May 27, 2014
Student winners of this year’s “Celebrate Writing” contest, sponsored by Whidbey Island Writers Association’s (WIWA) will read their work aloud on stage at the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 30 at the Whidbey Children’s Theater.
Since 1999, WIWA’s “Celebrate Writing” contest has recognized and encouraged writing talent among Whidbey Island students. This year, WIWA is presenting the annual contest in cahoots with the Whidbey Children’s Theater (WCT) of Langley, opening it to the public.
Whidbey Life Magazine (WLM) will publish the winners on its website throughout June.
Whidbey Island students from all schools were eligible to enter the contest, which ran until May 1. Then six local writers-turned-judges got to work. Beyond assessing the entries and deciding on a winner, these pros took time to provide every contestant with personalized feedback.
“We created the “Celebrate Writing” contest to be a pillar of positive support for each student who enters,” said Jeanne Juneau, marketing director of the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA) marketing director. It’s all about helping young writers build their craft, which is the foundation of NILA’s mission. And our volunteer team of judges is off-the-charts cool.”
Winners will read their work aloud on stage at the awards ceremony. Before that, they’ll meet with WCT staff and directors for a theater tour and expert tips on presenting their work.
NILA and WCT invite friends, families and the community at large to the ceremony. Whidbey Children’s Theater is located at 723 Camano Ave, Langley, WA 98260.
Donations at the door are welcome. wiwa.nila.edu/Celebrate-Writing-Contest-Winners-2015
Congratulations to all the young authors who won, of course, but also to all who even submitted, for it isn’t easy to have your work carefully examined and critiqued. One must have courage, bravery, fortitude, backbone, tenacity, determination, guts … well, you know what it took. Bravo! I have the date and time of the Celebrate Writing Awards Ceremony marked on my calendar and do hope to be there.