Write and illustrate your own 10-15 page graphic novel, with original characters, story, and artwork. Content must be appropriate for ages 10-14.

The contest is open to anyone ages 10-14.

Submission deadline is August 9, 2008. 1st, 2nd and 3rd-place winners will be contacted August 16. All submissions must be left at the Kids Desk in an envelope marked with the author/illustrator’s name, age, address, phone number, and parent’s name.

Submissions may be retrieved after August 16, 2008.

Have fun, and good luck!

To check out some inspiring graphic novels that have already been published, click here.

The March Mystery Madness showdown has now reached its third week. During the last round, 48 books were voted off, leaving 16 behind to duke it out over the coming three weeks....

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As you may already know, we were pretty excited when we found out about March Mystery Madness last week. In fact, after a quick flurry of email conversations, we wound up sponsoring it.

With 64 of the best mystery and thriller novels pitted against each other in a six week competition, the first week of polling is done:

Narrow upsets, crushing defeats and last-second comebacks were all the rage. Blockbuster author Philip Margolin put up a fight, slashing his way to a narrow defeat against Andrew Taylor's Fallen Angel. Taylor now takes on Karin Slaughter, who squeaked out a narrow victory of her own over the beloved Louis Bayard and his The Pale Blue Eye. Will these close victories serve as inspiration or will fans of each author be satisfied just to be in the second round?

You can find the full list of 32 first-round winners here.

Don't forget to go vote for your favourites this week- it could mean a free library of 65 excellent books.

You can find out more about the books here.

HarperCollins Canada has launched a blog/contest called March Mystery Madness:

We're hoping that everyone finds March Mystery Madness blog worthy. It's a massive, really fun online event we're running over the next six weeks: 64 books, 4 conferences, tonnes of "games," and one ultimate winner. Essentially, it's the NCAA basketball tournament only with mystery books.

Battling mystery titles, hype, games and the chance to win 65 great mystery novels. What's not to love?

Link to March Mystery Madness

Thanks, Ragdoll

Geist Magazine is running a short-short writing contest: 500 words or less, action in at least two different Canadian time zones. Find the full details here.

McNally Robinson Booksellers will be hosting a special presentation and signing with internationally acclaimed author Kathy Reichs on Friday, October 19 at our Grant Park location in Winnipeg.

Reichs's Temperence Brennan series is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Simon & Schuster Canada has provided us with a complete set to give away.

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People have started to send in their David Gilmour Contest submissions. We've started to post entries in the event listing, here.

Remember, the contest deadline is October 9

Jon Evans, whose international thriller Night of Knives, will be published by Hodder & Stoughton this December, is running a peculiar type of contest that will influence the plot of his next book.

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Bookninja has been celebrating their fourth year of existence with a contest. Submit a photo of yourself reading their site, or posing with their logo, and you could win a t-shirt. It may sound silly, but if Saskatoon author Leona Theis is a proud ninja, maybe you could be too.

I bet a bookninja tattoo would win easily. Then again, maybe a t-shirt isn't quite worth a tattoo. Hold off on that until they turn ten, when I'm sure they'll be giving away ninja-branded iPods.

Previously: Welcome Bookninjas!