Want to make a difference on young writer's lives this summer? We've got a position for you. YABS is hiring a coordinator for WordsWorth 2010. For all the details, click here. But hurry - deadline for resumes is March 14, 2010.

Is your work in progress geared at kids 7 years old and under? The deadline for the Helen Sissons Canadian Children's Story Award Competition is March 31, 2010. A grand prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the author of an original unpublished manuscript of a story for children which reflects the diversity of the world's population. For full details, visit www.pacecanada.org or send you questions via e-mail to email@pacecanada.org.

The Writer's Union of Canada is pleased to launch its 14th annual Writing for Children Competition. To enter, writers are invited to submit a previously unpublished piece for children up to 1,500 words in the English language. In addition to a $1,500 prize, the winning entry will be submitted to three children's publishers. The deadline for entries is April 24, 2010. For complete rules and regulations, please visit www.writersunion.ca/cn.

Hey you! Young writers! The Young Alberta Book Society is now accepting sumissions for the Martyn Godfrey Young Writer's Award. We're looking for creative, fun stories between 500 and 1,500 words in length. You could win a free author visit to your school during Taleblazers, and a trip to WordsWorth 2010, a summer writing camp for kids who like to write, just about anything. Deadline for entries is May 21, 2010.

Itching to write for children? Alberta author Simon Rose presents two workshops, Writing Children's Books and Forming Fictional Characters. Sessions will be offered on Saturday, March 13 from 9:30 am - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 pm - 3:30 p.m. at Bowness High School in Calgary. (4627 - 77 Street, NW). Cost for particpants is $89. For more information, log on to www.chinooklearningservices.com/ContEd/AdultCourses. Rose is the author of six children's novels.

Celebrate World Storytelling Day (March 20) by taking part in a variety of events throughout Calgary, Olds, Sherwood Park and Edmonton. For a complete listing of the events, visit www.worldstorytellingday.webs.com/apps/calendar.

If you write for children, you won't want to miss out on The Changing Face of the Child Reader, a presentation sponsored by the Edmonton Children's Literature Roundtable. Guest speaker Margaret Mackay will explore how reading has changed for youth and what rapid contemporary developments mean for children's literature in the future. The presentation takes place March 18, 2010 at the Academy of King Edward (8525 - 101 Street, Edmonton), starting at 7:30 p.m.. Cost for non-members is $8. For more information, please call (780) 499-2927.

Interested in the art of storytelling? Join Ginger Mullen for a TALES Calgary storytelling workshop "Spring into Barnyard Stories" on March 20, 2010. Call Anne Cowling at (403) 282-5394 for full details.

Edmonton Children's Literature Roundtable presents Alberta author Teresa Toten, Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Academy at King Edward (8525 - 101 Street, Edmonton), beginning at 7:30 p.m. Learn how Teresa took ten years to mold Bright Red Kisses - and the complexities of writing a picture book.

Congratulations to YABS artist Hazel Hutchins, whose book Mattland has won the Marilyn Bailee Picture Book Award. Her novel, After, has also been shortlisted for the 2010 Red Maple Award. Awesome!

Woot! Alberta illustrator VAL LAWTON's book, Where Does Your Dog Sleep?, has been nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award. In 2009, this book received a bronze medal in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. Congrats, Val!

Planning to apply for an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Literary Arts Project Grant? The next deadline for application is February 15, 2010.

Hey kids! Your writing could win you a trip to the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. ATCO Electric wants you to tell them in 150 to 650 words how you are pursuing leadership and strive for excellence. Do you play or coach a sporting event? Paint, dance or excel at academics? Visit www.atco.com/celebratingexcellence for full details.

YABS is now on Facebook! Join our facebook group and keep up to date on all the latest news about YABS, our artist members and literary events across Alberta or use the group to post your own news and events!