Teenz Ink: WINNERS!

The judges have spoken! Click on the banner to read the winning entries of our annual Teenz Ink short story contest. Close to 200 teens submitted stories this year. Thanks to everyone who participated, and a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our winners!

HIGH SCHOOL

First Place: An Empty Sky by Kelsie Anthea Davis

Second Place: Vodka and Chapstick by Laura Rangel

MIDDLE SCHOOL

First Place: Chased Through Time by Shira Hayes

Second Place: Yodeling Disaster by Kenza Holland

Teenz Ink Short Story Contest

Calling all writers! It's time to get inspired.

The library's annual Teen Read Week short story contest, Teenz Ink, starts next Monday, October 18th. The contest is for anyone in grades 6-12. You could win a $100 gift card! Get all of the details and the online entry form right here!

Geektastic!

GEEKTASTIC: STORIES FROM THE NERD HERD

Short on time? Check out a short story collection for great reads, in bite-sized increments. A great example is GEEKTASTIC, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci.

Are you a band geek or a Dungeon Master? Is World of Warcraft a way of life? Can you talk for hours on the finer points of Star Trek or Star Wars? Can you name every star in the Whedonverse? Are your video game skills beyond compare? Answer "yes" to any of these questions, and there's a good chance you will enjoy GEEKTASTIC. See what happens when worlds collide and a Jedi falls in love with a Klingon, find out the darker side of meeting your MMORPG crush, and see if a team of specialized geeks can try to help the head cheerleader talk nerdy to her boyfriend. All this and comics drawn by Scott Pilgrim's Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Check it out at your local library.

Zombies vs. Unicorns

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? A short story anthology due out in September called Zombies Vs. Unicorns hopes to settle the matter.

Some of your favorite YA authors are ready to take sides: Team Zombie includes Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Scott Westerfeld while Team Unicorn supporters include Meg Cabot, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, and Holly Black.

Where do YOUR allegiances lie? Take the poll on the Z vs. U website. As of this post, Team Unicorn is winning! BOOOOOO!

- a Team Zombie librarian