(MIDLAND) A panel of judges that included New York Times bestselling authors, award-winning poets, and a Lincoln Park graduate honored students from the Writing and Publishing Department at the 14th annual Writing Awards.
The awards, which have been held since Lincoln Park’s first year of existence, took place this year in Alumni Hall, via Zoom broadcast.
“This is a night for us not to think about what we’ve lost because of coronavirus, but to remember the traditions we’ve preserved in spite of it,” Dan LeRoy, director of the Writing and Publishing Department, told the audience of students, family members and friends.
“It’s also a celebration of how our students have adapted, and made new opportunities for themselves.”
LeRoy was joined at Alumni Hall by Writing and Publishing resident artist Deanna Baringer and middle school Writing and Publishing instructor Cindy West. They each presented a variety of awards to students.
As has been the case in past years, Writing and Publishing students submitted work in six different categories. This work was sent, anonymously, to professionals in the relevant fields, who chose winners and runners-up in each literary genre.
The panel of judges this year included:
New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay was one of the judges for the 2020 Writing Awards at Lincoln Park.
Bestselling author, Marvel Comics contributor, and New York Times opinion writer Roxane Gay
Poet and professor Rebecca Lindenberg, a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Grant and numerous other literary awards
Award-winning screenwriter, poet, author and CMU professor Jim Daniels
Bestselling ghostwriter and literary coach Toni Robino
Beaver author Wende Dikec, who has written numerous bestselling romance and young adult novels
Theatre professional Katie Keirs, a 2009 graduate of the Writing and Publishing program at Lincoln Park, and former Writing Awards winner.
Following tradition, department instructors also gave a series of awards to Writing and Publishing students for outstanding performance during the course of the year. The evening concluded with a set of special “Great Hiatus” awards for student accomplishments during the pandemic, and a roll call to honor graduating seniors.
Senior members of the Writing Publishing Department also upheld another tradition that dates back to the school’s first year: participating in the annual Senior Reading. The 2020 reading can be seen on the department’s YouTube channel, and features seven seniors reading their original work.
The department’s Instagram account (@lpwritingandpublishing) has honored graduating seniors this month with a series of “Senior Spotlight” posts, each spotlighting a 2020 Writing and Publishing graduate.
Writing and Publishing senior Melia Lenkner captured three first place honors at Thursday’s Writing Awards, winning first place recognition in the Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction categories. Meanwhile, senior Hailey Bartlett was the winner of the Evie Adams Award, which is named for Midland author Evelyn Adams and goes to an outstanding senior who plans to study writing in college.
The awards also recognize the youngest members of the department. Eighth-grader Taylor Hill was named the winner of the Shel Silverstein Award, given to the department’s outstanding middle school student.
A complete list of the awards, winners and judges can be found at the Writing and Publishing Department’s official website, lpwritingandpublishing.com, or by simply following this link.
The Writing and Publishing Department at Lincoln Park is the home of BatCat Press, the only high school student-run small press in the nation. The department trains young writers grades 7-12 in multiple writing and publishing-related fields to prepare them for a variety of careers in the arts and sciences.
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