Everything really is bigger in Texas and author/illustrator Brad Meltzer, Christopher Eliopoulos, iWRITE, and The Bryan Museum are out to prove it.
Earlier this year, the call for submissions was sent out to schools all over Texas, looking for short stories, poems, and illustrations to add to the planned seven-feet-tall book, which will be displayed at The Bryan Museum, alongside its Texas and American West collection of historical artifacts, books, and artwork.
One-thousand winners, for submitted stories, art, and poetry, were announced May 16, 2022. The winners, from 3rd-12th grade and representing seventy-two school districts, will walk the red carpet at a book signing event in the fall.
The Texas Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville served as the official judging committee for the I am Texas Contest, recruiting the aid of humanities and education faculty and students to select the winning middle school and high school finalists. Those who submitted also had the chance to win a regional award and even be selected as the Editor’s Choice recipient by Brad Meltzer. The Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation gave $5,000 book grants to each of the top three schools with the highest participation and awarded $250 each to fifteen additional classrooms.
The winners will be invited to the Phillips 66 I am Texas Book Signing at the Hilton Americas in Downtown Houston on November 5, 2022. During the gala, selected student writers will sit on the Author Panel and answer questions about their work and inspiration (an annual tradition and audience favorite). During the program, an official Guinness World Records judge will announce if the record was broken.
Read more about the contest at I AM TEXAS (iamtx.org)
