New Challenge - 11 Word Story

We really want to challenge you this time. Write us a story, something haunting, creepy, scary, spooky, slithering. But you can only use 11 words. Do not distress! You can do this.

The girl tried to stand, but her leg wasn't there anymore.
Being invisible was the best thing of all, until it wasn't.
While eating the pages, Tex didn't see the 'T' with teeth.


Guidelines

The story must be 11 words in length, no more, no fewer. Not eleventy, not eleventeen, 11 words. ELEVEN!!!

Please send your entries to junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "11 Word Story" in the subject line or else your email will be eaten by the Spamster and never found again.

Deadline for submissions is Saturday, August 20. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 22.

For the name of your document please put your story/artwork name, underscore and your name. Ex: ToesForEating_MarjorieMerle.doc

You can submit your work as a Word document or stick it directly in the email to junipertreelit@gmail.com and please forgive us in advance if we don't write back to you immediately. Tex is fairly anal about reading and viewing everything we get. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself and please send us your website if you have one. If you don't have one, get one. They are free, you know.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submissions & Guidelines page.

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Don't forget to check out our August Issue

Blast from the Past: Rats Edition - TWO DAYS LEFT!

I can hear your pens scratching away. Two days until the deadline. Quickly, poppets, quickly!

In under 500 words, write us a piece inspired by this photo. Your piece can be poetry or a short story as long as it is under 500 words. If you can think of other creative ways to be inspired by this photo, go ahead and surprise us! The winner (or winners) of the challenge will be featured in the September issue!

Deadline for submission: Saturday, August 6. The winners will be announced Monday, August 8.

With your submission please put in the subject line "Blast from the Past - Rats Edition". 

For the name of your document please put your story/artwork name, underscore and your name. Ex: ToesForEating_MarjorieMerle.doc

You can submit your work as a Word document or stick it directly in the email to junipertreelit@gmail.com and please forgive us in advance if we don't write back to you immediately. Tex is fairly anal about reading and viewing everything we get. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself and please send us your website if you have one. If you don't have one, get one. They are free, you know.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submissions & Guidelines page.

We look forward to your creative mind-doodles!

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Don't forget to check out our July issue

August Issue

Hello everyone! It's been a flurry of activity getting everyone's pieces clothed, brushed, fed and shoved into  our August issue but we did it. Thank you to all the lovely people who put all their sweat and mostly blood into this issue. Thank you again to our Murder of Editors for taking their time to dissect each word. Thanks Tex for restraining of scaring off any contributors with your unappetizing diet.

My pleasure, darling.

Drum roll please!

Drrrrrrrummm roooollllllllllll

The August issue!

Open publication - Free publishing - More dark

UPDATE: To download a PDF of the issue, visit our bookshelf at http://issuu.com/underneaththejunipertree. Open the publication and underneath the issue is an option to download or print the issue. 

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Sunday Poetry: The Cannibal and His Dog - Dawn Pisturino

The Cannibal and His Dog

Written by Dawn Pisturino 

Would you like to see your limerick or poem up on Sunday Poetry? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "Sunday Poetry" in the subject line.

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Don't forget to check out our July issue

August issue comes out tomorrow!

A THRILLING Contest in Collaboration with Literary Asylum and Walden Pond Press!

Ahh, my lovely, fleshy, ripe for the taking friends...


Marjorie is taking a nap so I snuck down from the attic to try this blogging thing for myself. Nom Nom! I like it so far!


So you want something exciting? Something more exciting than we've already given you over the past few months? You greedy toe suckers! That's alright. I'm right there with you. So here you go:


Our devilish friend D.M. Cunningham over at Literary Asylum, in cahoots with Walden Pond Press and yours truly, is hosting a thrilling contest to die for!


Here's the low down: In celebration of the upcoming release of Walden Pond Press' Guys Read: THRILLER (Aug 2011), we want YOU to give us your best opening paragraph (or two) of the most thrilling, terrifying, spooky, creepy, and crazy MG/YA story you can muster.

Contest Rules

1) Submit your best work up to two paragraphs. Anything beyond that will not be read and taken out of the running.

2) Send your submissions in the BODY of the email, not attachments (they will not be opened) to the following emails (either or - no need to do both) LiteraryAsylum@hotmail.com OR junipertreelit@gmail.com.

3) Be sure to put THRILLER contest submission in the RE: Line or it may get overlooked.

4) Deadline is OCTOBER 13th (why? because we like that number) at MIDNIGHT

5) Follow our blogs (links above) and join us on Twitter

@WaldenPondPress
@UndertheJuniper
@JuniperTreeLit
@LiteraryAsylum

6) Most of all, have fun and keep the kids in mind. Let's give them stories that will keep them reading late at night!


Prizes? You ask? Greedy...I like it!


The top writer will receive a copy of GR:THRILLER signed by the ambassador of Children's Lit himself Jon Scieszka. And, your paragraph(s) will appear in an upcoming issue of UTJT. 


WAIT, there is more! The winning writer will be interviewed on the Literary Asylum blog to celebrate your thrilling job well done. Now those are some gruesome prizes!


So hop to it. 


Tex? What are you doing on my computer?


Ummm... researching... exploding brains? OOPS GOTTA GO!

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Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

Blast from the Past: Rats Edition - ONE WEEK LEFT!

You heard right, headless pumpkins, you have only one week to enter your submission for the Blast from the Past: Rats Edition challenge. Haste, friends, haste!

In under 500 words, write us a piece inspired by this photo. Your piece can be poetry or a short story as long as it is under 500 words. If you can think of other creative ways to be inspired by this photo, go ahead and surprise us! The winner (or winners) of the challenge will be featured in the September issue!

Deadline for submission: Saturday, August 6. The winners will be announced Monday, August 8.

With your submission please put in the subject line "Blast from the Past - Rats Edition". 

For the name of your document please put your story/artwork name, underscore and your name. Ex: ToesForEating_MarjorieMerle.doc

You can submit your work as a Word document or stick it directly in the email to junipertreelit@gmail.com and please forgive us in advance if we don't write back to you immediately. Tex is fairly anal about reading and viewing everything we get. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself and please send us your website if you have one. If you don't have one, get one. They are free, you know.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submissions & Guidelines page.

We look forward to your creative mind-doodles!

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

Two Gloomy Twins - Byron Bill & Evan Heasman

There were two gloomy twins

Who liked to go for swims

They went for a dip

In a lake of arsenic

Now they're only toothy grins

Two Gloomy Twins

Written by Byron Bill

Illustrated by Evan Heasman

Would you like to see your limerick, poem or short story up on Underneath The Juniper Tree? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "General Submission" in the subject line. You can also check out our Submissions & Guidelines page for more information.

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Don't forget to check out our July issue

The Choose Your Own Mystery Winner!

It was a fine, fine challenge this week with a great turnout. Tex and I had to scramble our brains to choose only one person whose piece rose above the rest.

Creme de la creme! Blood de la blood!

So the winner of the Choose Your Own Mystery challenge and the next person heading into fame and victory in the August issue is....

Samantha Kymmelle-Harvey!!!! With her piece Because of Brussels Sprouts. Here is a snippet from her extraordinary piece:

“Greedy girl!” said a little wisp of white. It pulled her to the ground, raining scarlet droplets on her face. “You can’t make me share! I’ll eat you next if you try!”


You'll have to come back August 1st to catch the rest.


Thank you all for sending in your creative babies and good luck with the Blast from the Past - Rats Edition. We await your genius at our inbox.

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Don't forget to check out our July issue

New Challenge - Blast from the Past: Rats Edition

Good Saturday, poppets! Today is your deadline for the Choose You Own Mystery challenge. You have until midnight tonight (Pacific time) to get your entries in. Entries that are late will be tossed in the incinerator and made into ornaments.

Now on to bigger and more different similar things!

A shortage of toes!

Quite, poppets, Tex has been rationing his toe snacks. Please donate more toes. 

Yes, the plumpish ones are best.

Now – our New Challenge!

Blast from the Past: Rats Edition

In under 500 words, write us a piece inspired by this photo. Your piece can be poetry or a short story as long as it is under 500 words. If you can think of other creative ways to be inspired by this photo, go ahead and surprise us! The winner (or winners) of the challenge will be featured in the September issue!

Deadline for submissions has changed. We are now giving you TWO WEEKS to submit your piece so they better be good!

Deadline for submission: Saturday, August 6. The winners will be announced Monday, August 8.

With your submission please put in the subject line "Blast from the Past - Rats Edition". 

For the name of your document please put your story/artwork name, underscore and your name. Ex: ToesForEating_MarjorieMerle.doc

You can submit your work as a Word document or stick it directly in the email to junipertreelit@gmail.com and please forgive us in advance if we don't write back to you immediately. Tex is fairly anal about reading and viewing everything we get. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself and please send us your website if you have one. If you don't have one, get one. They are free, you know.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submissions & Guidelines page.

We look forward to your creative mind-doodles!

And remember that your Time Travel submission deadline is in TWO DAYS!!!!! The winner will be featured in our August issue so let's hear your stories.

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

The Devil Can't Help You Here - Mark Boliek

Darlinks! Dearestlinks! Poppets!

Here at Underneath The Juniper Tree we are open to all sorts of spooky mayhem in all sorts of mediums. Mark Boliek sent us a song, chatz, called "The Devil Can't Help You Here". And it goes along with his book. Is there no end to the creativity? Here is the cover for his book The Mahogany Door for which the music was written. Look, listen and enjoy.

 

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Don't forget to check out our July issue

Sunday Poetry: Dirty Donald - Dawn Pisturino & Jason Smith

Dirty Donald!

His hair, full of lice,

Grows down to his shoulders,

A haven for mice.

His teeth are all rotten,

Mildewed and black,

His tongue is so long,

He could pass for a yak.

His breath stinks of corpses

Dug fresh from their graves,

A delicate morsel

He constantly craves.

He glares at the ravens,

Surrounding his head,

With murderous eyes,

Pronouncing them dead.

Then yanks out their feathers

And nibbles their toes,

Lining them up

In neat little rows.

His clothes are so tattered,

The buzzards all say,

“What a fine looking fellow!

Let’s eat him today!”

Dirty Donald

Written by Dawn Pisturino

Illustrated by Jason Smith

Would you like to see your limerick or poem up on Sunday Poetry? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "Sunday Poetry" in the subject line.

Don't forget to check out our July issue