Ottawa – And the winners are in! Young writers were honored yesterday on the main stage of Centrepointe Theatres at the 2017 awards ceremony for the Awesome Authors youth writing contest. Awards were handed out to young writers between the ages of 9 and 17 in the categories of poetry, short story, and ‒ new this year ‒ comics. The contest was held from December 2016 and February 2017 and included workshops with writing mentors that enriched this opportunity for kids and teens to explore the craft of writing.
The annual contest is sponsored by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA). This year, an impressive 432 entries were received. Local authors Caroline Pignat, Catherine Austen, Sylvie Frigon, and Éric Péladeau judged the submitted works by young local writers.
“Awesome Authors encourages creativity and inspires continuous learning in our youth. I’m thrilled to see this contest expand in popularity and reach every year!” said Tim Tierney, Chair of the OPL Board and Councillor for Beacon Hill-Cyrville Ward. “I would like to give a special thanks to FOPLA for sponsoring Awesome Authors and for providing children and teens an opportunity to develop their creativity every year!”
Here is the list of winners, organized by writing category, including each winner’s name, the title of their winning work, their age, their school, and their standing.
POEMS
Ages 9 - 11
1st Place
Maya Mohammed (Age 11), Dragons
Vincent Massey Public School
2nd Place
Poojithya Adikari (Age 10), A Round Sphere
Stephen Leacock Public School
3rd Place
Alyson Moncur-Beer (Age 11), We Remember
Mutchmor Public School
Honourable Mention 1
Meredith Sy (Age 11), The Flâneur
Académie Westboro Academy
Honourable Mention 2
Tabeeb Howlader (Age 10), I'm the reason, yet they forget
Jack Donohue Public School
Honourable Mention 3
Jenan Faris (Age 10), Spirit of the Seasons
Home School
Ages 12 - 14
1st Place
Maleeka Ellaithy (Age 12), Keeping Hope
Jack Donohue Public School
2nd Place
Julia Dolansky-Overland (Age 13), The Child
Greenbank Middle School
3rd Place
Kaitlyn Chen (Age 13), The Epilogue
Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School
Honourable Mention 1
Robin Frauzel (Age 13), Wolf Moon
St. Peter High School
Honourable Mention 2
Anna MacDonald (Age 14), Something Else
John McCrae Secondary School
Honourable Mention 3
Vera Hadzic (Age 14), The Climb
Colonel By Secondary School
Ages 15 - 17
1st Place
Phuong Nguyen (Age 16), Our Home and Native Land
Canterbury High School
2nd Place
Elyse Gauthier (Age 17), Secret Agents
École secondaire catholique Garneau
3rd Place
Urooj Shah (Age 16), Revolutionaries
Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School
Honourable Mention 1
Belinda Xu (Age 16), Forever and always
Earl of March Secondary School
Honourable Mention 2
Isabella M. Crysler (Age 15), Loveproof People
Nepean High School
Honourable Mention 3
Shirley Zhu (Age 15), When Spring Comes
Lisgar Collegiate Institute
SHORT STORY
Ages 9 - 11
1st Place
Leeah Sullivan (Age 11), A Brother Lost
Home School
2nd Place
Khadeeja Rizwan (Age 11), Saved and Rescued
Stephen Leacock Public School
3rd Place
Allegra Bisaillon (Age 11), The Journey
Mutchmor Public School
Honourable Mention 1
Evelyn Goddard (Age 11), Echo
South March Public School
Honourable Mention 2
Dora Chen (Age 11), My True Self
Elgin Street Public School
Honourable Mention 3
Roman Gorodkov (Age 11), Split
Elgin Street Public School
Ages 12 - 14
1st Place
Catherine Ma (Age 13), The Clockmaker
Earl of March Intermediate School
2nd Place
Joy Liu (Age 13), The Last Storytime
Earl of March Intermediate School
3rd Place
Olivia Simms (Age 13), Splotches
Glashan Public School
Honourable Mention 1
Kate Calhoun (Age 14), At the Water's Edge
South Carleton High School
Honourable Mention 2
Shannon Noah (Age 14), Disconnected
Sir Wilfred Laurier
Honourable Mention 3
Bonnie Chin (Age 14), A Sky Full of Stars
Colonel By Secondary School
Ages 15-17
1st Place
Sandunya Nadugala (Age 16), Chasing Colour
Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School
2nd Place
Sarah Ham (Age 16), Deliverance
John McCrae Secondary School
3rd Place
Elyse Gauthier (Age 17), Dissonance
École secondaire catholique Garneau
Honourable Mention 1
Alexander J Dolansky-Overland (Age 16), Genesis 1:27: The Creator and the Creation
Canterbury High School
Honourable Mention 2
Claire Keenan (Age 16), Bedsheets
Nepean High School
Honourable Mention 3
Audreyann Albin (Age 15), Morality in Little Italy
Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School
COMIC
Ages 9 - 11
1st Place
John Haas (Age 10), Cow and Chicken
Bridlewood Community Elementary School
Ages 12 - 14
1st Place
Grace Gao (Age 14), Antisocial media
Colonel By Secondary School
Ages 15 - 17
1st Place
Nourjehan Faris (Age 16), Teenage Logic Vol. #1
Independent Learning Centre
Honourable Mention
Lila Ndinsil (Age 17), A child's typical day
École secondaire publique Louis-Riel
Poésie
9 – 11 ans
1er prix
Miriam Zdunich (Age 10), Le paon et la souris
école élémentaire catholique Sainte-Geneviève
2e prix
Chloé Bednar (Age 10), La salamandre et la tortue
école élémentaire catholique Jean-Robert-Gauthier
3e prix
Eva Brown (Age 11), Les saisons
école élémentaire publique Le Prélude
12 – 14 ans
1er prix
Schanez Mouhoubi (Age 13), Celle que je ne suis pas
Hawthorne Public School
2e prix
Kaitlyn Chen (Age 13), Éternité
Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School
3e prix
Rebecca Kempe (Age 14), Un Nouveau Monde
Canterbury High School
Mention honorable
Allison Wang (Age 13), Perdu dans une danse
Earl of March Intermediate School
15 – 17 ans
1er prix
Nicolas Michaud (Age 16), Camembert
École secondaire publique De La Salle
2e prix
Allison White (Age 16), Mon nom
École secondaire catholique Pierre-Savard
3e prix
Lila Ndinsil (Age 16), À ceux qui m'ont aimé
École secondaire publique Louis-Riel
NOUVELLE
9 – 11 ans
1er prix
Virginie Balatchev (Age 11), Trois perles
Lycée Claudel
2e prix
Jenna Abu-Dieh (Age 10), L'ère est au doute
École élémentaire publique de Kanata
3e prix
Héloïse Lebel (Age 10), Les maths d'autrefois
École élémentaire publique Francojeunesse
Mention honorable
Sophie LeVasseur (Age 11), Le récit d'un soldat et l'expression du courage
École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Geneviève
12 – 14 ans
1er prix
Tallulah Blais (Age 13), La Pipe
École secondaire publique De La Salle
2e prix
Isabelle Guillemette (Age 12), L’île aux contrebandiers
École secondaire publique De La Salle
3e prix
Celina Lupson (Age 13), Ange
École secondaire catholique Pierre- Savard
Mention honorable
Alison Power (Age 14), La quête de soi
École secondaire publique De La Salle
15 – 17 ans
1er prix
Elissa El-Chami (Age 15), Quand il pleut
Collège catholique Samuel-Genest
2e prix
Sarah Ham (Age 16), Solitude
John McCrae Secondary School
3e prix
Maxine Montpetit (Age 16), Choc
Collège catholique Franco-Ouest
BANDE DESSINÉE
9 – 11 ans
1er prix
Amelia Mohring (Age 11), Le dessin de nous
École élémentaire catholique Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau
Mention honorable
Mimi England (Age 10), Monsieur marionnette
École élémentaire publique Trille des Bois
12 – 14 ans
1er prix
Clara Bolam (Age 12), La guerre de anime
École élémentaire publique Le Prélude
15 – 17 ans
1er prix
Lila Ndinsil (Age 17), S'échauffer ou se réchauffer?
École secondaire publique Louis-Riel
The winners’ works will be included this fall in pot-pourri, an anthology of short stories and poems published by FOPLA. To pre-order a copy of pot-pourri, visit the FOPLA website at OttawaPublicLibraryFriends.ca.
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is the largest bilingual (English/French) public library system in North America. The OPL extends public access to information and services through the library’s 34 branches, physical and virtual at www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca, as well as two mobile libraries and a vending machine-style lending library service. Serving close to one million Ottawa residents, OPL’s mission is to inspire learning, spark curiosity, and connect people. Follow us on Twitter www.Twitter.com/OPL_BPO and like us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/OPLBPO. Contact us at 613-580-2940 or InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca. If it’s out there, it’s in here!
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