So, who will choose the winning stories this year?
The 2010 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest judging panel includes some of your favorite writers and illustrators, including: Ann M. Martin, author of The Baby-sitters Club® series; R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps® series; Marc Brown, creator of Arthur; Tony DiTerlizzi, creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles; and Lisa Henson, executive producer of PBS KIDS shows Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train.
Marc Brown
Brown is the creator of Arthur, the star of many picture books and a six-time Emmy Award-winning PBS television show. He is also the illustrator of Buying, Training & Caring for Your Dinosaur, by Laura Joy Rennert, and the New York Times bestsellers Wild About Books and Born to Read, both by Judy Sierra.
Jorge Cauz
Cauz is the President of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (parent company of Merriam-Webster, Inc.), a leading provider of learning and knowledge products and one of the world's most trusted sources of information on nearly every topic imaginable.
Tony DiTerlizzi
DiTerlizzi is the New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of middle-grade series The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Holly Black), which has sold millions of copies, been adapted into a feature film, and has been translated in over thirty countries. He has also created fanciful picture books such as Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure, the Adventure of Meno series (with his wife, Angela) and Caldecott Honor book, The Spider & The Fly.
Lisa Henson
As Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Henson Company, Henson serves as an executive producer of Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train, both currently airing daily on PBS KIDS®, and Pajanimals, a short-form musical puppet series airing daily on Sprout.
Tad Hills
Hills is the author and illustrator of the New York Times best-selling picture books Duck & Goose and Duck, Duck, Goose, as well as four board books featuring the same characters, including What's Up Duck? an ALA Notable book. He is also the illustrator of Waking Up Wendell, by April Stevens, My Fuzzy Friends, and Knock, Knock, Who's There.
Photo credit: Heather Weston
Emily Jenkins
Jenkins is the author of numerous highly acclaimed books for children, including That New Animal, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor recipient; Daffodil; My Favorite Thing (According to Alberta); and Five Creatures, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor recipient, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, and an ALA Notable.
Photo credit: Dion Ogust
Ann M. Martin
Author of the mega-hit series The Baby-sitters Club and its newly released prequel, The Summer Before, Martin has also written a number of other award-winning books for children and young adults, including Belle Teal, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and A Corner of the Universe, which won a Newbery Honor in 2003.
Susan Meddaugh
Meddaugh is the author and illustrator of Martha Speaks, the best-selling book series, as well as a creative producer of the award-winning PBS KIDS series of the same name. The television series has recently inspired a collection of new books including Martha Says It With Flowers, A Pup's Tale and Shelter Dog Blues.
Scott Nash
Author and illustrator of TUFF FLUFF: The Case of Duckie's Missing Brain, Nash is the illustrator of more than 30 children's books, including the Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown, Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp and The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields.
Chris Raschka
Raschka has written and/or illustrated over 30 books for children, including the 2006 Caldecott Medal winning title The Hello, Goodbye Window, the Caldecott Honor Book Yo! Yes? and Mysterious Thelonius.
Judy Sierra
The author of Wild About Books, which won the E. B. White Read-Aloud Award, Sierra is also the author of Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie, and Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark.
Photo credit: Dan Nelken
R.L. Stine
New York Times bestselling author R.L. Stine is best known for his phenomenal hit series, Goosebumps and Goosebumps HorrorLand. Stine has written more than 300 books for kids, including popular series Fear Street, Rotten School, and Mostly Ghostly.
Dan Yaccarino
An internationally acclaimed author-illustrator with more than 30 books to his credit, Yaccarino is also the creator of the animated TV series Oswald.
Photo credit: Rachel Zelinsky
Paul O. Zelinsky
A highly acclaimed illustrator, Zelinsky has received a Caldecott Medal for his telling of Rapunzel, and three Caldecott Honors for Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, and Swamp Angel, which the New York Times Book Review called "in all ways superb." He is also the creator of the bestselling mechanical book, The Wheels on the Bus.