WHS Sophomore Wins Scholastic Art & Writing Award

A Westfield High School student has joined the ranks of writers Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote and Joyce Carol Oates in earning kudos in the 2012-2013 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Regional winners of the competition have been announced and those students who have earned a "Gold Key" for their work will see their work advance in the competition.

Alexa Derman, a 10th-grade student at Westfield Senior High School was awarded a Gold Key for her short story titled, “Kindergarten.”

Student submissions are judged by luminaries in the literary arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Notable past jurors include Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Judy Blume, Paula Poundstone, Lesley Stahl, Billy Collins and David Sedaris.

Panelists look for works that best exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal voice or vision. In the past five years, submissions have topped 700,000 works, and students have been eligible for over $25 million in awards and scholarships.

To see Derman’s entry and hear her discuss her work, click here