FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Maria Pisano May 17, 2015 412-622-1459 [email protected]

WQED ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF ITS PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST Made Possible Locally by the EQT Foundation For the Past Six Years

PITTSBURGH– WQED announced the winners of its 2015 PBS KIDS Writers Contest (made possible locally by the EQT Foundation) during a Celebration today at WQED Studios.

Earlier this month, the public was invited to vote for the “Kid’s Public Choice Winner” from 16 finalists selected from over 900 entries received for this year’s contest throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. Over 3,800 votes were submitted online via the portal, a record number. The 2015 Kid’s Public Choice Winner chosen is: Dante Coury, 7 of St. Louise de Marillac Catholic School in Upper St. Clair for his story, Pizza Guy with 689 votes.

The winners of the 2015 WQED Writers Contest are:

KINDERGARTEN  First Place: Bear and Turtle by Brock McMullen, 6 of Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary, Greensburg  Second Place: Karate Man Fights Titaniac Again! by Eli Ramirez, 5 of O’Hara Elementary, Pittsburgh  Third Place: The Monster Who Scared People by Makenna Hilliard, 5 of Emily Brittain Elementary School, Butler  Honorable Mention: The Cat and the Weather by Meredith Wallace, 5 of Central Elementary School, Allison Park

FIRST GRADE  First Place: Carmen’s Big Hairy Pinchers by Mason Smaroff, 6 of St. Louise de Marillac Catholic School, Upper St. Clair  Second Place: Why Can’t I Remember? by Yul Choi, 6 of O’Hara Elementary, Pittsburgh  Third Place: The Adventures of Super Rock by Aidan Casey, 6 of Wyland Elementary, Allison Park  Honorable Mention: Pizza Guy by Dante Coury, 7 of St. Louise de Marillac Catholic School, Upper St. Clair

SECOND GRADE  First Place: Henry’s First Itch by Elizabeth Strittmatter, 8 of South Fayette Elementary School, Bridgeville

 Second Place: The Two Snowflake Friends by Elizabeth Crossan, 7, Bower Hill Elementary, McMurray  Third Place: Grandma’s Rainbow: A True Story by Julia Skalniak, 8 of St. Sylvester School, Pittsburgh  Honorable Mention: Too Late to Hibernate? by Ryan Watterson, 8 of Bower Hill Elementary, Venetia

THIRD GRADE  First Place: Courage by Beatrice Kuhn, 9 of St. Edmund’s Academy, Pittsburgh  Second Place: I’m Stuck in My Hole by Cricket Branstrom, 9 of Eisenhower Elementary School, Russell  Third Place: Foodtastrophe by Caroline Troll, 9, Homeschool, Somerset  Honorable Mention: Girl Vs. Cupcake by Kristian White, 9 of Penn Hills Elementary, Penn Hills

Partnering with WQED on its Writers Contest this year were West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB), witf which serves Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and PBS 39 (WLVT) serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. The winners’ stories narrated by them will be broadcast on iQKidsRadio.org and featured on Saturday Light Brigade (SLB) Radio throughout summer 2015. The winning stories were also be made into an original puppet play which was performed at today’s Celebration by Pittsburgh Puppet Works.

All of the winners’ stories are available to read and listen to via WQED’s Writers Contest page at: www.writeonkids.org.

WQED’s first place winners in grades Kindergarten to Third will advance to the national PBS KIDS Writers Contest. These winners include Brock, Mason, Elizabeth, and Beatrice whose stories will be read by a panel of some of America's foremost children's authors, illustrators, producers and media creators who will serve as honorary judges and rank the top 12 finalists.. National winners will be announced this summer and the winning stories will be featured on pbskids.org/writerscontest.

The national winners will receive prize packages including a library of ARTHUR® books by best-selling children’s author, Marc Brown, courtesy of national prizing sponsor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and a personal technology device courtesy of PBS. The PBS KIDS Writers Contest is produced by PBS and based on the Reading Rainbow® Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, a concept developed by WNED-TV, Buffalo.

The annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest is a national initiative designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on, active learning. The contest encourages children in grades K-3 to celebrate creativity by submitting their own original stories and illustrations.

To learn more about the contest, visit pbskids.org/writerscontest.

About WQED WQED changes lives by creating and sharing outstanding public media that educates, entertains, and inspires. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED Create; WQED WORLD; WQED Showcase; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online at www.wqedfm.org; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive (www.wqed.org) and iQ: smartmedia, WQED’s Educational initiative (www.wqed.org/edu).

About The EQT Foundation EQT and the EQT Foundation are committed to the social and economic vitality of our operating regions. For the past decade, the EQT Foundation has made a difference by supporting local programs and initiatives that involve education, community and economic development, the arts, and the environment. Together with a variety of non-profit organizations, the EQT Foundation develops strong partnerships that enrich the diversity and viability of our communities, sustain the principles of continuous learning, and focus on environmental protection efforts.

About West Virginia Public Broadcasting West Virginia Public Broadcasting nurtures personal growth, promotes civic responsibility and inspires lifelong discovery through high-quality programming and services. West Virginia Public Radio, West Virginia PBS, wvpubcast.org and Ready To Learn® are all services of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

The Friends of West Virginia Public Broadcasting is a 501(c)3 organization responsible for receiving donated funds from individuals for annual membership to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Friends serve as ambassadors in their communities on behalf of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

All of the licenses for West Virginia Public Broadcasting are held by the West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, Kay Goodwin, Secretary.

About WITF Based in Harrisburg, witf is a trusted, valued supplier of programs and services that both satisfy and stimulate curiosity for residents in every community in the central Pennsylvania region. witf broadcast services reach audiences in over 17 counties in central Pennsylvania. The company comprises public broadcasting stations witf TV, witf 89.5 & 93.3, the RadioPA Network , witf.org, witf Educational Services, Top Flight Media, Media Solutions and regional magazine Central PA (published by The Patriot-News in an association with witf). witf’s mission is to strengthen our communities by connecting us to each other and to opportunities for lifelong learning. Its vision is engaging minds, enriching lives, uniquely.

About PBS 39 PBS39 is a community-owned public television station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, PA, serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 has the potential to reach 6 million people in our viewing area. PBS39 educates, inspires, informs and entertains while stimulating and disseminating the exchange of ideas for community enrichment.

About Saturday Light Brigade SLB Radio Productions, Inc. (SLB) uses radio and audio to encourage, amplify, share and archive the ideas, stories, and feelings of children, youth and families. SLB believes in radio and audio because these technologies enable a sense of intimacy, engagement and self-directed imagination that is often lacking in other media, while also promoting opportunities for privacy (given that children need not be photographed), equal access (audio has fewer barriers for participation than other media), and sharpening of important life skills (i.e., speaking and listening, imagination, creative expression, and critical thinking, respect for others, confidence and cooperation, and technical curiosity).

About PBS KIDS PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS also offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning. The PBS KIDS Video App is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.

About WNED Through WNED-TV, ThinkBright and Well/WORLD TV, WBFO-FM 88.7 and Classical 94.5 WNED, member- supported WNED|WBFO provides high-quality programming and services to local, regional and national audiences that enlighten, inspire, entertain and educate Western New York and Southern Ontario communities. Additional information about WNED|WBFO can be found at wned.org.

About Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a division of Hachette Book Group (HBG), a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. HBG publishes under the divisions of Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, Orbit, Hachette Nashville, and Hachette Digital. For more information, visit hbgusa.com.