Annual High School Writing Contest

33rd Annual High School Writing Contest Winners

POETRY

  • 1st Place “Sassafras” by Flannery Grace James
    Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ, Mr. Griffin
    11th grade
  • 2nd Place “Rules of Engagement: A Sestina” by William H. McCarthy
    Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Tess C. James
    12th grade
  • 3rd Place “Love is a Leather Jacket” by Gabrielle Walters
    Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ
    10th grade
  • 3rd Place “When Hell Freezes Over” by Hana Feiner
    Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Susan Rothbard
    12th grade
  • Honorable Mentions
    • “Middle School Parking Lot” by Samantha Pappas
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ, Ms. Svea Barrett
      10th grade
    • “Being Everybody” by Samantha Bennewitz
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ, Ms. Svea Barrett
      12th grade
    • “The Egg Man” by Joshua Kimelman
      Millburn High School, Millburn, NJ, Ms. Siegel
      11th grade
    • “When All We Hare Are Words” by Dani Huffman
      Towson High School, Towson, MD, Mr. William Jones
      12th grade
    • “We(re)”, by Jessica Amarant
      Radnor High School, King of Prussia, PA, Mr. Thomas J. Neary
      10th grade
    • “What My Poems Are Used For After Michael Cirelli”, by Chris Sirico
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ,  Ms. Barrett
      10th grade

ESSAY

  • 1st Place “How to Kiss a Girl with a Life-Threatening Allergy” by Flannery Grace James
    Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ, Mr. Griffin, 11th grade
  • 2nd Place “this is probably not a play” by Alexa Derman
    Westfield High School, Westfield, NJ, Mr. Della Fera, 11th grade
  • 3rd Place “Murder I committed” by Claudia Lu
    Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Tess C. James, 10th grade
  • Honorable Mentions
    • “Snapshots” by Lucy Zhou
      Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Susan Rothbard, 12th grade
    • “Public Bathrooms in Heaven” by Rebecca Lanham
      Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Susan Rothbard, 12th grade
    • “You Are Here. You Are Still Right Here.”, by Elizabeth Vogel
      Newark Academy, Ms. Tess C. James, 12th grade
    • “The Art of Usefulness”, by Janice Sung
      Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ, Mr. Richard Weems, 11th grade
    • “Seven Moons Ago”, by Katy Martini
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ, Ms. Svea Barrett, 12th grade

FICTION

  • 1st Place “Black Dog” by Alyssa McPherson
    Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ, Ms. Tess C. James, 12th grade
  • 2nd Place “Strangers” by Alexandra Mendelsohn
    Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ, Mr. Richard Weems, 11th grade
  • 3rd Place “Play-Doh” by Katie Horner
    Radnor High School, King of Prussia, PA, Mr. Carl Rosin, 11th grade
  • Honorable Mentions
    • “Icebox Saints” by Joshua Kimelman
      Millburn High School, Millburn, NJ, Ms. Siegel, 11th grade
    • “Fiction” by Catherine Burgess
      Clayton High School, Clayton, NJ, Ms. Kelly Citrone, 12th grade
    • “Quarters (Edmund, Oklahoma, 1969)” by Kendall Treece
      Towson High School, Towson, MD, Mr. William Jones, 12th grade
    • “Snow Angel” by Lindsay Martin
      Oak Knoll School, Summit, NJ, Mrs. Ross, 10th grade
    • “For Lack of a Better Word: Destiny” by Aleah Gatto
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ, Ms. Svea Barrett, 10th grade
    • “Letter to My Uncle Who Died Two Years Ago” by Jessica Ma
      Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale, NJ, Ms. Svea Barrett, 12th grade
    • “So Quick to Judge”, G. J., Trenton, NJ