Welcome to the Chapter Book Challenge 2019! #ChaBooCha

Welcome to the 2019 Chapter Book Challenge! Are you ready to begin writing your books?

Read this entire post to learn everything about the challenge and the specifics about this year's challenge.

For those of you who are new to ChaBooCha this year, here's a little information about the challenge (which can also be found by clicking on the "About" link at the top of the page):

The Chapter Book Challenge, otherwise known as ChaBooCha, was created by Rebecca Fyfe and first ran in 2012. It runs every year in the month of March. The challenge is to write one completed first draft of an early reader, chapter book, middle grade book or YA novel in the month of March, starting on the 1^st of March and finishing on the 31^st of March.

During the month of March, there are helpful blog posts from published authors, agents and publishers to help members hone their craft, and there are prizes available throughout the challenge. 

ChaBooCha has a very relaxed atmosphere where members help each other to achieve writing goals. You can sign up on the website using the sign-up form, and you can also join the Facebook page for updates and information. There is a Twitter page at and members interact with one another throughout the year in the Facebook group.
It is completely free to join the Chapter Book Challenge. 

ChaBooCha's mascot: Nabu the badger

You also might be wondering about our logo. The Chapter Book Challenge logo is all about our mascot Nabu the Badger. Nabu loves to read, and he is really looking forward to all of the new chapter books, middle grade books and YA books that are going to be written and published as a result of this year's ChaBooCha. Nabu was named after the Babylonian patron god of scribes, wisdom and literature. Nabu became our "mascot" back in 2014, just two years into the Challenge.

ChaBooCha Regional Ambassadors

The Chapter Book Challenge has been growing year on year and, there are some things I cannot do because of the restrictions of my location, such as meet-ups. As a solution, in places where there are more than just one member, ChaBooCha has Regional Ambassadors. 

ChaBooCha regional ambassadors are the people who coordinate Chapter Book Challenge events within their region. In order to become a regional ambassador, there first needs to be more members in your region than just you, and your main duties are to arrange write-ins and meet-ups with other members within your region and also to spread the word about the challenge within your region.

Promotional materials, when they are in the budget, get sent out to our Regional Ambassadors, and printable files will be sent as well. A special RA badge will be created for RAs to use on their blogs and websites, if they so choose. Regional Ambassadors will receive a ChaBooCha RA badge to wear in their first year of joining as an RA and in their second year as an RA, they will receive a ChaBooCha keychain. As things move along, there may be more perks added for RAs. 

If you think this is a role you might like to take on within your region, send me an e-mail. (There is only one RA per region, but they may choose a co-RA.)

Teapot Tales anthologies

To help fund the challenge, from prizes to advertising to RA gifts, we have created a series of anthologies with stories all written and donated by members of the challenge. There are currently three Teapot Tales anthologies available for purchase and a fourth will be available soon. As it has taken me much longer to put together the fourth anthology in the series than normal, we did create a fufth one last year and will not be creating a sixth one this year, but we may put together another in the series at a future date. The fourth anthology will be published this year though, using stories previously submitted. Proceeds from sales of the anthologies go towards funding the Chapter Book Challenge. The anthologies can be found on Amazon. There were also two themed anthologies written and contributed to by past members which also help fund ChaBooCha: Ghostly Echoes (Halloween-themed) and Jingle Bells (winter holiday-themed).

Teapot Tales: Volume 1

Teapot Tales: Volume 2

Teapot Tales: Volume 3

Ghostly Echoes

Jingle Bells

Guest Posts

We have a great line-up of authors, agents, publishers and editors lined up for guest posts this year.  I am listing them below, in no particular order:

Donna L. Martin - international best selling, award winning author of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays

Debbie Dadey - author of the 21-books Mermaid Tales series and the Keyholders series

Melissa Stoller - author of The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection Series, two picture books: Scarlet's Magic Paintbrush and Ready, Set, GOrilla!, the adult flash fiction compilation, Kvelling, Kvetching, and Kibitzing: Celebrating Jewish Life, the family book club guide The Parent-Child Book Club: Connecting With Your Kids Through Reading, and many parenting articles

Melissa Gijsbers - author of picture books, short stories and chapter books - 3...2...1... Done! and Swallow Me, Now!

Tina Wheatcraft Cho - author of Rice from Heaven, Korean Celebrations, Breakfast with Jesus, The Girl's Guide to Manners (and all that great stuff), and 85 guided reading books from Lakeshore Learning, Compass Media, Oxford University Press, and Literacy Planet. An e-book Seasons of the Asian Pear Tree,was published by Schoolwide 2015.

Victoria Corva - professional audiobook narrator and author whose upcoming debut novel Books & Bone was successfully funded on Kickstarter

Cyndi Marko - author-illustrator of Kung Pow Chicken series, This Little Piggy: An Owner's Manual & upcoming Boo! Hiss! 

Alayne K. Christian - content & developmental editor and award-winning author 

Ariel Bernstein - author of the Warren and Dragon chapter book series as well as picture books I Have a Balloon and Where is My Ballon?

Julie Grasso - a middle grade author of The Adventures Of Caramel Cardamom Trilogy and Frankie Dupont Mysteries

Marcie Colleen - author of The Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series,, as well her debut picture book Love, Triangle and Penguinaut! Marcie is an expert on creating highly acclaimed Teacher’s Guides that align picture books and middle grade novels with the Common Core and state mandated standards

Liz Kessler - author of over twenty books for children and young adults, mostly middle grade books featuring mermaids, fairies, time travel and superpowers. Also writes early readers about Poppy the Pirate Dog and Jenny the Pony and has written two young adult books about teenagers coming of age, falling in love and discovering their identity.

Laurie Kutscera - author/ illustrator of middle grade & picture books - Misadventure's of a Magician's Son (Fall 2019)

Jordan Hammessley - agent at New Leaf Literary with previous experience on the editorial side of publishing at Penguin Young Readers

ChaBooCha 2019 Badge

Facebook banner - not the perfect size, but looks good enough

(right click the images for the full-sized version)

Prizes

I usually give out many prizes during the challenge, but last year, my funds were low, so I am STILL sending out prizes from last year's challenge! (To the few of you who were due a prize and haven't received it yet, don't worry; you will still get it; I'm getting them out very slowly. So sorry!)

As a result, this year, there will be more home-made prizes. I still hope you will continue to comment on posts though. I do have one big prize to give out this year and that is a Kindle Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa, 7" Display, 8 GB, Marine Blue — with Special Offers. I bought it last year for this year's challenge, and will mail it out to whomever is the winner of it. Every signed up member of the challenge gets an automatic entry into the drawing for it, and when you leave a comment on a post during the challenge this March, you get another entry (up to one per blog post). The winner will be chosen by a random number generator on the last day of the challenge.


As always, happy writing!