Four students recently received Honorable Mention awards at the State Young Authors Contest for their outstanding pieces of writing. Short of winning the contest, Honorable Mention is the next best thing which is a pretty big deal!

According to the Wyoming State Literacy Association, The Young Authors Program is a state-wide writing competition is offered for all grades, K-12 in public, private or homeschool. Entries include: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels. The Young Authors Contest provides students the opportunity to write for enjoyment and to share their writing. The writers are recognized in their building and school district.  Then, the first place entries at local districts are sent to the the State Young Authors Contest that was judged on March 8th.

Symantha Hepworth, Brooklyn Scherbel, Rebeka Rodriguez, and Taggert Ivie were the students whose work was chosen to go on to the state contest where each was honorably mentioned for their submissions

“More Than Ink On Page”

Taggert Ivie’s five poem collection explores identity, isolation, and hope. “Ode to the Broken Mirror is about wanting to go back to an old version of yourself, only to realize what you were running from,” he explained. “Snakes and Thorns is about finding a safe space in a painful world.”

Opening up wasn’t easy. “I was nervous to submit, mainly because of how personal my poetry is,” he said. “But I was also confident.”

For Taggert, the award was powerful: “I love writing and believe my stories will impact people. This award proves my writing is worth more than ink on a page.”

He hopes to keep writing, whether it’s music for his band or books for future readers.

“Telling the Story Through a New Lens”

Brooklyn Scherbel reimagined the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds. “I was inspired by short films and my own beliefs,” she said. “I wanted to capture that moment with words.”

New to the contest, Brooklyn was nervous but grateful: “I’d never entered anything like this before and feared rejection, but I’m proud of the result.”

She says the experience only pushed her further: “I’m thankful and excited to try again next year. I hope to become an author someday.”

“A Voice Across Languages”

Rebeka Rodriguez sees poetry as a way to say a lot with just a few words. “I love how you can express so much with a few simple words,” she said.

Her piece, In Another Life. In Another World, reflects on what might’ve been. “It’s about longing for a relationship, for what could’ve happened if nothing had changed.”

Writing in English, her second language, added to the challenge. “It was only the second poem I’ve ever written in another language, and I was scared,” Rebeka admitted. “But it means so much to share my work. It shows that anything is possible.”

She plans to keep writing and one day publish her poetry.

“Holding Up a Broken World”

Symantha Hepworth wrote a fantasy story set in a world called Atlas, falling apart because of humanity’s mistakes. The main character tries to hold it all together while staying true to herself. “It’s based on the Greek myth of Atlas and the idea of someone trying to fix a broken world.”

She said adventure stories are her favorite to read and write. “I love how they grab your attention and don’t slow down.”

Getting an Honorable Mention at state meant a lot: “It was shocking in the best way. I put so much work into it, and now I want to push even harder next year.”

Even with the word limit, Symantha was proud of what she created. “If I had more space, I would’ve written a full book, but I still feel really good about how it turned out.”

She hopes to keep writing in the future: “Whether it’s a short story, a novel, or even a children’s book, I’d love to be an author someday.”