appears to be twilight with a few clouds in the sky. There is a single red-orange light attached to the outside of one of houses in the mid-ground, on the right hand side of the street.
The day we've been waiting for...the winners of the 2022 Fall Writing Frenzy are in! And I'm happy to report my 'Dark Thirty' piece won a prize. (Read it here:www.carriekarnesfannin.com/the-end-pages/fall-writing-frenzy-2022) 

It's a great one, too! The fabulous author and kidlit coach ​Ebony Lynn Mudd will critique one of my stories. I can't wait to work with her to take it to the next level.

Thank you to all my critique partners who helped me prepare this poem for prime time. A big congratulations to all the other winners and honorable mentions. Also, I'd like to give the judges and prize donors a heartfelt thank you. You guys rock!

Read all the winners and prizes here on Lydia's blog.
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  • about
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