Last day for Power of the Pen & Photography contest!

(I love our new logo!)

If you are still procrastinating, it's time to finish up your entries for Power of the Pen, our short story and poetry competition.

You can find the details here - http://www.hpl.ca/guides/power-pen-creative-writing-contest

Good luck to all of our entrants! It's been so nice seeing familiar faces as I look over the entries to make sure they follow the rules (pro-tip: check your word count, people!!).

Also, check out the photography contest. Take some awesome selfies and submit them today!!

EW book battle!

Here's a whole bunch of throwbacks! Entertainment Weekly is asking the question, what is the greatest YA book of ALL TIME?!

Okay, that's way too small so head over to their site to check out the contenders. Obviously the winner is Harry Potter. Right? RIGHT?

Power of the Pen Reminder!

Just a friendly reminder that you still have almost three weeks to submit your Power of the Pen poems and stories.

Even if (and maybe especially if) you're not confident in your writing, I really encourage you to submit and get some feedback. You could win an iPad just for entering!

Get the details here!

Also, a shout out to everyone who has already submitted. You're all submitting in the correct formats and it's making my life so much easier. High fives all around!

Awesome contests this summer!

The summer has kicked off in a BIG WAY! If you're wondering why there hasn't been more blog activity, I have to admit I've been busy registering all of you for Summer Reading! We have 4585 kids and teens registered as of this minute and that number is growing!

One of the tabs on your badge when you register for Summer Reading is to complete a contest entry. We have lots of awesome contests for teens, such as...

Power of the Pen

• write a poem or short story under 2500 words
• for ages 12-18
• chance to win an iPad or $100
• due August 31
• details here

Photography contests

• take an original photo 
• for ages 11 and up
• Different branches have different rules - it's running at Ancaster, Carlisle, Freelton, Lynden, Milgrove, Waterdown, Saltfleet and Terryberry.
• due dates also differ
• details here (pdf)

Cell Phone Film Festival

• use your cell phone, tablet or camera to shoot a short movie 
• for ages 12 and up
• Pick up a contest entry form at Kenilworth library for details 

Postcard Fiction Contest

• write original fiction 
• 250 words or less
• for ages 12-18
• due August 31
• details here

Monster Jam!!

(from the main hpl site...This sounds SO cool!)

Calling all Monster Jam fans! Have you got what it takes to be HPL’s reporter at Monster Jam? Tell us in 50 words or less and you could win a family pack of four tickets, including pit passes, to Monster Jam on Saturday April 6 at Copps Coliseum. We’ll even loan you a video camera so you can interview your favourite drivers.
Four reporters will be selected in the following age categories: 7 to 9, 10 to 12, 13 to 15 and 16 to 18. Please use our online entry form. Don’t have a computer at home? Visit your local branch and use one of ours! Contest closes Thursday, March 28 at 9 p.m. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 2.

Writing Contests!

Our 18th annual Power of the Pen awards ceremony is coming up on January 18th (and if you haven't RSVP'd yet, please do!).

There are also other Canadian writing competitions going on right (write?) now!

All you have to do is finish this paragraph:

I felt like I had been shot out of a cannon.  Who were these people? Where in the world was I? Before I could even get my bearings I was almost run over by. . .

and you could win a set of books by Eric Walters! Get more details here!

There is also the... 

Book Week 2013 Writing Contest

where you could win $250! The deadline is February 1 so get on this one soon! Get more details here.

Wrestlemania Winners!

I am pleased to announce our two Hamilton Public Library Wrestlemania Reading Challenge winners!

Jake Dunne and Paul Moore both had fabulous entries talking passionately about two of their favourite series (and, coincidentally mine), Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Congratulations, guys!

We'll hear if they're going to Wrestlemania in New Jersey in January. Fingers crossed!!

attention video makers!

The fabulous Vikki Vansickle, author extraordinaire is having a book trailer contest for her Clarissa and Benji series (ie. Words that Start with B, Love is a Four Letter Word and the soon to be released Days that End in Y).

She would love for anyone in grade 4+ to make a book trailer to celebrate the release of her newest book. You could win a prize pack from Scholastic books and a class visit from Vikki!! She is a really fabulous speaker and it would be a treat to have her.

To enter, check out the official rules over at Vikki's blog and feel free to pass it along to other readers and teachers and whatnot. You can actually enter as a group, if you want, so this would make an awesome school project!

Good luck young film makers!

Write Across Ontario

Check out this cool writing competition for students in Ontario. You can win up to $500!!

Basically three authors have started a story and your task is to finish it. Story Starter #2 has caught my eye - a dark mysterious stranger? Sounds interesting... but check them all out and see if you get inspired.

You can find all the contest details here. You have until December 15 February 1, 2012 to enter. Good luck!

edit: The date has been extended to February 1! Hurrah! Keep writing!

Nanowrimo!

Nanowrimo is right around the corner. Are any of you participating?

For those who don't know, Nanowrimo is a challenge to write a novel (~50,000 words) in the month of November. You can use the official Nano site to keep track of your words, chat with other writers and more.

I hope some of you try this great challenge! If you do, there are tons of great writing resources in the library to get you started. Pop into any branch of HPL and we'll help you find them.

Tapis Rouge Film Festival

Are you between 14 and 24 years old? Are you interested in the film industry? Would you like to be recognized in the community as a young short film maker?

If yes, then « TAPIS ROUGE » is for you!

You can find out more information on the film contest in English here and in French here.

Good luck!!

Writing Contest from Wattpad

Just got this interesting email from Simon and Schuster (a publishing company).

Want the chance to win a trip to NYC and get the inside scoop on publishing? Well now you can! Lisa McMann, the author of the Wake trilogy and The Unwanteds, and Pulse It have joined up with Wattpad to send one writer to NYC! You could win: A trip to NYC, home of the publishing industry! 2 nights in a hotel (with a parent/guardian) A day at Simon & Schuster's offices (a.k.a Pulse It HQ) to shadow an editor! A one-on-one meet & greet with Lisa McMann! Plus – get tons of extras throughout the contest! An exclusive extended first look at Lisa's new middle-grade novel The Unwanteds An exclusive sneak peek at Lisa's new teen novel coming out March 2012 — Dead to You Other exclusive content from Lisa like a playlist for Dead to You and why she wrote The Unwanteds To get the full lowdown, go to www.wattpad.com/contests! Or click the banner below!

It seems to be open to anyone 14-18 in US or Canada, so take a look and see if you're interested. The writing prompt at least looks very intriguing!

Write a play and become famous!

Calling all you creative types!

The Florida Studio Theatre WRITE A PLAY program is for young playwrights up to grade six and from grades seven to twelve. Entries should be one to five pages long. Winning plays will be performed by professional actors in Sarasota, Florida. All entries will receive a certificate of achievement.

The deadline for entries is  March 1, 2011

For more information, visit the Florida Studio Theatre website.

This contest is sponsored by the City of Hamilton's Mundialization Committee. Sarasota, Florida is a twin-city of Hamilton, Ontario.

Awesome Wrestlemania News!

You might remember that in October/November we had a Wrestlemania contest where you had to pledge to read five books to collect Wrestlemania trading cards. If you went a step further and created either a bookmark or a poster, you had a chance to win a trip to Wrestlemania in Atlanta if you were picked as the winner for our region (which includes Ontario, Quebec and the Eastern provinces).

Luke Taylor was the HPL winner with his fantastic poster depicting how he would defeat the current tag team champions with Alex Rider of the Alex Rider series. We sent his entry in to the American Library Association in Chicago so they could pick the winner from Eastern Canada and guess what??!! HE WON!! He's going to Wrestlemania in Atlanta in April! How awesome is that?! Not only that but the library has won $2000 and a set of books from Penguin and DK. We're definitely putting the money back into teen programming so watch out for some cool stuff to come.

Great job, Luke! Have fun in Atlanta!

Power of the Pen: Deadline extended

For those of you scrambling to finish your poems and short stories by the end of the month, you can breathe a little easier. The deadline for Power of the Pen has been extended to August 7th at 5 p.m.

(For those of you not in the know, Power of the Pen is Hamilton Public Library's annual teen writing competition. You can win prizes up to $100 and there's a nifty awards night at the end of November. For more details, click on the image or the link above).

Best of luck to those already entered and to those still trying to figure out if that semi-colon belongs there.

Arts of August

Interested in fashion? Art? Photography? Poetry? Then read on!

Arts of August is an arts competition put on by Living Rock. Submit works of art by August 16th on the themes of Peace, Equality, Love, and/or Diversity and have your artwork showcased at the Arts of August Grand Finale Showcase on Thursday August 26th at the Pearl Company. You can submit your art at any Hamilton Public Library branch or Living Rock downtown.

That's not all! There's also a fashion show tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Globe downtown (on Main between James and McNab).  Admission is only $2 and goes towards a great charitable cause.

Click the poster for more information. Interested in volunteering at either event? E-mail Living Rock and they'll let you know what they need.

Power of the Pen!

The deadline for Power of the Pen, HPL's annual writing competition, is coming up! If you haven't submitted writing so far, you have until July 31st. Check out the teen page for more information and to fill out an entry form. You can also read last year's winning entries. If you're on facebook and want to keep up to date with PoP, you can join our group.

Best of luck to everyone who has entered so far! I hope that $100 prize is yours!