The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and its Young Writers League (YoWL) hosted the first annual “The Art of Writing” contest sponsored by the Georgia Council for the Arts, Guardian Bank, and the Greater Valdosta United Way for middle and high school students in Valdosta, Lowndes County, and the surrounding areas. Sixty unique pieces of writing based on the inaugural “Living United” theme were received for the contest.
A special recognition ceremony for these young writers will be held at the Turner Center on Monday, August 2, at 4:30 p.m., immediately prior to the regularly scheduled Gallery Opening Reception. Both events are free and open to the public.
“This relatively new platform for young inspiring authors across our area is gaining momentum,” said Executive Director Sementha Mathews. “It is exciting to witness the commitment of these young people to their craft of writing and to the development of a valuable skill that will greatly impact their future. We look forward to honoring their achievements at the August 2 reception.”
Contest winners will receive cash prizes and a copy of the anthology which includes the works of the winners and all honorable mentions. Winners and honorable mentions of “The Art of Writing” 2021 are as follows:
Middle School
Nonfiction
Julia Soshnik, Valwood School, 7th grade — 1st place
Bailey Vice, Northeast Middle School, 7th grade — 2nd place
Poetry
Maddock Kuo, Valdosta Middle School, 7th grade —1st place
Julia Soshnik, Valdosta Middle School, 7th grade — 2nd place
Karmen Denson, Valdosta Middle School, 7th grade — 3rd place
High School
Nonfiction
Ian Repsher, Valdosta High School, 12th grade — 1st place
Gretchen Stubbs, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 2nd place
Huntley Herring, Valdosta High School, 11th grade — 3rd place
Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, 9th grade — Honorable Mention
Poetry
Katie Goodwin, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 1st place
Catriona Moore, Valwood School, 10th grade — 2nd place
Alina Lassiter, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 3rd place
Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, 9th grade — Honorable Mention
Rufus Freeman, Valdosta High School, 12th grade — Honorable Mention
Niara Walker-Potts, Valdosta High School, 11th grade — Honorable Mention
Fiction
Kendall Haden, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 1st place
Leslie Monroy, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 2nd place
Vivian Thomas, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — 3rd place
Catherine Moody, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — Honorable Mention
Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, 9th grade — Honorable Mention
Sarah Byram, Valdosta High School, 10th grade — Honorable Mention
Poetry submissions were judged by Dr. Cheryl Carvajal, author and instructor of Humanities at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and Roberta George, author and founder of Snake Nation Press. Prose submissions were judged by Miriam Jackson, instructor of English at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, and Jordan Weber, Distance Education Specialist at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
“We are so pleased with both the number of entrants and the quality of the entries,” said Carvajal. “We can only hope that next year’s contest includes such a creative and meaningful collection from middle and high school writers in all our local schools.”
YoWL, led by Carvajal, allows students to express themselves through written word, improve their writing skills, and pursue authorship with contests like “The Art of Writing”. Classes currently take place via the Discord app and are open to writers ages 10-18. The Discord app and YoWL classes are free.
The deadline for next year’s Art of Writing contest is January 15, 2022 and will feature another unique theme to engage young people in important civic topics. For more information, call 229.247.2787 or visit turnercenter.org.
