For high school students, spring means prom, finals, and looking forward to summer. It’s hard to motivate them to finish homework, let alone write a short story. But, as we in BWG know, writers will write, no matter what their age. Offer them cash prizes, a free critique, and a chance to add to their writing resume and they are in!
Of course, I’m referring to the BWG Young Writer’s Contest. Open to high
school students in Cameron, Calcasieu, Jeff Davis, Beauregard, and Allan
Parishes, the yearly contest gives students a chance to submit and receive
feedback on their work. Fiction and non-fiction pieces not longer than
2,000 words were accepted with up to two entries per student. First place
prize was $25.00 and admission to the Bridge to Publication Conference in
November. Second Place was $15.00, and Third was $10.
This year we had 13 entries. Sam Houston, Barbe, DeRidder, East
Beauregard, and Johnson Bayou were represented. Two entries were from an
area Homeschooler. Our judges included myself, Connie McDonald, a
retired high school creative writing teacher and Rachel Rinehart, an MFA
student at McNeese. Both ladies teach in the Governor’s Program at
McNeese. They were a great help in the contest.
Competition was close, with some places separated only by a few points.
These kids really showed their talent. As there was no theme, the judges had a
variety of topics to read, from the Boxer Revolution to migration in the future
to a New Earth. Zombies made more than one appearance. After
reading them, I was encouraged to fire up the laptop and get busy
writing.
First and third place went to Ashley Petry from Sam Houston High
School. Her stories gave us a glimpse into the supernatural
world. Second place went to Homeschool student Hannah Pettefer who
shared a delightful story of what can happen when siblings are left to their
own devices and imagination.
New and Exciting This
Year!
This year the group decided on something new for the contest. A donation
of $100 worth of books was given to the first place winner’s school
library. The donation went to Sam Houston High School. This was
especially exciting for the librarians as they recently moved into their new
library. BWG was able to supply books on writing and grammar requested by
Connie Degenhardt, one of the librarians.
Winners were notified by August 10th. An announcement
regarding this will be made at the conference in November, but we were so
excited that we couldn’t wait to share the news. On Tuesday, Aug.
27th, I, along with Chris Baldauf and Patricia Fox, met with Ashley,
Connie, and Vickie Barto, SHHS librarian, to present them with the books.
Marilyn Monroe from Southwest Daily News was present to cover the event.
Who knew we could attract such a star? A fun time was had by
all.
So many people helped make this year’s contest a success. Thank you
to our parents, librarians, teachers, principals, and businesses that
advertised the contest and encouraged our kids to write. A BIG thanks to
the students who participated. Without them, there wouldn’t be a contest.
