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Students from Oswego and Oswego East high schools won numerous awards at the recent Southwest Prairie Conference Literary Festival.
Professional writers and performers judge the annual writing competition, which was held April 9 at Yorkville High School.
The keynote speaker was young adult author Jeff Zentner, author of In the Wild Light and Serpent King, among others. During the conference, students engaged in various workshops with writing industry professionals, an open mic of slam poetry, and an awards ceremony.
Students submitted writing in the following categories: poetry, short fiction, personal narrative, personal essay, critical essay, dramatic scene/script and descriptive sketch.
The Oswego East Poetic Justice Writers, sponsored by Tim Ochoa, who brought home 14 awards, the most of any attending school.
The OHS Panther Writers, sponsored by OHS English teacher Erin Holtz, brought home 13 awards.
Oswego East and Oswego High brought home a combined 56% of the awards presented to the 12 SPC Conference schools at the Lit Festival.
Winners from Oswego High School (OH) and Oswego East High School (OE) include:
CRITIC’S CHOICE (Top Award)
Hailey Berk (OE) - Poetry, “Overload of Oades”
Carson Busby (OE) - Personal Narrative, “Lonely in a Room Full of People”
Ethan Rhoades & Mikayla Allen (OH) - Dramatic Scene “The Super Sophisticated Society of British Butler”
FIRST PLACE
Tori Akers (OH) - Personal Essay, “Breaking Down”
Hailey Berk (OE) - Dramatic Scene, “Bathroom Bat Rituals”
Gabrielle Stamatis (OE) - Personal Narrative, “Who I Am”
SECOND PLACE
Bella Cappadora (OE) - Personal Essay, “Failing Can Be Good”
Paris Hunt (OE) - Dramatic Scene, “Legends of Ostrana: Valkyrie the Shapeshifter”
Elizabeth Rodriguez (OH) - Critical Essay, “Transgender Women in Female Sports”
Will Sampah (OE) - Personal Narrative, “It Doesn’t Make You Any Different”
Sophia Santiago (OH) - Descriptive Sketch, “Anthropology of the Heat”
THIRD PLACE
Arleth Antunez (OH) - Narrative, “Tears and Sweat”
Nailah Brown (OH) - Descriptive Sketch, “Amusement Park”
Katie Dunn (OE) - Dramatic Scene, “The Next Stop”
Beatrice Garrigan (OH) - Personal Essay, “Uncomfortable”
Cian Perez (OE) - Poetry, “Sabado Afternoon with Elena”
HONORABLE MENTION
Laila Abouhaiba, Jessica Taylor, & Devon Vinopal (OH) - Dramatic Scene “Goat Yoga”
Hailey Berk (OE) - Poetry, “Treacle Condolences”
Carson Busby (OE) - Descriptive Sketch, “The Carnival Child”
Katie Dunn (OE) - Short Fiction, “Driving Aubrey”
Isreal Hopkins (OH) - Personal Narrative, “The Taller Brother and The Shorter Brother”
Aliana Hussain (OE) - Poetry, “My Mother’s Mother”
Abby Miller (OH) - Personal Narrative, “Friday the Thirteenth”
Julia Mule (OE) - Personal Essay, “The Elephant Does Forget”
Azreal Parduhn (OE) - Descriptive Sketch, “Cerulean Swirls”; Short Fiction, “The Illusion of True Joy”
Elizabeth Rodriguez (OH) - Critical Essay, “The Dangers of Sex Work: A Negative Toll on Physical Health”