Celebrate Literacy Guidelines
A Promotion of Young Authors

  1. Schools may enter three books plus one from special education. Schools with a population of over 300 students may enter one additional book for each 100 students above the initial 300. For example, a school with 625 students may enter a total of seven books, six from regular education and one from special education.

  2. The local council may submit up to a maximum of fourteen books from its local Celebrate Literacy Program to the state contest. One of the fourteen books may be from a special education category. The books may be selected from any classroom in any school system (public or private) in the state of Tennessee. Books by home-schooled students must be sent to the local council to be judged. Each book must have an official TRA entry blank, properly signed, to be eligible for state awards.

  3. Local councils are encouraged to grant "Celebrate Literacy" awards within the local setting. Participating teachers do not have to be members of TRA, but all entries must be screened by local councils and must be accompanied by an official entry blank for entering the contest. (For home-school entries, see #1)

  4. Acceptable genres include original tales, personal narratives, fables, allegories, parables, legends, biographical sketches, and tall tales. Poetry is not included, but narrative verse may rhyme. Entries may not include the use of story starters.

  5. Holistic evaluation will be used to determine awards. Books will be judged on total impressions including content, organization, sensory detail, word choice, grammar, mechanics, attractiveness, universal language usage, sense of story, originality, and format. The judges' decision is final in determining the winners. See Rubric

  6. Tennessee Reading Association awards will be given in three categories: gold, silver, and bronze. Honorable mention will be awarded to participants whose entries do not qualify due to not following state rules for the awards. In the case of multiple authorship, one award will be given to each book.

  7. The books are to be durably, securely, and neatly bound. Book covers/bindings will be evaluated on overall attractiveness, quality, neatness, and use of binding materials.

  8. ALL WORK MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE AUTHOR. Written pieces must be entirely original. Authors are encouraged to use ink or colored pencils rather than lead pencils. Stories may be typed. Multimedia book presentations may be submitted. Artwork is optional. Illustrations, photographs, and/or computer generated or imported visuals may be included. The using of technology must be executed by the author. In the case of very young or severely challenged children, if underwriting is necessary for the reader's comprehension, it should be done on a separate paper that corresponds to the book submitted. Books may be hand written or computer generated. Children using a Braille typewriter may have an adult write the Braille translation and include this with the Braille entry. ADULTS MAY NOT TYPE, WORD PROCESS, OR COMPUTER GENERATE FOR THE AUTHORS.

  9. Adults MAY NOT type, revise, edit, design, or tamper with the author's book design, writing, or illustrations in any way. To do so constitutes fraud. Adults maintain the role of consultant to the author through such strategies as conferences or Author's Chair. Adults may ask questions and elicit information from the author concerning the writing in progress or any part of the creation of the book. However, the author makes the final decision regarding the manuscript, from the selection of topic to the final draft.

  10. Invented spellings are acceptable. Use common sense in helping the author use conventional spelling. If the invented is one commonly used at the author's age, then it is acceptable in the final manuscript.

  11. All entries are to first be judged at the local council's level by a designated deadline (January 26, 2006). Local council chairpersons are to forward no more than fourteen entries to the state chairperson.

  • The Smoky Mountain Reading Council will submit a maximum of 14 books to the Tennessee Reading Association (TRA) for judging at the state level. Those 14 books will receive a gold, silver, or bronze meda. Entries that are not sent to the state will receive a certificate from the local council.

  • Please contact Kristen Whelahan with any questions. She can be reached by phone(609-1006) or by email-- kwdaydream@comcast.net

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