ANNOUNCING...Our 2022 Rate Your Story Spring Contest Winners
Admittedly, this was a tough year for our contest. We have all been through a tough few years with the pandemic and many of us have suffered sickness and losses of family and friends and jobs and even our normal way of life. We truly admire everyone for even getting an entry together in these trying times. You should be proud of yourself for putting yourself out there!
We received so many wonderful, promising ideas. So many we really had high hopes for! But many of them not as well-executed as they will eventually be with time, effort, revision, perhaps some re-visioning, and study.
We read the entire body of submissions over and over, trying to find multiple winners for each category. But it was hard. While promising, most did not have enough winning qualifications to stand out. If you missed our informative post from our Judges that includes a lot of the common concerns we found in the non-winning manuscripts, please view it here:
Not-So-Random Thoughts from the RYS "Writing with Heart" Contest Judges AND Results Update (rateyourstory.org) For those of you who elected for and have received feedback, let it sit for awhile and then truly give it a try! We really tried to convey items, that when addressed, will bring your stories to the next level.
Moving forward, we decided what crucial elements winners would have in common, and took it from there. We narrowed our award categories but were happy to find a number of fiction submissions we could stand behind.
But before we announce them, here's some exciting news -- anyone and everyone who entered this contest is invited to an Ask An Editor session with Alison Weiss from Pixel & Ink on Thursday, September 15th from 6:30 PM EST - 7:30 PM EST. On that date, enter the Zoom room here:
Participants will be verified from our list before being admitted to this event.
In addition, here are a few participant door prizes for entering:
Carrie Asner - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Send to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Colleen Miranda - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Send to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Debbi Daugherty - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Send to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Eliza- Jaramillo - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Send to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Melissa Valente - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Sent to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Susan Summers - FREE Rate Your Story Speedpass (Sent to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com)
Note: These must be submitted by October 1, 2022. No Exceptions.
Also, here's a participant badge for everyone to honor your accomplishments...
If you are an honorable mention or one of our winners below, feel free to grab this finalist badge...
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
These stood out from the rest to the Judges in one way or another, which we will note beside each entry.
Blackberry Pie by Andrew Fairchild
- this one had a great voice and a wonderfully sweet, southern sense of time and place. And blueberry dumplings!
Colleen and Wally by Stacey Gustafson
- this one had a strong girl main character, a cultural setting (Ireland) and was based upon a true story. And, it features a real walrus!
Little Monsters by Kathleen Jacobs
- this was a unique, fun and interactive story based upon monsters of Greek myth. This how-to care for these creatures builds a fun foundation for learning about this literary genre!
Wiggle Waggle Oops! By Karen Kovach
- this one dealt with body image and is inspired upon an actual rooster, who is well-known in South Florida. It features some fun, interactive language and takes the reader on a little visit to Key West.
PRIZES:
All Honorable Mentions will get a .15 Minute Zoom Session with Lynne Marie to discuss your submissions or peek at a revision. Schedule these here:
Note: These must be scheduled and completed by October 1, 2022. No Exceptions.
Congratulations, here is your badge...
THIRD PLACE
Mole's List by Ali Oxtby
---this sweet friendship story hit a few chords with the Judges and reminds us to always tell those we love how much we appreciate them.
PRIZES:
Submission Opportunity to Marisa Cleveland, Agent - The Seymour Agency
Submission Opportunity to Michele McAvoy, Publisher - The Little Press
Submission Opportunity to Helen H. Wu, Editor - Yeehoo Press
Also, a .30 Minute Zoom Session with Lynne Marie to discuss your submission or peek at a revision before you submit. Schedule these here:
Note: These submissions and/or zooms must be submitted and/or scheduled and completed by October 1, 2022. No Exceptions.
SECOND PLACE
Lothar and Duck-Duck by Katie Palazzola
--this one was fun, funny and ultimately very sweet. The Judges loved the character arc and heart in this one, as well as the unique characters and setting.
PRIZES:
Submission Opportunity to Marisa Cleveland, Agent - The Seymour Agency
Submission Opportunity to Michele McAvoy, Publisher - The Little Press
Submission Opportunity to Helen H. Wu, Editor - Yeehoo Press
Also, a .45 Minute Zoom Session with Lynne Marie to discuss your submission or peek at a revision before you submit. Schedule here:
Note: These submissions and/or zooms must be submitted and/or scheduled and completed by October 1, 2022. No Exceptions.
Congratulations, here is your badge...
AND NOW...FIRST PLACE
Finding Penny by Danna Zeiger
--this one absolutely stood out and grabbed us from the beginning. When speaking about heart (the "theme" of this contest), this story had it all! It featured both physical and emotional heart! It was hands down the winner and made all of us judges cry real tears! Such an important story, well-told!
PRIZES:
Submission Opportunity to Marisa Cleveland, Agent - The Seymour Agency
Submission Opportunity to Michele McAvoy, Publisher - The Little Press
Submission Opportunity to Helen H. Wu, Editor - Yeehoo Press
Also, a 1.0 Minute Zoom Session with Lynne Marie to discuss your submission or peek at a revision before you submit. Schedule here:
Note: These submissions and/or zooms must be submitted and/or scheduled and completed by October 1, 2022. No Exceptions.
Congratulations, here is your badge...
GENERAL PRIZEWINNER INSTRUCTIONS:
ZOOMS - please schedule through the Book Me link Book Lynne Marie (bookme.name)
SUBMISSION OPP - please send your submission to
We will forward these to the appropriate party and they will get back to you directly if interested.
SPEEDPASSES - Please send your submission to us, attached as a word .doc or .docx to RYSSpeedpass@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: All decisions by the Judges are final. All prizes awarded are final, although winners may decline to cash them in by allowing the redemption period to expire. Any prizes (or substitutions) that were not awarded during this contest will roll over to the next contest in Spring, 2023 if still available. If you have a great idea and well-executed you have a great shot to place in any of our categories, so start shining those manuscripts now!
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