Book Marketing Partnership: A Fish Art Contest & GONE FISHING A Novel In Verse

Note: Today’s post is a double-dip article.1^st dip: To share a non-traditional way that I'm marketing my book. 2^nd dip: To draw attention to a really neat children’s art/writing contest. Here goes:

One of my roles as an author, I think, is to find unique and interesting ways to connect people to my book. In the spirit of that thought, I want to share with you one of the more interesting and unusual ways that I’m trying to do that.

A while back I learned about a non-profit organization called Wildlife Forever. They are based in Minnesota, and each year they sponsor an event called STATE FISH ART CONTEST. It’s a neat event where school age children K-12 illustrate a fish of their choice from a list of the “state fish.” (Link info is below.) Having written a book called GONE FISHING, this contest intrigued me, so I set out to learn more and see if there was a way to become involved.

What I learned is that this is a wonderful program that engages children in learning about the habitat and needs of fish through a contest. The children research and study their chosen fish, create their art and a short write-up about that fish, and an adult helps them submit their creation to be judged. There are many winners in each age bracket, and those winners are invited to the STATE FISH ART EXPO.

I just love that this conservation group has found a way to connect children to nature and I am delighted that they have invited me to partner with them in the contest and participate with them at the expo! For the contest, I developed a few tips for writing the fish essay. They posted the tips on their website, gave me credit, mentioned my book, and posted a link to my website. This coming July, I will be at the GO FISH EDUCATION CENTER in Perry, Georgia where I’ll lead nature writing workshops with the winning students, and the GO FISH gift shop will offer GONE FISHING for sale. It’s a nice partnership that we’ve developed, and I'm excited that I'll get to see the artwork, read the essays, and meet some of the talented students when I'm in Georgia.   

Before the Expo, though, comes the Contest. Right now, the good people at Wildlife Forever are busy accepting entries. There is still time – the contest runs through March 31, 2013. If you have children in your lives, whether you are a parent or grandparent, a teacher or educator, or someone who loves nature and is in a position to share that with children, this contest might be of interest. (Educators, take note: There is an Educator of the Year award, and past winners have not all been art teachers! For states where common core state standards are used, the SFA site offers ideas for how you might be able to use the essay portion of the contest to observe some of the standards.) 

Here are a few links if you’d like to explore further.

STATE FISH ART CONTEST HOME PAGE 

TAMERA'S ESSAY WRITING TIPS 

STATE FISH ART AND COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 

GO FISH EDUCATION CENTER

If you and/or your illustrating/writing children make it to Georgia in July –I'll be there, so find me and say "hello!"

If you are an author or illustrator, what creative ideas do you have for partnerships in marketing your book?

01/22/2013