Edith Wharton Writing Competition Winners Announced
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LENOX, Mass. — The Mount has announced the winners of the 15th annual Edith Wharton Writing Competition.
The Mount and The Berkshire Eagle established the writing competition in 1998 in support and recognition of emerging young writers in Edith Wharton's beloved Berkshire region. This year's writing competition is sponsored by The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire Life, WSBS and Newspapers in Education.
The 2014 competition invited local and regional students from grades nine through 12 to submit entries in one or both categories: Fiction and Poetry. Marsha Recknagel, former writer-in-residence at Rice University, and Simon's Rock professor Peter Filkins served as judges. The Mount received a record-breaking number of entries from 22 schools from the Berkshires, Hampshire, and Franklin counties as well as New York, Connecticut and Vermont.
The 2014 winners are:
* Fiction (11th & 12th grades): First place: Emmett Shepard, Mount Greylock Regional High School; Second place: Katie Stonecipher, Berkshire School; Honorable mention: Jacqueline Ose, Rockville High School
* Fiction (9th & 10th grades): First place: Anya Sheldon, Mount Greylock Regional High School; Second place: Karen Kibler, Emma Willard School
* Poetry (11th & 12th grades): First place: Madeleine Kelly, The Chapin School; Second place: Bryan Bliek, Rockville High School; Honorable mention: Christiane Lee, Rockville High School
* Poetry (9th & 10th grades): First place: Maia Vlcek, Monument Mountain Regional High School; Second place: Emma Lezberg, Pittsfield High School; Third place: Lily Vartanian, Rockville High School.
The Mount invites all participating students, their families and teachers, and the general public to attend an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 27, from 2 to 4 p.m. The program will open with remarks by Karin Tanabe, a novelist and former Politico reporter. Award winners will be presented with prizes totaling $1,500 and will be invited to read their winning works aloud.
Following the ceremony there will be a reception with light refreshments. This event is free. For more information and to reserve a space, please contact Kelsey Mullen at 413-551-5110.
