2017 Creative Child Magazine Awards Program
"Book of the Year Award” in the
Kids Books Category.
See the book and judge's comments by clicking the button here:
Poetry book, "I Am,"
was released by
Finishing Line Press
in June 2017.
See the page about my poetry
for more information.
Tracy's columns about raising her pets are published with:
Wag the Dog UK, Tails Pet Media Group, Big Bark, Catster.com, Dogster.com, American Pet Magazine, Woofswipe.com,
Russell Publications newspapers and Momence Progress Reporter. Here are the links:
www.tailsinc.com www.wagthedoguk.com www.catster.com www.dogster.com www.bigbarkonline.com Russell Publications Momence Progress Reporter American Pet Magazine
Woofswipe.com
Winner of the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2017 Illinois Woman's Press
Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest -
First, Second, Third Place & Honorable Mention in "Columns" &
"Web and Social Media, Blogs, Personal" divisions.
Judge's comments (2011): "Fun, personal looks at life with pets."
Judge's comments (2012): "Delightful. Stories told with love and humor."
Judge's comments (2016): "Sweet entry about the author's dog, Trucker. A short, model-telling. Simply told. 'Turning down the bed' Another slice-of-life entry about the bedtime habits of the author and her dog. Funny and light-hearted."
Judge's comments (2017): "The blog piece does a nice job educating the reader regarding a pet's feelings as well as an owner's during a breakup. The imagery used supports the piece extremely well."
Judge's comments (2018): "The first post made me laugh, and the second post made me cry. Both were well written and appropriate for the target audience, with good clarity of message."
about me
Tracy Ahrens is a graduate of Eureka College, Eureka, Ill. with a bachelor's degree in English and many classes in art.
Since graduation, she has been a journalist, editor and author.
Recently she was the editor and publishing assistant for The Frankfort Life magazine and publishing assistant for Schoolhouse Life magazine, owned by N2 Publishing. For approximately one year she served as a content screener for Legacy.com. She is also a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune, Tails Pet Media Group based in Chicago, Catster.com, Dogster.com, wagthedogUK.com, bigbarkonline.com and CornerStone Media.
As time permits, Tracy also writes for magazines and publications. In 2015 she briefly contributed to a magazine titled Angel Rising.
Her professional writing memberships include the Illinois Woman's Press Association, the National Federation of Press Women, Dog Writers Association of America and Cat Writers' Association.
Some of her 62 writing awards locally, statewide and nationally include:
Illinois Public Health Association (Media Award 1996 & 2000), Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (Media Award 2003), Illinois Press Association (Second place, 1997 Best Coverage of Medicine), Illinois Associated Press (First Place, feature writing, 2000), Northern Illinois Press Association, Illinois Woman's Press Association (First Place, news reporting, 2002; First Place, features, 2003; First Place, special articles in science/health, 2002), National Federation of Press Women (First Place, special articles in science/health, 2002), National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (Excellence in Print Journalism Award, 2001) and National Multiple Sclerosis Society Greater Illinois Chapter (Public Education Award, 2002); 2005 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Eureka College, Eureka, Il.; Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2006 (First Place, Features; non-daily newspaper; First Place, Personality Profile; First Place, Section Edited by Entrant, non-daily newspaper); National Federation of Press Women, Inc. Communications Contest, 2006 (First Place; Section Edited by Entrant, non-daily newspaper); Illinois Press Association, Illinois Better Newspaper Contest, 2006 (Third Place; personality profile); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2007 (First Place and Third Place, Features; non-daily newspaper); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2008 (First Place, Special Articles - Health & Fitness; First Place, Personality Profile; non-daily newspaper and Second Place, Section Edited by Entrant; Second Place, Features); Illinois Press Association, Excellence in News Contest, 2008 (Second Place; Lifestyle Section), Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2009 (First Place, Features; First Place, Special Articles - Arts & Entertainment; Second Place; Special Series; Third Place - Special Series), Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2009 (Second Place; Non-Fiction Book for "Giant Hero"); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2010 (First Place, Special Articles - Health; Second Place, Special Articles - Sports; Second Place, Features); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2011 (First Place, Feature Story/Daily Newspaper; Second Place, Humorous Columns); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2012 (Second Place, Non-Fiction Book/Humor; and Second Place, Humorous Columns); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2013 (Third Place, Columns/General; Honorable Mention, Book of Poetry); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2014 (First Place, Columns; Third Place, Editing and Page Design); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2016 (Honorable Mention, Web and Social Media, Blogs, Personal); 22nd Annual Cat Writers’ Association Communications Contest, 2016 (Two Certificates of Excellence, Online Article/Behavior & Training, and Online Article/Any Other Topic); 2017 Creative Child Magazine Awards Program "Book of the Year Award” in the Kids Books Category for "Sammy Sparrow's First Flight"; Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2017 (Second Place, Web and Social Media, Blogs, Personal); Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest, 2018 (Second Place, Web and Social Media, Blogs, Personal); Cat Writers’ Association Communications Contest, 2017 (Certificate of Excellence, Online Article/Any Other Topic).
Tracy is also the author of children's books and non-fiction books, and her poetry has appeared in chapbooks and magazines across the country. See a sample of her poetry and view some of her artwork on this website.
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other experience...
a retail store, cashier in a retail store, business cleaning for a professional cleaning company,
palletizer machine operator for a beverage packaging company,
quality control technician and lead, lawn/landscaping care.
contact me by e-mail at: mylittleforie@yahoo.com
Follow me on PINTEREST by clicking here
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Follow me through Amazon Author Central by clicking here
amazon.com
all art and writings seen here are copyrighted