We asked some Dreamwrights actors to give us a dramatic reading of our first-place winning stories in the “It Came From Beyond!” short story contest.

Jasmine Null’s “Sam’s Alien Encounter”: http://youtu.be/6sVm9NMzpig

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Brooke Hoffler’s “Ring of Alien-dividuality”: http://youtu.be/F3uzMQLuCf0

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Hannah List’s “Trumper the Alien”: http://youtu.be/YrkddcRa1Mw

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You can congratulate the winners at our special awards ceremony set for Friday, Oct. 5 at the York Emporium. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and will include a special “Your First Comic” class, coloring pages and snacks.

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The Junior Dispatch recently announced the winners of the “It Came from Beyond!“ short-story contest, held in conjunction with York County Libraries and the York Emporium, and now we want to party.

The York Emporium may look small on the outside, but through these doors is a 19,000-square-foot store packed with great books, comics and curiosities. It’s a great place to shop.

To celebrate our winners’ literary achievements, the Junior Dispatch and the York Emporium are planning a special awards ceremony at the store, located at 343 W. Market St. in York, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5.

The public (and all the short story contributors) are invited to this event that is especially geared toward families. Along with the fun going on at the York Emporium, York City is also planning First Friday events downtown, just a few blocks from the store.

Also, for anyone who missed the “Your First Comic“ classes available at many York County Libraries this summer, Junior Dispatch’s John Simcoe will be there to host another free 1-hour comic-book class. Aside from the “Your First Comic“ class, there will also be coloring pages, videos and snacks for kids to enjoy.

For more information, contact John Simcoe at 717-854-1575 ext. 457.

Make your first comic in a special class Friday, Oct. 5, at the York Emporium.

The Junior Dispatch would like to thank all of the participants in our short story contest. There were a lot of really great submissions.

It’s finally time to announce the first-place winners in our short story contest, which Junior Dispatch held in conjunction with the York County Libraries and the York Emporium.

We asked our young authors to create an original story about aliens from outer space. With more than a hundred entries, we’re proud to bring you our top winners in the three age categories.

13 to 18 AGE GROUP

SAM’S ALIEN ADVENTURE:  Was written by Jasmine Null, 17, of Hanover and is about some observers from afar.

8 to 12 AGE GROUP

THE RING OF ALIEN-DIVIDUALITY: Was written by Brooke Hoffler, 12, of Dillsburg, and is about a girl’s ring and the secrets it holds.

7 and YOUNGER AGE GROUP

TRUMPER THE ALIEN: Was written by Hannah List, 7, of Red Lion, and is about a girl and a pumpkin.

To celebrate these amazing stories, we give you a look at the life of a domestic alien … Alf! http://youtu.be/BUYdJI-bauA

• Part 2 of the episode: http://youtu.be/o_L6mwlqkBo
• Part 3 of the episode: http://youtu.be/nI5j8KoZEZ0
• Part 4 of the episode: http://youtu.be/GzmqFp3z1Uk

Just in case you missed the announcements of our other winners, here are links to those posts.

• Second place announcement
• Third place announcement

We’re back. On Tuesday we announced the third-place winners of Junior Dispatch’s “It Came From Beyond!” short story contest, which we offered with the help of the York Emporium and the York County Libraries.

We received more than 100 entries and now we are announcing the second-place winners in each of our age categories. First-place winners will be announced Thursday.

13 to 18 AGE GROUP

Awarded to Emily Zeidman, 13, of Windsor, for the story titled “Totally Typical.” Read the story here about teen’s run in with a friendly alien.

8 to 12 AGE GROUP

Awarded to Asha Mir-Young, 10, of York, for the story titled “My New Friend Namo.” Read the story here about a plant-like alien.

7 and YOUNGER AGE GROUP

Awarded to Bella Wagner, 6, of Windsor, for the story titled “The Hideous Alien.” Read the story here about a visitor from Uranus.

As third-prize winners, these amazing writers earn a $10 movie gift card and a $10 gift certificate from the York Emporium.

To celebrate these winners, we offer you a look at Earth’s defenses against the alien hordes — The Men in Black! Enjoy the video. http://youtu.be/nvGQbtzUCc4

Winners will be contacted in the next few days with information about our awards ceremony.

Background image provided by Torley via Flickr.com.

This is an entry in Junior Dispatch’s alien short story contest. The effort earns the writer a free book from the York Emporium and a chance to win a $50 movie gift card and a $50 gift certificate from The York Emporium. The submission deadline was Aug. 1.

By Brieanna Lantz
Age 11, Dover

Once upon a stars, there was an alien named Ugula! He was always in the mood for adventure! When he was born he’d seen the wildest thing that he has ever laid his 20 eyes on! So he came to earth millions of times to find what this magnificent creature was! But sadly, he had no luck! All he could remember was that it was colorful, full with pictures, and full with words! He looked in newspapers but they were just full of words and pictures! It needed to have color too! He looked in a kaleidoscope, but that only had color!

“Poor Ugula!” said his mother! “All he wants to do is find that mysterious creature! I wish I could tell him what it is, But I can’t even remember what it looked like!”

Later on that day, Ugula was playing in the yard. “I wish I could see what I saw when I was a baby!” said Ugula! Right then a astronaut landed on their front lawn!