ALIEN PET ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

Before I announce the winners, I want to say that choosing them was SO difficult because there were around 300 entries.

The essays were well-written, funny and wonderful. If you didn't win this time, enter my "MAGIC UNDER THE SEA" essay contest in the Fall to celebrate the release of Strange Encounters #3: SEA SWITCH, where a wicked mermaid turns Cassie Strange into a mermaid. Check www.LindaJoySingleton.com in August for details.

I'd like to thank my co-judges, picture book authors Verla Kay and Dana Kessimakis Smith. It was a big job to choose winners among so many fantastic essays. In fact, choosing was so difficult, instead of 5 third place winners, I picked 12. Also there was a tie for second place, so two entrants will receive $50. I plan to contact the winners by mail or phone soon. Then with their permission, I'll post a few here.

Here are the winning essays:
FIRST PlACE: My Alien Week by Kimberly Paquette

SECOND PLACE: (A tie!) My Alien Pet by Jori Silber & My Astonishing Alien by Michelle Vaisman

THIRD PLACE:
Chub by Erin Anderson
The Adventures of a Boy and His Pet Max by Kortney Walton
My Alien Pet by Sydney Ippolito
Morpha Ova by Maria L. Hodge
My New Alien Pet by Rachael Eberle
My Alien Adventures by Jackie Thelen
Star Surfer by Emily Ann Smith
Describe an Alien Pet by Kayla Gibbs
Jig My Alien Pet by Rebecca Tracy,
My Alien Pet by Timothy Brown Jr.
Koalaroo by Amriz Molina
Alien Pet by Jonathan Melchiorre

Congratulations to everyone who entered! You're amazing writers!