Young Author’s Contest
2009 HFHG Young Authors Contest.
Young Authors was originally a writing contest hosted by the Courier-Journal for students to write, revise, and create their own books. Participating in this contest allowed students the opportunity to learn about and implement the writing process. The Courier-Journal stopped hosting this contest two years ago, so HFHG decided we would host our own!
Nearly 40 homeschooled students in grades 1 through 12 submitted entries into our first annual Young Authors contest. These entries were required to be the student’s own original work of fiction. The length of the piece was left open to the author’s discretion. We received stories that were only a few sentences long and stories that were nearly 50 typed pages!
Stories ranged in theme from simple readers, to fairytales, to historical fiction. And to be honest, we were blown away by the work that went into these books. Not only were the stories excellent, but the books themselves were simply beautiful. Students were required to both illustrate and bind their books. The bindings were as varied as the stories. Some students chose homemade binding, comb binding, and even professional printing from photo stores. 
All of the HFHG Young Authors books were on display at the HFHG Young Authors Awards Banquet on Friday, Nov.13th. This banquet was a potluck dinner for all participants and their families. Winners were announced and awarded on this evening as well and are as follows:
“The Parrots and Mickey” by Mikias Sanders
WINNER
“The Toy Adventure” by Trent Hartlage
HONORARY MENTIONS
“Eric Shepherd’s Bad Day” by Elizabeth Hendricks
“The Brave Coyote” by Owen Pennington
WINNER
“An Adventure of a Lifetime” by Hannah Gross
HONORARY MENTIONS
“A Perfect Solution” by Spencer Pennington
“The Imagination Game” by Kelsea Cornwell
WINNER
“Sariset” by Elizabeth Petrey
HONORARY MENTIONS
“The Slaves of Darfur” by Lydia Hester
“The Christmas Horses Miracle” by Bethany Homsher
WINNER
“Plans For You” by Rachel Sheets
HONORARY MENTIONS
“Coats of Blue and Gray” by Tabitha Benedict
“A Walk by the Ocean Cliffs” by Grace Elizabeth Smith
“Imprisoned in the Heart” by Mandy Pennington
WINNER
“Wagon Wheels” by Abby Thigpen
Watch website for details about the 2010 Young Authors Writing Competition!
