Roald Dahl's Imaginormous Challenge 2018 Announces Five NEW Lucky Golden Ticket Winners!

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, for the second time since Charlie Bucket won the prize of a lifetime, Penguin Young Readers, along with some of Mr. Wonka's most trusted advisors, has chosen five children from across the United States to become the 5 NEW lucky golden ticket winners!

Since its inception last year, Roald Dahl's Imaginormous Challenge has received over 50,000 imaginative story ideas from kids aged 5-12 throughout the U.S.—a record breaking entry level! 

Through August and September, three of the winning children experienced once in a lifetime opportunities to work with incredible partners to transform their 100 word story ideas into something that would make Willy Wonka proud. 

Each winner had the opportunity to work with industry leaders to help them realize their full creative potential. Madisyn Koza from Lowell, MA transformed her idea about a pet unicorn named Rainbow Sherbet who sneezes bugs into an out of this world unique candy dessert creation. In partnership with Minecraft: Education Edition, twelve year-old Madeline Wells worked with a team of Minecraft builders and YouTube creator Stacyplays to create a Minecraft experience about a submarine which crashes into a beautiful world of birds and strange people. Aria Thomas recently flew out to Hollywood to work with the creative team at Warner Bros. Consumer Products to inspire a new toy design.

The final two winners' experiences are currently in the works:

In October Tara Isabel Dee Lago will meet with the company from "Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the new musical on tour, and lucky winner Micaela Arenas will fly to Los Angeles to work with New York Times bestselling authors Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver to turn her idea into her very own short published story e-book. 

Imaginormous winner Micaela Arenas says of her upcoming trip to LA to meet with Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver: "I am ecstatic about the trip to LA. I have never been that far west before! When I found out that I had won a golden ticket I could hardly believe it. My ideas had always developed in my head and with my sketches, but it was when I actually wrote them down that I realized how much potential they had. I almost never thought about making my stories public until I got this opportunity, they were mostly just ideas for make-pretend games with myself. So when I found out that those hundred words, less than a fraction of the full manuscript (if I can call it that yet), had won me the chance of a lifetime, my brain failed me. I honestly could not process the news for the next three hours. After my 'period of realization' I could not stop smiling and drawing my characters. I often found myself staring off into space wondering if it was all a dream. In a nutshell, my feelings ranged from disbelief to uncontrollable joy."

The full line up of Golden Ticket winners and their Imaginormous experiences are:

1.    Theatrical Creation Winner: Tara Isabel Dee Lago, Age 12, Hometown: Staten Island, NY
 "Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the new musical on tour, will turn Tara's winning story idea into a marvelous, theatrical creation with the help of the choreography team and a member of the cast this October! 

2.    Hollywood Dream Winner: Aria Thomas, Age 12, Hometown: Springfield, MO
Aria and her family recently flew to Hollywood to work with the creative team at Warner Bros. Consumer Products to inspire a new toy design! 

3.    Immersive Minecraft World Winner: Madeline Wells, Age 12, Hometown: Houston, TX
A team of Minecraft builders and YouTube creator "Stacyplays" transformed and reimagined Madeline's winning story idea into a playable Minecraft experience for Madeline and the world to download and enjoy. Madeline was also flown to the Minecraft studio in Washington to meet Stacy and the Minecraft Education team.

4.      Become an Author Winner: Micaela Arenas, Age 11, Hometown: Manchester, CT
Micaela will fly to LA to work with actor, producer, director and author Henry Winkler and writing partner Lin Oliver (for the Here's Hank series) to turn her idea into her very own short published story e-book.

5.     Candy Creation Winner: Madisyn Koza, Age 11, Hometown: Lowell, MA
Following in Willy Wonka's footsteps and with the help of Dylan's Candy Bar, Madisyn's  idea was turned into an out of this world unique candy dessert creation!

Additionally, the teachers of the five winning children will also be gifted a Roald Dahl library of books valued at $500.00 from Penguin Young Readers, along with special Wonka-approved teaching resources aligned with the U.S. curriculum that will help spark creative ideas throughout the year in the classroom and which can be downloaded at http://www.imaginormouschallenge.com/teachers.

If you didn't win in 2018, do not despair! It has been confirmed that the Challenge will be coming back bigger and better then ever in 2019. Roald Dahl's Imaginormous Challenge is all about inspiring imaginative story ideas in children 5 to 12 years of age. Recurring annually, the challenge is now being rolled out to other countries including South Africa, which will be launching this fall; look for the Challenge to also debut in Australia, India and France in 2019!

Go to www.imaginormouschallenge.com TODAY to find out more about entering next year.  Remember, all it takes is 100 words to enter – and the prizes are set to be just as spectacular in 2019. ©RDSC

*For more information about the Imaginormous Challenge or to reach out about interview opportunities, please contact:

SOURCE Roald Dahl Story Company