KAHANI ANNOUNCES ANNUAL YOUTH WRITING CONTEST
Cousin, River, and Turmeric are the Three New Words
 
            Newton, MA – With students back in school, it's time for Kahani's annual writing contest. Participants must pen a 500-word short story using this year's three new words: cousin, river, and turmeric.
            "Our contest last year was a resounding success," said Monika Jain, editor of the award-winning Kahani magazine. "Writers from all over the country sent us their stories. This year's words should get their creative juices going again!"
            Kahani's 2nd Annual Young Writers Contest is open to all children between the ages of 6-8 and 9-11. Stories can be up to 500 words, but must use the words cousin, river, and turmeric.   The deadline for all entries, which must be e-mailed to the magazine, is Sunday, December 17, 2006. For complete rules and an entry form, log onto www.kahani.com.
            Sangeeta Mehta, associate editor at Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, will judge the entries. Once the winners are decided, Kahani will post a call to artists to illustrate the top stories.
            "This is a one-of-a-kind contest," said Sunitha Das, Kahani business director. "And that's why we're also drumming up some really special prizes for our winners."           As the top prize, the 1st place stories and illustrations will be published in the Spring 2007 issue of Kahani. The winners will also get a check for $50 each. Second place winners will receive a $50 gift basket, courtesy of Barefoot Books, a Cambridge-based publisher of multicultural literature. The 3 rd place finishers will each get a $25 Borders gift card.
            Kahani is an award-winning South Asian literary magazine for children. The quarterly publication features original short stories, articles, reviews, and comics written and illustrated by South Asian talent. It recently picked up a top magazine award from the Association of Educational Publishers. Kahani is published in Boston.
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Contact: Sunitha Das, Business Director
617-620-2375
sunitha.das@kahani.com

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