Scripps National Spelling Bee and Kindle Invite Entries for Spellebrity Video Contest

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Oct 17, 2016, 11:00 ET

CINCINNATI, Oct. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scripps National Spelling Bee and presenting sponsor Kindle invite students to submit videos for the Spellebrity Video Contest. Students write, produce and record videos that spell out how to kindle the love of reading, and winners earn a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C., area in May 2017.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee and Kindle launched the contest as part of the celebration of National Reading Month in March. For the 2017 contest, the Bee is opening the window earlier to give students more time to discover the contest, create a concept and finalize their videos.

"We were impressed and thrilled by the volume and quality of the videos we received in the very first year of our Spellebrity Video Contest," said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. "Now with a longer window of time to promote the contest, we look forward to seeing many more entries for 2017. This contest gives every student a different and worthwhile chance to earn their way to the unforgettable experience of Bee Week."

Spellebrity Video Contest Basics:

Eligibility: Students who have not passed beyond eighth grade and who are legal residents of the United States and its territories
Team: One to four members on a team
Team member requirements: Write script, record and edit the video
Video length: No longer than five minutes
Video theme: Spell out how to kindle the love of reading and feature three words that would be useful to know for a spelling bee. The video narrative should inspire viewers to read more in their daily lives.
Adult involvement: Students must have the support of a parent or teacher who will be responsible for submitting the video and uploading a completed parental consent form (for each participating student) on spellebrity.com.
Deadline to submit: Jan. 31, 2017
Videos should be free of any copyrighted material, text, images and music
See Official Rules and Terms of Participation

Following the Jan. 31 deadline, a judging panel will review all of the submissions and select 10 Semifinalist videos. The Semifinalist videos will be posted to spellebrity.com, where the public will vote for the best videos. The five videos that receive the most votes will advance to the National Finals, where participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will vote for the best video. The Champion video will be announced during the remarks before the primetime Finals on June 1, 2017.

Prizes:

Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a Kindle Paperwhite.
Each member of the Finalist teams (5) will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee:
- Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a parent/guardian
- One standard hotel room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
- $400 gift card for travel and meal expenses
- Complimentary tickets for each team member and parent/guardian for the Memorial Day barbecue, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
Each member of the Champion team (1) will receive:
- $1,000 cash award
- Trophy

Key dates:
Oct. 17, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2017 – Submit videos to spellebrity.com
Feb. 1-28, 2017 – Judging panel selects 10 Semifinalist videos
March 1-24, 2017 – Public votes on spellingbee.com for favorite Semifinalist video
March 31, 2017 – Announcement of five Finalist videos at spellingbee.com
May 30-June 1, 2017 – Finalist videos presented and voted on during Bee Week
June 1, 2017 – Champion video announced before primetime Finals

In the inaugural event earlier this year, the Bee received entries from across the country and narrowed down the entries to the top 10. Thousands of people voted online to select the five Finalist teams. Each Finalist team won an expenses-paid trip to the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Student participants at the National Finals attended the Spellebrity Video Premiere to watch each video and to ask each team questions about their production. The students voted for their favorite; the winner, Mary Noorlander from Oneonta, New York, worked in varied costumes, scenery and characters to explore her love of many different genres of books.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation's largest and longest-running educational program, announced Kindle as its presenting sponsor earlier this year. Both brands are working to elevate the belief that reading, spelling and vocabulary are critically important to a child's lifelong achievement. With the Spellebrity Video Contest, students use their imagination to combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.

About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running educational program. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives. Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company.

About Scripps:
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the nation's largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S. households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets. Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including satire and humor video and web brand Cracked, podcast industry leader Midroll Media and over-the-top video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television shows including "THE LIST" and"The Now" and runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the people will find their own way."

About Amazon:
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company