So, last fall we introduced you all to the Weekly Writer - a spoooooooky online story started just for the Weekly Reader by Stephen King and waiting to be finished up by you ... (You still can add to it. C'mon, do it today.)

Now, I'm excited to tell you about NOISY OUTLAWS, UNFRIENDLY BLOBS, And Some Other Things That Aren't As Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and one Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out. (Talk about a long title!!!)

NOISY OUTLAWS is a new collection of short stories for "wise young people and immature old people" brought to us by the editors of McSweeney's. It features stories written by all-star authors such as Nick Hornby, John Scieszka, Jonathan Safran Foer, and many others, plus really cool illustrations.

Some people like short stories, and others ... well, they don't. I'm usually more of a novel person, but I loved this book. Besides bringing us into the imaginary worlds of some really talented authors, it also does two very generous things. 1) All proceeds from purchases go to benefity 826nyc, a writing center in Brooklyn, NYC offering free classes to students between the ages of 8 and 18. 2) It offers readers the opportunity to take part in a nifty contest.

Here's the deal: Lemony Snicket started a story that appears on the inside of the dust jacket. It's up to you to add your own "thrilling, joyful, or disgusting ending." The jacket then folds up into a snazzy envelope, and you mail it back and wait ... McSweeney's editors' favorite ending will receive some fabulous prizes ("a complete set of A Series of Unfortunate Events signed by Lemony Snicket himself; 11 pounds of chocolate; a Venus flytrap; six hundred tiny glass bottles; and a large sack of dirt from Winnipeg") -- and be published in a future book and at their website.

I told you it was pretty cool!

The deadline to enter is April 1, 2006 and the winning entry will be announced on June 1, 2006.

Take a stroll to a bookstore near you and check out Noisy Outlaws. Maybe you have what it takes to give Lemony Snicket a hand.