Voices Of The Future: Ripple Foundation Announces Winners Of 2016-2017 Kids Write 4 Kids Creative Challenge

Ripple Foundation is excited to announce the winning entries of the 2016-2017 Kids Write 4 Kids (KW4K) Creative Challenge. Our contest winners are Emily Little, age 12, of Port Elgin, Ontario, author of Summon The Magic, and Olivia Simms, age 14, of Ottawa, Ontario, author of How To Be An Abbott. Both books are now available for purchase from Amazon, Apple iBooks Store and Kobo. All proceeds benefit the winners’ schools.

In her winning entry, Summon The Magic, Emily Little enters a realm of fantasy and adventure, as a young girl discovers she holds special powers, and finds herself on a mission to save a whole other world. Dragons, wizards and magic abound in this highly imaginative and creative tale.

Olivia Simms explores young adult themes of isolation, family conflict and relationships in her book, How To Be An Abbott. Feeling like an outsider both at home and in his small town, young teenager Evan gains a new perspective and a sense of belonging with the arrival of a new student and his colourful family.

Their stories were selected by a judging panel which included three youth judges, all previous Kids Write 4 Kids winners; multi-award-winning young adult author Karen Bass, author of Uncertain Soldier and Graffiti Knight; and Susan Marcus, Gemini Award-winning scriptwriter for Children’s Television, including Mr. Dressup. “It was thrilling to see such creativity, imagination and use of story structure by these young authors,” said Susan Marcus.

Olivia Simms commented on her thrill at becoming a published author:
“Winning Kids Write 4 Kids is one of the best things to ever happen to me in my entire life. Being published at 14 is crazy. Of course it was something I have wanted ever since I was young, but I always had the idea that it was more for adults. I mean, what makes a kid qualified to publish a book for real people to read, sit down and think about? But thanks to this opportunity, I know the better question is, why not? If I have ideas, why not share them? If I have something to say, why not say it? You have nothing to lose by putting yourself out there as an artist.”

For the first time, we invited Rebecca Greenfield, 2017 graduate student from Ontario College of Art and Design University to donate her time to illustrate the winning covers for Kids Write 4 Kids.

With the addition of these two new titles to its library of books written by children, for children, Ripple Foundation is now proudly supporting twelve youth authors from across Canada. Showcasing the diverse interests and imagination of our young authors, published books span a wide range of genres including humour, murder mystery, fables, poetry, fantasy and contemporary fiction. All Kids Write 4 Kids books are available in eBook format from Amazon, Apple iBooks Store and Kobo (CDN $3.99). They are also available in print from Amazon.

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For additional information, images or to request a book for review, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Media Contact:
www.ripplefoundation.ca
ada@ripplefoundation.ca
69 Yorkville Ave., Suite 208
Toronto, ON M5R 1B8
t. 416-928-0465

@kidswrite4kids
#kidswrite4kids

About Ripple Foundation
In 2012 Ripple Digital Publishing started Kids Write 4 Kids as a non-profit initiative to encourage kids to read, write and be creative. Due to the success of the contest, Ripple Foundation was established in 2015 as an official not-for-profit organization. Ripple Foundation believes that creativity, education and imagination are key components to success. The mandate of the organization is to fund, develop and facilitate initiatives that raise awareness of and promote creativity and education in youth across Canada. Visit http://www.ripplefoundation.ca for more information.

About Kids Write 4 Kids (KW4K)
Kids Write 4 Kids is a national annual creative writing challenge that encourages children and youth in grades 4-8 to submit original stories for a chance to become a published author. The proceeds from the sales of each year’s winning books are donated to the schools of each author to be put towards literacy programming in their communities. The KW4K program has been running since 2012 and is Ripple Foundation’s signature program. For more information on Kids Write 4 Kids Creative Challenge visit: http://www.ripplepublishing.ca/kids-write-4-kids-creative-challenge/

www.ripplefoundation.ca
ada@ripplefoundation.ca
69 Yorkville Ave., Suite 208
Toronto, ON M5R 1B8
t. 416-928-0465

This release was published on openPR.