Credit: Kim Lyman
The Friends of the Pine Plains Library announced the winners of the Young Writers Contest, open to students in grades six to twelve in the Pine Plains Central School District. Celebrating its 10th year, the contest has awarded over $10,000 since its inception.
Founded in 2005, Friends of the Pine Plains Free Library is a nonprofit organization that supports the library and provides outreach and enrichment programs to the community, with their annual writing contest a favorite among local students. “Some submit every year,” Judge Vicki LoBrutto said. “That person may go on to be a writer.”
This year, 75 students submitted their work, with winners in the categories of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and academic writing. The entry form was distributed to teachers and posted at the library, where Abbie Gallagher runs a writing club for young people. The majority of applications were in fiction. Cash prizes and honorary mentions were awarded to students: $100 for first prize, $50 for second prize and $25 for third prize. Cash and certificates are sent to the students’ teachers, who then present them to the honorees.
“The flow of the music / makes me / feel like I’m glowing… / I feel like I’m shining / in the moonlight,” is an excerpt from “X,” a poem by Vincente Mercado, an eighth-grader who won the poetry prize in the lower grades.
In grades 9-12, first, second, and third prizes were awarded in every category, with two students, senior Leandra Costa and junior Ren Babcock, winning first prize in two categories. Leandra won in creative nonfiction (memoir) and academic writing, while Ren won in fiction and poetry.
Excerpt from Leandra Costa’s memoir, “Unknown Faces”: “In my rural New York hometown, I rarely see someone who looks like me…. All of a sudden, I’m in a country full of people and family who do resemble me. Walking the streets of Brazil, I don’t stand out like I did before; instead, I fit in.”
From Ren Babcock’s poem, “Side of Sixteen”: “a glass of cranberry juice with your grandfather / on New Year’s Eve / half empty or half full / the year’s almost over / and there’s confetti in your mouth”
Two other students, Alina Fouts and Kaylei Murphy, also placed in two categories.
While there were once three judges, currently there is only one, Vicki LoBrutto, who was a former district-wide librarian. When judging student submissions LoBrutto said she looks for creativity and adherence to state writing standards. “The good ones submit every year,” she said, from sixth grade on. The students send her digital copies, which she prints out. From the printouts, she creates a booklet of the winning entries, which resides in the library. Anyone who is interested can have a look at the winning work. The Friends have accumulated the booklets of local literary talent for the past ten years.
Additionally, Kim Lyman, a ninth-grade English and creative writing teacher at Stissing Mountain High School, publishes the first-place winners in an annual literary magazine that features student’s creative writing. However, the publication is open to all students, not just contest winners. “Anyone in the school who wants to submit work can,” Lyman said.
For a complete list of honorees visit Friends of the Pine Plains Library’s website.