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 Westerville during April. This marks the 15th 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 fewer. Any genre was eligible: poetry, free verse, short story and others.
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 in each age category are published online at ThisWeekNEWS.com/Westerville. Because all approved entries are printed in a compilation book, each writer becomes a published author. The 20 winners receive a complimentary copy of the book courtesy of the Friends of the Westerville Public Library. A copy is purchased by the library and made available for checkout.
In place of the usual reception held to honor the winners and their families, this year the winners were invited to read from their work in front of a green screen background and be recorded, in individual appointments, as part of an awards video. Their award placements were unveiled in the video at artscouncilofwesterville.com on April 18.
First-place winners
Category grades K-2: “Losing My First Tooth” by Abbie Chui
Category grades 3-5: “Horseshoe” by Lucy Elliott
Category grades 6-8: “Back Row” by Vanessa Reznik
Category grades 9-12: “Flip the Switch” by Uku Hughes
Category adults: “Foal Watch” by Nancy Collander
