When I enter Highlights for Children’s contests, I usually try to read the stories that won their previous contests. That helps me zero in on what they are looking for.
So, yesterday I browsed around the Calgary Public Library’s eLibrary, looking for the winning entries of Highlights’ previous contests. The eLibrary includes MasterFILE Premiere, an amazing resource. It is a database of magazine articles, including some children’s magazines. (Your library may have this resource. If so, I’ve included some very basic instructions for searching for children’s magazines, below.)
I found 16 of the most recent winning stories, and thought I would write a blog post to give them to all of you. But before I did that, I wanted to check with Highlights to make sure I wasn’t infringing on a copyright. I called their main phone number and explained to the person who answered what I needed to know, and she put me through to Judy Burke, the managing editor.
Well, what a fun experience that was. What an energetic upbeat person – exactly the voice you’d expect to hear at Highlights! She said I can’t post the winning stories, but I can link to their page where the winners are listed.
Judy also asked my name and after I told her, I mentioned that they had published a puzzle I’d submitted. She said that if a person has published ANYthing with them, their name is flagged. So whenever they send a new submission it has an advantage. That was nice to know!
She also suggested that I check out their brand-new blog, “Highlights Aha!”. What an exciting discovery! And it is MY kind of blog. Of course, that’s no big surprise, since their magazine is my kind of magazine. They stand for children and education and goodness.
I hope you check out the blog, and if you enter the contest, good luck!
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Instructions for using MasterFILE Premiere:
First login to your library’s webpage, and go to their electronic resources to find MasterFILE Premiere. (You may be able to search your library’s resources by typing in “MasterFILE Premiere” in the library’s search bar.)
You can find full text articles from children’s magazines in the MasterFILE Premiere databases by searching for the name of the magazine in the search bar. Then after you have searched for the name of the magazine, filter by publication on the left hand side, and click the name of the magazine.
I hope that’s helpful!
Happily Writing 