Tag: kidlit

Orange circle with crimped edges reads "FWF Contestant 2026"
Challenges, writing contests

Fall Writing Frenzy 2026

Anne Rollins
Orange circle with crimped edges reads "FWF Contestant 2026"

Each year, the changing of seasons brings a number of kidlit contests around. Once again, I had a lot of fun writing an entry for the Fall Writing Frenzy, an annual kidlit contest hosted by Lydia Lukidis and Kaitlyn Sanchez. I chose picture #11 (below) for my prompt.

“Library Magic”

On a rainy Saturday, the sounds of childhood filled Northwood Institute from the cellar to the attics. No lessons, no chores, just hours for playing. . .  or for bullying.

Knowing she was an easy target, Alice escaped into the library. Here, thick walls shut out shouting and laughter, while worn carpet softened footfalls.

Alice breathed in the scent of aging paper and glue, ran a finger along the spines of a row of leatherbound tomes, and chose a volume at random.

Then the door crashed open and a pack of laughing boys tumbled into the room. “I think she came in here.”

She panicked when she recognized Tom’s voice. Had they noticed her? No—rows of shelves hid her from view. She crouched behind a chair and held her breath. Maybe they wouldn’t see her…

Strangely, the book in Alice’s hand grew warmer. Something glinted from between the pages. When she cracked it open, golden light poured out, blanketing her with warmth.

Tom passed Alice’s chair, looking directly at her. But he only said, “There’s no one here.” And the boys left.

He didn’t see me! But how? Alice stared at the book in awe. Reading really was magic!

Person with bare legs and knit socks sits on the floor, holding a cup of coffee. They are surrounded by books and autumn decorations.
By Magnific

If you enjoyed that, you should check out the other entries!

Picture Book Journey

Celebrate St. Francis

Anne Rollins

Did you know that October 4 is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi? As a saint, Francis seems to beloved by many people beyond the Roman Catholic Church. Many churches hold a “blessing of animals” ceremony on his feast day, and his statue frequently decorates gardens. You don’t have to be religious to respect his love of animals and the natural world.

As a child, animals were one of my special interests, so St. Francis was always one of my favorite saints. I loved the story of him “taming” the wolf of Gubbio. I’m glad I got to include Francis and the wolf in A is for Anthony, my booklet about saints and animals.

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Experiments in Serialization

Anne Rollins

This spring, Amazon announced that it would be launching a new service: Kindle Vella. It’s a format that sells stories by episode or chapter rather than selling the whole book. There are advantages to this format: you can start a book and give up on it without having to pay for the whole thing. And there are disadvantages, too: buying each chapter for a few cents often adds up to more than the price of a normal book, especially compared to inexpensive ebooks.

But that’s not the real thrill of Kindle Vella. The thrill of a serialized book is waiting each week for the next installment. It’s like the way watching a television episode worked back before shows became immediately available and bingeable, or like following a comic or manga one episode at a time.

What’s more, the weekly episode is easy to fit into a busy schedule. Even if one can’t spare a couple of hours of solid booktime, one can probably spare ten minutes to catch up on this week’s episode.

I know all about the thrill of serialization, because I’ve been reading serialized webcomics for the last couple of years. I still look forward to Fridays each week, because three of my favorite series drop their new episode on Friday . . . but that’s beside the point. The point is, this format has worked very well for some platforms. Whether Amazon can make their platform work is an open question; the audience for serial fictions may not overlap with the audience for Amazon’s existing self published works.

I admit that I have a vested interest in seeing if Vella can work: I have a young adult novella publishing on Vella for new. But the bigger question for me is not whether my story will work, but whether Vella will succeed in bringing serialized online fiction to a more mainstream audience. Are readers going to discover and populate Vella? Right now, it’s too early to tell, but I’ll be watching to see.

In the meantime, if you’re reading this, go ahead and give Vella a try. The first three episodes of every story are free, and there are lots of genres to pick from!

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Halloweensie 2018: “The Halloween Guest.”

Anne Rollins

Later, maybe I’ll make a proper introduction post. But today, I’m going to jump right into blogging with my entry for Susanna Hill’s “Halloweensie” contest. Here it is, my 100 word Halloween story:

“The Halloween Guest”

 

Halloween night was stormy. Grimalkin huddled under a dripping bush. Shiver!

When the witch’s cottage door cracked open, he took his chance and ran inside. Warmth! Light!

“Shoo, cat!” grumbled Tansy the witch.  A howl of the wind softened her heart: “You can stay, but just for the night.”

Grimalkin explored. So much to see: jars of herbs; bottles of potions; bubbling cauldron!

Sniff! That potion didn’t smell right. Grimalkin tipped a little catnip in and stirred clockwise. Better!

Tansy tasted the potion. “Sweet! With magic like that, you’d be a great familiar. What do you say?”

“Purr!” said Grimalkin.

monochrome photography of black cat
Photo by Crina Doltu on Pexels.com