More Good News

More Good News

After reading some of the comments from the judges of the SCWW High School Writing Competition, it should not have come as a surprise to learn that many of the winners/entrants were also winners elsewhere.

Kathryn Lovatt (fiction) surmised “...there is a great teacher out there who works works, works with his/her students”; Tom Dabbs (nonfiction) in his appraisal of his top-winning selection said, “Should you accept the charge of the talents you have, should you become the writer you can and should be, you will have the exquisite privilege and damnable burden of being one who brings light to the world.” Gene Fehler (poetry) had these encouraging words, “Each . . . seemed to be written by someone well beyond the years of these poets. These students, along with many others whose poems were not selected among the top five, have fine careers ahead of them as poets.” Pretty powerful statements and true as we shall see.

Of the First Place, Second Place and Honorable Mention awards given to the twelve winning students, eight of these students went on to win silver and gold medals in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards.

Luke Hodges was awarded the highest level of recognition - Writing Portfolio Gold Medal - which carries a $10,000 cash scholarship. Other SCWW winners who also won gold and/or silver medals in the Scholastic Arts & Writing competition are Victoria Sharp, Megan Gallagher, Emilea Wright, Anna Faison, Eric Steifel, Lukas Hadstein and Katherine Carter.

Victoria Ford, a 2010 SCWW winner, was a $10,000 gold medal winner for her Creative Nonfiction Portfolio.

Luke and Victoria won two of only seven portfolio awards given nationally by the Scholastic Arts & Writing and were the only portfolio winners in South Carolina and the Southeast.

This prestigious awards competition began in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson who said he wanted artists and writers to receive medals and recognition like athletes. The presentation was held in Carnegie Hall and their names were placed on a list of past prominent winners . . . Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Robert Redford, Joyce Carol Oates.

Imagine! Two out of seven nationally selected winners for writing are from South Carolina.

For a complete listing of the 2011 SCWW winners go to the website listed below.

Now, it’s time to turn to the SCWW October Conference. Registration opened June 15 and can be completed at www.myscww.org.The Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Awards, named in honor of one of SCWW’s founding members, are open to all registered attendees of the SCWW Annual Conference. Entrants must be current members of SCWW and must remain currant through the date of the Annual Conference. The categories are poetry, short fiction, novel/first chapter and nonfiction. Entries must be postmarked on or before August 20, 2011. Click on SCWW Contests for complete details of the competition.

Martha Greenway
SCWW Contests Co-Chair