2020 Slice of Life Prize Reveal

The 13th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC) will run from Sunday, March 1 through Tuesday, March 31. Everyone who participates in the adult challenge–not to be confused with the classroom challenge–for all 31 days will be eligible to win a prize at the end of the month.

This year, we are trying out some different ideas for prizes, and we are excited to share what will be happening in March with the community! The long and short of it is that instead of having the majority of the prizes given at the end of the month, we will have several prizes that we will be giving away throughout the month. In addition, there are a few prizes that require nominations from community members. You read that right. To be eligible for some of the prizes, you will have to be nominated by someone else.

So… without further explanation, here are the categories, the dates, and… yes… the prizes, too! Please click on the links to visit the pages of the donors, and be on the lookout for the eligibility forms in the announcements part of the daily call.

The Community Expander Prizes

The first prizes of the month will go to people who have intentionally and effectively expanded the community. Anyone who has recruited someone to join the SOLSC is eligible for this prize donated by Heinemann.

The SEAT Prize

The SEAT Prize is sponsored by Jennifer Serravallo. SEAT stands for Scribing Everyday Augmentable Time. If you make it through the first week, slicing every day and commenting daily on at least three other posts, then you will be eligible for the SEAT Prize.

The Welcome Wagon Prizes

Our Welcome Wagon volunteers are important people for the success of the SOLSC. If you are one, you will be eligible to win a Welcome Wagon Prize, sponsored by Stenhouse Publishers, and featuring our own Stacey Shubitz’s book, Welcome to Writing Workshop that she co-wrote with Lynne Dorfman.

Then, just to be sure they know how much we appreciate their time and support, later in the month of March, five more Welcome Wagon volunteers will be awarded a prize. This time, sponsored by Scholastic! Five lucky winners will receive a prize pack of the following five titles.

The Commenter of Quantity Prize

As in the past, we will have a commenting prize over the weekend of 3/13-3/15. If you comment on 50 or more posts over that weekend, you will be eligible for the Commenter of Quantity Prize, and you could win quite a quantity of picture books sponsored by Kids Can Press.

The Commenter of Quality Prize

Also in the spirit of commenting, we will also have a prize for the Commenter of Quality. This is our first nomination prize, as someone in the community must recognize, appreciate, and nominate someone else for leaving thoughtful, reflective, and meaningful comments. Amy Ludwig Vanderwater is our sponsor for the Commenter of Quality Prize.

The Laugh Out Loud Prize and the Tear Up But Love It Prize

We continue the nomination prizes with a Laugh Out Loud Prize, and a Tear Up But Love It Prize. If you read posts that make you laugh or cry, we invite you to nominate the authors for these prizes. Stenhouse Publishers is donating Start With Joy by Katie Cunningham to honor emotion, and Chronicle Books will add laughter with some humorous picture books.

The Mentor Prize

Mentors matter, and we invite you to nominate someone who has been a mentor to you in the SOLSC for the Mentor Prize. Clare Landrigan is our sponsor for this one with her donation of It’s All About the Books and a 20-minute Skype session to talk about anything related to literacy.

As we have in the past, we will have a number of prizes that we will give at the end of the month, but some of those will be in categories.

The First Timer Prize

Corwin Press is sponsoring a collection of prizes specifically for our first-time slicers! The titles include several professional books that have been published in the last two years!

The Returner

Kris Nystrom of the Connecticut Council of Teachers of English has donated gift cards. Three returning slicers will have the opportunity to select their own books from Barnes and Noble!

The Oak Prize

Five year participants will be eligible to win titles donated by Cinco Puntos Press. If you have been slicing for five years, you could be one of the three recipients of these picture books.

The Decade Prize

We have several slicers who have been slicing for ten years. If you’re one of them, then you are eligible to win the prize pack from Laurence King Publishing LTD.

The Bakers’ Dozen Prize

Thirteen years is a long time, and if you are one of our original slicers who are participating for that many years, then you are eligible for the Bakers’ Dozen Prize. This one is sponsored by Kate Roberts who has offered a signed book of choice.

The SOLSC Classic Prizes

Because we are staying true to some traditions, we have the Classic Prizes. No matter how many years you have been a member of the SOLSC community, if you wrote every day for the entire month, and you left at least three comments for other slicers every day, then you are eligible for a Classic Prize.

Karen Filewych is donating copies of her books. Two separate winners will receive a copy of How Do I Get Them To Write? and Freewriting With Purpose.

Erika Victor, a slicer in our community, is donating a few of her favorite things, including a collection of pens and teas.

Another one of our community members, Carrie Hepburn, is donating a Tree of Life Writing Journal to a slicer.

Many thanks to Emily Culbertson who is donating the Encyclopedia of Me: My Life from A-Z by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a notebook, and two pack of InkJoy pens to one lucky winner.

Three separate people will win one month Time to Write Online Writing Workshop enrollments from Teach Write.

The Spirit of the Challenge Prize

And last but not least– this is a big one! The Spirit of the Challenge Prize is for someone who embodies the spirit of the SOLSC community. This nominated person not only writes every day, but also leaves meaningful comments, supporting and mentoring other members in the community. A huge thank you to the Highlights Foundation! They are offering $1,000 toward a qualifying workshop or Unworkshop.