After several years serving as an adjudication partner for the Scholastic Writing Awards, the Morehead Writing Project is excited to announce that we are now an Affiliate Partner of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers which means we are hosting a writing contest for teen writers in our region this fall.
The 2023 Scholastic Awards will open for all regions on Sept. 1 and the Eastern Kentucky Writing Region contest will close Dec. 1 with regional award winners announced by Jan. 21, 2023. Regional Gold Key winners will then be eligible for national awards and scholarships.
The Eastern Kentucky Writing Region will include Bath, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clark, Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Greenup, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Lewis, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Mason, Montgomery, Menifee, Morgan, Nicholas, Owsley, Pike, Perry, Powell, Robertson, Rowan, and Wolfe counties.
Coordinator Stacie May (stacie.may@rowan.kyschools.us) is looking for teachers in these counties with students in grades 7–12 interested in supporting their students on their journey for regional and national awards.
There are 10 categories of writing eligible for the Scholastic Writing Awards and graduating seniors can submit a writing portfolio of up to six works. This flexibility should allow most writing teachers to support preparation of award submissions. “The range of writing submissions was one of our primary reasons for becoming a Scholastic Affiliate,” said Morehead Writing Project Site Director Deanna Mascle. “We are very excited about giving student writers an authentic writing opportunity.”
Scholastic jurors reviewing student writing are looking for works that exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. “These core values align with those of the National Writing Project,” Mascle said. “We love that this work will reinforce those values in writing classrooms throughout our region.”
Teachers interested in supporting student submission to the Eastern Kentucky Scholastic Writing Awards including receiving notification that the contest portal is now open and about events supporting both teachers and students through this process should reach out to May using this form.
