Sierra Nevada College’s English Program has released the winners of the 5th annual High School Writing Contest, a national competition which honors high school juniors and seniors in three categories: creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry. The winners in each category receive a cash prize of $500 for first place, $250 for second and $100 for third, and the $100 Local’s Prize honors student writers from Nevada and California. The winners also receive a $20,000 scholarship offer from SNC and consideration for publication in the Sierra Nevada Review, a literary annual which publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by emerging and nationally recognized authors.
The Winners
Creative Nonfiction
First Place: Lindsay Emi (Westlake Village, CA), “Latin Class in Seven (VII) Parts”
Second Place: Darla Macel Anne Canales (Erie, CO), “Oven”
Third Place: Gabriel Braunstein (Arlington MA), “Family on the Commuter Rail”
Local’s Prize: Isabella Stenvall (San Luis Obispo CA), “Wars with Numbers”
Finalists: Emily Zhang, Oriana Tang, Aletheia Wang, Jack Priessman, Annie Harmon
Fiction
First Place: Emily Zhang (Boyds MA), “Midwestern Myth”
Second Place: Lucy Silbaugh (Wyncote PA), “Burrowing”
Third Place: Laura Ingram (Disputanta VA), “Absolute Value”
Local’s Prize: Erin Stoodley (Ventura CA), “Ghosts”
Finalists: Lindsay Emi, Jessica Li, Tatiana Saleh, Madison Hoffman, Oriana Tang
Poetry
First Place: Oriana Tang (Livingston NJ), “Bildungsroman”
Second Place: Catherine Valdez (Miami FL), “Mami”
Third Place: Ruohan Miao (Chandler AZ), “Dust Bowl”
Local’s Prize: Ava Goga (Reno NV), “Notes on Repression”
Finalists: Emily Zhang, Katia Kozachok, Allie Spensley, Emma Symmonds, Jessica Prescott
