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Championship Series Showcases the Creative Talents
Of High School Authors, Artists, and Songwriters
We are happy to introduce the winners of the 2008 Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition. Their books, comprising the 2008 Championship Series, will be published in 2009. High school students are challenged to write an adventure book that would appeal to tweeners, the 8-12-year olds. It could be any genre, but there were some limitations: 15,000 to 25,000 words without gore, violence, vulgarity, profanity, or romance. “Elementary kids don’t need any of that,” according to one of the judges in the program.
Bill Myers, best selling author of the series My Life as . . . , Magee and Me and other titles, was one of the first national authors to support the competition. He wrote, “This is an incredible opportunity for high school students to hone and present their writing skills with the possibility of winning a scholarship to boot!"
This annual competition, sponsored by Tweener Ministries Inc., in 2009 will provide scholarships and awards totaling about $175,000 through its three Tweener Time Competitions: Chapter Book, Cover Art, and Songwriting. They are provided by co-sponsors Bethel College, Anderson University, Gaither Charitable Foundation, Gaither Family Resources, and Joshua Expedition. The manuscripts by the top six winners are published as the Championship Series by Baker Trittin Press. These six teenage authors earn royalties from the sale of their titles. Since each entrant receives a copy of the first place winner, this series is immediately introduced world wide with readers on every continent.
“Developing the creative potential of talented teenage authors and artists and providing a showcase for their work was our goal,” according to Dr. Marvin G. Baker, president of Tweener Ministries. The first book in the 2007 Series, Journey to the Homeland, was released March 15th. Books two through six will be released every two months. National distribution will be through Baker & Taylor.
The 2008 winning authors are . . .
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Adam Stuck
Birth date: April 12, 1990
Birth place: Quito, Ecuador
Residence: Bethel College, Mishawaka
Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Drinking Tea
First place winner: Nathan Quist and the Insurmountable Problem
Our congratulations to Adam, a two-time winner in the Tweener Time Chapter Book Competition. He was fourth place winner last year with his first Nathan Quist adventure. This fall he enrolled as a freshman at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Synopsis:
When Nathan Quist returned to Indiana for a long visit, Daniel thought they would finally be able to just hang out: no mysteries, no attempted murder, nothing. But Daniel was wrong. Before long both are drawn into the unsolved murder of an old classmate, a murder that seemed impossible to commit. Little by little they gather clues and make guesses, never suspecting the killer may be closer than they know. Can Quist solve an unsolvable murder? Can two kids solve an insurmountable problem? And what exactly does “insurmountable” mean, anyway?
TO BE PUBLISHED in February, 2009.
This interview appeared in the September 17, 2008, issue of the South Bend, IN, Tribune.
Writing knack brings scholarships to Bethel
By ALICE CULP
Tribune Staff Writer
Nathan Quist, a British exchange student with a knack for solving mysteries, has netted his creator $26,000 in scholarships to Bethel College.
Adam Stuck of Quito, Ecuador, created Nathan Quist as the title character for a short novel he entered in the Tweener Time Chapter Book Competition offered by Tweener Ministries Inc., in Warsaw.
“My high school English teacher Robert Quiring told us about (the competition) in class,” Stuck says.
The annual contest, open to high school students worldwide, began as a way to promote literacy among “tweeners,” children between the ages of 8 and 12. To enter, students write a short novel — between 15,000 and 25,000 words — targeting tweeners.
Stuck says his own reading inspired the idea for his novel. He enjoys the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton.
“I’ve always been curious what that would look like in a modern setting with kids,” he says. “I set aside the idea because of the lack of time, but then I heard about the competition.”
He entered the 2007 contest after discovering the prizes included scholarships to Bethel, the college he wanted to attend.
He had many reasons for selecting Bethel, a Missionary Church college. One reason is that his parents are missionaries to Ecuador through the denomination, which means that he receives a discount on tuition. Also, his older brother attends Bethel and his grandparents live nearby.
“Any one of which would have been enough to convince me to come here,” he says. “I have an unshakable conviction that this is where God wants me to be.”
Stuck took fourth place in the contest for “Nathan Quist and the Case of the Crescent Earrings.” It earned him a $6,000 Bethel scholarship.
“My little brother is about the age they were aiming toward,” Stuck says. “So, when he liked (the novel), it was a confirmation. ‘Yes, I will send this in.’ ”
This year, Stuck entered the contest again with a sequel, “Nathan Quist and the Insurmountable Problem.”
In the second novel, Nathan Quist visits friends he made in the first novel. Discovering that a murder has taken place, he sets out to solve the mystery.
Stuck chose Indiana as the setting for his story because he has spent some time here and because a fairly quiet locale seemed ideal for an adventure story.
“Here’s something new and unexpected, that’s completely foreign, bursting into the life of this student to whom everyone can relate,” he says.
When Stuck received the call that his novel had won the 2008 contest, he was elated. With the win came a book contract and, more important, a $20,000 scholarship to Bethel.
Now, thanks to Nathan Quist, Stuck is a freshman majoring in English education at Bethel.
As for the book contract, he says, “It isn’t exactly a normal publishing contract in which the book is placed on shelves. I believe it is more of a book club in which individuals sign up and receive a book every couple of months.”
Will there be another Nathan Quist adventure?
“If I write more (about the character), it would be just for the fun of it,” Stuck says.
But he does plan to continue to use his talent. After all, he says, “all of the credit … goes to my Father in Heaven without whom I would be completely lost.”
2007 Fourth place winner: Nathan Quist and the Curious Affair of the Crescent Earrings
Daniel Reimer is an average kid living in Indiana, where “nothing ever happens.” But one day he meets an English exchange student named Nathan Quist who has a remarkable talent for noticing things. When a fellow student is found unconscious and locked in a cupboard, they are drawn into a complex and dangerous mystery as they look for the person behind it.
Quist’s investigation is complicated by the school principal, whose skepticism makes detective work difficult; and by the criminal, who almost succeeds in having Quist sent back to England. Yet another complication: Quist has only a month left in Indiana—only a month to solve the mystery. At last, the two come across the missing clue: a pair of silver earrings shaped like crescent moons. They finally solve the mystery—just as the criminal is about to make his final move. With no other choice, they decide to stop him.
AVAILABLE: October, 2008
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Amy Green
Birth date: May 23, 1991
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana
Hobbies: Reading, writing, singing, drama
Books: Anything by Frank Peretti, Max Lucado, Ted Dekker, or C.S. Lewis
Miscellaneous Favorites: Veggie Tales movies, sour cherry pie, the Christian bands Casting Crowns and Barlow Girl, and snow days (during which most of my book was written!)
2nd place winner: Final Countdown
Synopsis:
After two more world wars, five nuclear bombings, and countless terrorist attacks, the Global Federation is determined to protect peace by locking up hundreds of young people. Their crime? Faith in Jesus Christ.
For thirteen-year-old Casey, life at the camps has almost become routine...until he and three of his friends are forced to go on dangerous missions where they must outrun slave catchers and outsmart assassins. Casey's problems in real life are even harder to deal with. Which side is Imogene on - and should he trust her? How can he explain his faith to a scientist who only believes in what he can see? What is The Project?
It's up to Casey, Daria, Quinn, and Jonah to find a way to destroy Dr. Gehring's invention before it destroys the world. The stakes are higher than any of them could imagine, and the clock is ticking...
TO BE PUBLISHED in 2009
This article appeared in the September 26, 2008, issue of the Times-Union, Warsaw, IN.
Warsaw Senior Wins Writing Competition
Tim Robertson Sept 26, 2008
Times-Union Staff writer
A young local author recently took the runner-up spot in an international writing competition.
Amy Green, 17, a senior at Warsaw Community High School, was awarded second place in the Tweener Ministries International Chapter Book Competition Saturday. Green was awarded a $10,000 four-year ($2500 per year) scholarship to bethel College, Mishawaka. She also was awarded a contract to have her manuscript, “Final Countdown,” published by Baker Trittin Press.
Green said her story is set in the future in a concentration camp where a group of kids have been sent under religious persecution. She said she wrote it this winter over a series of snow days.
“This is the first major long work that I’ve ever attempted,” said Green.
She said she began writing when she was very young.
“By the time I was in fifth grade, I figured out you could do that for a living,” she said. “That’s when my interest in writing really started.”
First place in the competition was awarded to Adam Stuck, 18, Quito, Ecuador. Other award winners hailed from New York, Washington, Maryland, and Indonesia.
Green said she was very excited for her work to be chosen from among entries from all over the world.
“I just about freaked out,” she said.
Green received her award at Celebrate Creativity, at Gaither Family Resources, Alexandria. The event featured workshops in writing, song-writing, art for publication, and developing creative potential. Green said meeting other young writers was her favorite part of the conference.
“It was just really cool to be around other people who enjoyed writing, too,” she said.
Despite winning the scholarship for Bethel, Green said she has not yet made her college decision. But, she said she wants to study writing or communication at whichever school she attends.
The chapter book competition is sponsored by Tweener Ministries, Warsaw, and cosponsored by Anderson University, Bethel College, Baker Trittin Press, Joshua Expeditions, and Gaither Charitable Foundation. Tweener Ministries is focused on promoting literacy among children ages 8-12. The chapter book competition is aimed at getting high school students involved in writing books that will involve younger students in reading.
“This contest has sort of got me interested in writing for that age group,” Green said. “I’d like to keep writing books for that age group.
Green said she’s already throwing ideas around for a new story, but hasn’t settled on a particular theme yet.
“I’m kind of thinking about one set in a tourist trap western town,” she said, “but, we’ll see.”
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Kari Travis
Birth date: March 2, 1990
Hometown: Jordan, NY USA
Favorites: Kari enjoys her "Three Rs" - reading, writing, and relaxing with her family and their mammoth Labrador retriever mutt mixture. She also savors the autumn months, and loves to explore the outdoors on crisp, cool days. Books have always been a consistent pastime, and Kari holds the Anne of Green Gables series, by L. M. Montgomery, in a place close to her heart. And in addition to all of the above, nothing beats her mom's home cooking, a crackling fire in the fireplace, and a good action/adventure movie on a chilly winter night.
3rd place winner: The Captain's Secrets
Synopsis:
Twelve-year old Walker Kensington expects a summer of boredom when he is sent to stay with his great aunts in an old seaside town. The only excitement that the village of Cape Hickory seems to hold is found in the tall tales of an old gossip, Crag Phelps.
Walker's expectations change, however, when he and a new friend unwittingly stumble across a tunnel buried deep beneath his aunts' crumbling mansion. The boys' discovery sends them on a puzzling trail, and they slowly begin to untangle the legend surrounding Captain Hickory Barber, a pirate who lived more than a century before.
When the clues keep piling up, Walker becomes suspicious. Why is his Aunt Elfie so unconcerned with his findings? And what is Crag trying to hide? As Walker's summer turns from humdrum to hazardous, he begins to discover that situations are not always what they appear to be.
TO BE PUBLISHED in 2009
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Greg Coles
Birth date: April, 1990
Birth place: Potsdam, New York
Residence now: Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, New York
Hobbies: playing violin and piano, reading, baking
Favorite Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Favorite Recording Artist: Nichole Nordeman
Congratulations to Greg for winning in the Tweener Time Chapter Book Competition two years in a row. He has moved up two places this year.
Fourth place winner: The Sky Is Green
Synopsis:
What would you do if someone offered to make all your problems go away with one simple choice? What if you could make a perfect world for yourself just by believing it was true? If reality got too hard to handle, would you be willing to trade it away for a dream?
When Ryan Talbot sets out with his new friend, Chase, on a hike into the Colorado mountains, these questions are the last thing on his mind – until everything changes. The two boys find themselves trapped in an eerie cave with no food and no way of escape. Suddenly these questions don't seem remote anymore. When Chase gives up on the real world, Ryan plunges after him into the depths of Chase's own mind, to a not-so-perfect world where only Chase's decisions have the power to save or destroy both their lives.
2007 Sixth place winner: Against the Current
This wasn't tomorrow. It was yesterday. Ari had fallen asleep on Wednesday, and woken up on Tuesday.
Ari Callaghan wakes from a bizarre dream to find himself one week in the future, traveling back into the past day by day. The things he does on one day will be undone the next morning. Scrapes and bruises are healed. Conversations are forgotten. He has no memory of the days he is reliving, but they seem to be leading up to a confrontation. Ari must try to remember the past that has forgotten him, even as he plunges uncertainly into it.
TO BE PUBLISHED in December, 2008
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Pattie Flint
Birth date: 07/12/1990
Hometown: Kent, Washington 98030
Hobbies:
Fifth place winner: Fly
Synopsis:
When her family moves out west to start over in a new homestead, Hannah hopes to find the adventure of a lifetime. She gets more than she bargains for however when she is kidnapped during a thrilling and dangerous race for land which, on the frontier, is more precious than gold. Hannah learns that greed is powerful, and some people will do anything to get ahead.
Forced into a new reality without her family, she must learn to rely on herself if she can ever hope to get back. With her pet falcon, Talon, as her only friend in time of need, can Hannah muster up the courage, strength, and heart it takes to find her family and truly find home?
TO BE PUBLISHED in 2009
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Natalie Backhaus
Birth date: February 15, 1990
Birth Place: Lusby, Maryland
Hobbies: reading, writing, singing, fencing, sewing, and drawing
Favorite Movies: Finding Neverland, Toy Story, and Count of Monte Cristo
Favorite Books, Time For Andrew, The Penderwicks and Bridge to Terabithia
6th place winner: When Two Worlds Meet
Synopsis:
Jason Sorrel has always disliked History. So when his parents decide to rent a cottage in Historic Williamsburg for a week, he is not thrilled. Why ruin a vacation being surrounded by history? What Jason doesn’t know is that history is about to become very real. A squeaky hinge, a secret room, a boy with a problem, the year 1780, an Uncle with a mystery and…Jason. Without warning, Jason is caught up in the mystery of the secret room and the whirlwind adventure that unfolds when two worlds meet.
TO BE PUBLISHED in 2009
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