GENERAL GUIDELINES
For the third consecutive year, Alane Adams Studios, with the support of the Rise Up Foundation, is sponsoring a Kids Original writing project to encourage creativity in US based students grades 4th-8th. Our Kids Original program is designed to get students excited about the writing process by demonstrating what is possible when their imagination is turned into a professionally animated short. For more information on our Kids Original program, see our FAQ page here.
Students are provided with a writing prompt and tasked with creating a short story for submission with the chance of having their story turned into an animated short by the team at Alane Adams Studios. We encourage students to work together as teams and collaborate on their ideas. Students are also encouraged to provide drawings of their characters or scenes to showcase different student abilities. Some students are great artists and others are great writers and together they can make a powerful story! Finalist stories are shared on our platform and provided with promotional artwork for students to highlight their work.
Between September 1, 2024 and October 31, 2024 US school-based educators of students grades 4-8 are invited to submit student responses to the following prompt for possible selection of our next animated Kids Original:
SUBMISSION PROCESS
Educators may submit student’s responses through the official entry form. All submitted work must be uploaded in a PDF format. Multiple student submissions may be combined in one file provided each response has a header with the following information:
- First name and last initial of student
- Grade Level
- City and State of school
TIMELINE
- September 1, 2024: The writing prompt is available.
- October 31, 2024: Last day to submit a story for consideration.
- November 8, 2024: Finalists are announced.
- November 15, 2024: Our next Kids Original selection is announced!
- May 2025: World Premiere of the next Kids Original!
ELIGIBILITY
- Open to US public or private enrolled students in grades 4 through grade 8
- All work must be original work created by students
- Student stories should not exceed 1,500 words
- All responses MUST BE submitted by an educator or other school representative. Direct student or parent submissions will not be accepted.
WINNER PROCESS
One submitted story will be selected to be turned into an animated short similar to our previous Kids Original stories Rako The Robot and Rufus the Rhino which can be viewed on YouTube. After the winning story is selected, the team at Alane Adams Studios will schedule a zoom call with the educators class to celebrate and discuss why the story was chosen.
The team will then begin the animation process which is a BIG DEAL! And will take several months to complete. In May 2025, the team at Alane Adams Studios will travel to the selected school and host a school-wide assembly that will be scheduled at a mutually accepted date for a world-premiere of the animated short. The assembly is both a celebration of the students’ work and a chance for the school to showcase the talent of its students.
The final animated short will be posted on the Alane Adams Studios YouTube channel to celebrate students creativity.
Tips & Tricks For Writing A Kids Original
Throughout the month, we’ll be releasing videos packed with tips, tricks, and insights on how and why we select stories for Kids Original. Stay tuned for valuable guidance to help your students craft standout submissions.
We can’t wait to read what your classrooms create!