VALDOSTA – The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and its Young Writers League hosted the first “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, arts center representatives said in a statement.

A special recognition ceremony for these young writers will be held 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at the arts center, 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 Sementha Mathews, center executive director. “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 Aug. 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, seventh grade, first place

– Bailey Vice, Northeast Middle School, seventh grade, second place

Poetry

– Maddock Kuo, Valdosta Middle School, seventh grade, first place

– Julia Soshnik, Valdosta Middle School, seventh grade, second place

– Karmen Denson, Valdosta Middle School, seventh grade, third place

High School

Nonfiction

– Ian Repsher, Valdosta High School, 12th grade, first place

– Gretchen Stubbs, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, second place

– Huntley Herring, Valdosta High School, 11th grade, third place

– Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, ninth grade, honorable mention

Poetry

– Katie Goodwin, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, first place

– Catriona Moore, Valwood School, 10th grade, second place

– Alina Lassiter, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, third place

– Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, ninth 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, first place

– Leslie Monroy, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, second place

– Vivian Thomas, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, third place

– Catherine Moody, Valdosta High School, 10th grade, honorable mention

– Ethan Grace, Valdosta High School, ninth 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,” Carvajal said. “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 such as “The Art of Writing.” Classes 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 the 2022 Art of Writing contest is Jan. 15, 2022, and will feature another unique theme to engage young people in important civic topics, center representatives said. For more information, call (229) 247-2787 or visit turnercenter.org.