FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: George Hazimanolis January 5, 2015 412-622-1366 [email protected]
WQED ANNOUNCES ANNUAL PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST Tri-State Area Kids in Grades K-3 Encouraged to Submit Original Stories
PITTSBURGH – Today, WQED announced its annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest, designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on, active learning. Partnering with WQED Pittsburgh this year are West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB), witf which serves Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and PBS 39 (WLVT) serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. The Contest, made possible in part by local financial support from the EQT Foundation empowers children in grades K-3 to celebrate creativity and build literacy skills by writing and illustrating their very own stories.
“WQED is committed to helping area children build valuable literacy skills through fun, hands-on opportunities to express their creativity and explore their imagination, said Jennifer Stancil, Executive Director of Educational Partnerships, WQED. “Through providing opportunities for Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey kids to learn and explore through creative writing, WQED is making a commitment to its children and their long term success, in school and in life.”
How the Contest Works Beginning January 6, children in western and eastern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and western New Jersey can submit their entries to the PBS KIDS Writers Contest. WQED Pittsburgh will select local winners and award prizes including the opportunity to record their winning story. All finalists, past and present are broadcast on iQKidsRadio.org. This year’s winners will Saturday Light Brigade (SLB) Radio in of 2015.
The local winners will then be entered into the national contest where a panel of esteemed judges will rank the top 12 entries. National winners will be announced during the summer of 2015 and the winning stories will be featured on pbskids.org/writerscontest.
The national winners will receive prizing courtesy of national prizing sponsor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and 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. In the last three years, WQED has had seven national winners.
National Judges This year’s panel of national judges includes acclaimed writers and producers behind many PBS KIDS programs and prominent illustrators and authors working in the children’s media space. A full list of this year’s national judges will be released in January 2015.
Creative Writing Resources The Contest is supported by a robust set of resources for children, parents and teachers. Story ideas, activity sheets, along with the previous winning entries are available on the Contest website to inspire children during the brainstorming process. PBS LearningMedia is also offering a collection of online teacher resources for use in classrooms nationwide.
To enter the Contest and for more information on entry rules and contest resources visit www.writeonkids.org.
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: The Create Channel; WORLD Channel; 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, online, mobile and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including the PBS KIDS video player, now offering free streaming video accessible on computer- and mobile-device-based browsers. 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 Buffalo/Toronto 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 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.
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