The Morgan Book Project and Scholastic Writing Awards!

I'm playing catch-up here - 

Following last year's Book Project Awards that was cancelled due to the pandemic, The Morgan Library and Museum found a way to make it happen this year. The award ceremony was virtual, and judges had an opportunity to speak with the kids about their projects. I loved hearing their thoughts on the book project program experience, what inspired their projects, and how they made decisions about design layout and story. Themes included public safety Covid guidelines as a reflection of the times, and stories of cooperation and kindness toward others, an appeal to everyone to work together. Their dedication to their work was an inspiration to all of us. And a special thank you to the schools and teachers for helping to pull this off! All of the projects submitted were wonderful and full of heart. Congratulations to every participant for their extraordinary accomplishment. View the winning projects HERE click on the cover to expand the book. 

As a bonus to the kids for their tremendous effort during such a challenging time, all finalists have their books on display in the gallery through August 15th. 

The Scholastic Writing Awards were a great success. Another wonderful program I feel privileged to be a part of. The students surmounted the tragic uncertainty of living through a pandemic by channeling their creativity through the art of writing, and produced a record of our time. There were of course works influenced by personal experience of the pandemic represented in the submissions. But all of the work, all of the themes they embraced, proved that expressing ourselves creatively is important and should be nurtured through programs like this. Whatever the genre, these young writers showed they had something to say. Read the winning works HERE by genre. Regional awards list. Congratulations to all the participants and to the winners. Thank you for sharing your art, and thank you to the partnering organizations that helped to create a space where their work can flourish. Keep writing with Writopia Lab.

Look for more information about the programs and how young people can participate through the links.

Scholastic Writing Awards for kids

I am excited and inspired after a day of reading kids' submissions to the Scholastic Writing Awards.  I read some fantastic work. And even those entry's that were less successful had kernals of wonderful work to come. I read beautifully crafted sentences. There was dialogue that made me feel I was eavesdropping,  the words were so true and genuine. There were photographic descriptions, and poetic turns of phrases that could have come from the most accomplished writers. All this from 9th-12th graders (in my batch)! Of course my fingers are crossed for the submissions I nominated. It's all subjective though, so I hope all the participants continue to write.

The arts seem to be under assault these days where kids are concerned. Programs in schools are being cut in favor of a push for more math and science over arts education.  There's nothing wrong with math and science,  but I believe the emphasis in school should be on developing intellectual curiosity for life long learning, and a broad education that embraces the humanities. After school programs and libraries can also fill the gap, but they need your support. And get kids to participate. The greater the demand, the more attention these programs will receive.

Here's a link to the submissions guidelines. I encourage everyone to let kids know about this wonderful opportunity. http://www.artandwriting.org/the-awards/how-to-enter/
And thank you to Writopia Lab in Hartsdale for hosting. Writopia offers writing workshops for kids across the country. http://www.writopialab.org/ Happy writing.