2026 PBS Reno Writers Contest Call for Entries
Annual contest celebrates local children who write and illustrate their own stories!
RENO, NV (JAN 5, 2026) – The 2026 PBS Reno Writers Contest, presented by Rotary Club of Reno, kicks off today! PBS Reno is inviting every student in kindergarten through third grade in northern and central Nevada to submit their own illustrated story.
The PBS Reno Writers Contest encourages children to write and illustrate their own original stories around the selected theme. The theme for 2026 is SPECIAL. By participating in the PBS Reno Writers Contest, children build their creative voices and develop critical reading and writing skills.
“I’m excited for this year’s Writers Contest; it’s so much fun to see so many classrooms participating and teachers weaving the contest into their curriculum,” said Nancy Maldonado, PBS Reno Vice President of Education. “The Writers Contest brings out creative writing from kindergarten through third grade writers in our community. Writing opens the door to a world of possibilities for children, and the PBS Reno Writers Contest gives us a window into the creative talent of our community youth.”
The deadline to submit entries is Friday, March 13, 2026. Each story must include five pages, five illustrations, and a specific word count for each grade. For downloadable materials, guidelines, writing prompts and more, click here.
“I am so excited to see what stories we get this year,” said Joy Foremaster, PBS Reno Director of Education. “The theme of SPECIAL is sure to bring out some great stories. The youth in our community continue to amaze me year after year with the caliber of stories they submit.”
A team of dedicated educators and volunteers will go through an in-depth review process and select first, second, and third place winners from each grade. The winning authors will be honored in a variety of exciting ways, including having their stories published into hardcover books and featured on PBS Reno on the air and on the station’s website.
Each student who submits a story will receive a special certificate of participation.
In 2025, PBS Reno received 3,206 Writers Contest entries from students in Washoe, Douglas, Pershing, Elko, Lyon, Humboldt, and White Pine Counties. Read the 2025 winning stories here.
The PBS Reno Writers Contest is produced by PBS Reno and is based on the Reading Rainbow® Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, a concept developed by WNED-TV, Buffalo. The contest is sponsored locally by Rotary Club of Reno, Renown Children’s Hospital, Sara and Leonard Lafrance, Allegra Printing, United Federal Credit Union, Clasen Quality Chocolate, Wood Rodgers, Western Nevada Supply, Forgotten Astronaut Media, and Sierra Arts Foundation.
About PBS Reno
In fiscal year 2024-2025, PBS Reno reached 592,189 monthly viewers in northern and central Nevada and northeastern California across several platforms including three broadcast channels (PBS Reno 5.1, Reno Create 5.2, and PBS KIDS on PBS Reno 5.3), a YouTube channel, YouTube TV, online, livestreams, and digital platforms. PBS Reno provides PBS national programming and award-earning, locally-produced content, with many local segments posted weekly to PBS Reno’s YouTube channel. PBSReno.org provides engaging interactive content, including the video portal at watch.PBSReno.org that streams all locally-produced content and most PBS national content. PBS Reno serves students, teachers, parents and caregivers through immersive educational services including Curiosity Classroom workshops that bring classroom lessons to life with standards-based lessons and activities. Through the support of local corporations and foundations, as well as thousands of individual members, PBS Reno has been delivering public television and educational services to the communities it serves since September 29, 1983.
About Rotary Club of Reno
Rotary Club of Reno was the first Rotary Club established in Nevada; chartered on August 1, 1916. With approximately 120 members, the Rotary Club of Reno is the largest group in northern Nevada. The Rotary Club of Reno exists to create fellowship among business, professional and civic leaders through social activities and charitable projects to meaningfully improve quality of life in the Truckee Meadows and to advance Rotary’s worldwide goals
Contact us:
Membership Questions: membership@pbsreno.org
Programming Hotline: programming@pbsreno.org
Phone: 775.600.0555
Address: 1670 N. Virginia St. • Reno NV 89503