To recognize and encourage the talents of literary artists, the Arts Council of Westerville, Westerville Public Library and ThisWeek Westerville News & Public Opinion invited writers of all ages to be a part of the Celebrate the Arts Writing Contest. The contest, in calling upon writers to share their works, is conducted as part of the annual celebration of the arts in April. This marks the 16th year for the contest.
THE CONTEST
Beginning in January, writers submitted their entries to artscouncilwesterville@gmail.com according to five categories arranged by grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12 and adults ages 18 and older. The submissions were required to be original works of 800 words or less. Any genre was eligible: poetry, free verse, short story and others.
Westerville ArtsLine:Writing contest winners announced
First-place winners in each category have the honor of seeing their entry published in an issue of the newspaper. First- through third-place and honorable-mention entries are published online at ThisWeekNews.com/Westerville. Because all approved entries are published in a compilation book, each writer is a published author. Each winner receives a copy of the book courtesy of the Friends of the Westerville Public Library. A copy of the book is purchased by the library and made available for checkout.
All 19 winners were honored at award receptions hosted by the library and Arts Council of Westerville when their award placements were announced, they read their writings for the audience and they received their awards.
First-place winners
Category grades K-2: “If You Give a Panda Some Dumplings” by Abbie Chui
Category grades 3-5: “The Crazy Girl” By Gwendolynn Bennett
Category grades 6-8: “A Better Life” By Lucy Elliott
Category grades 9-12: “I Wish I Was Born a Long Time Ago” By Brielle Fox
Category adults: “Do You Want the Job or Not? An excerpt taken from Over the Prison Walls” By C.L. Proudfit
