FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 5, 2025
Media Contact: Gina Hyams, PR Consultant (713) 930-7554 ginahyams@gmail.com
Spencertown Academy Announces Young Writers’ Contest Winners
Spencertown, New York—Spencertown Academy Arts Center announces the winners of its tenth annual Young Writers’ Contest. The goal of the contest is to encourage creative writing among students in grades 9-12 (including homeschool) living in Columbia County, NY, and Berkshire County, MA.
“It was a great year for the Young Writers’ Contest. We were so pleased with the quality of the stories and essays. The competition was stiff—the judges actually decided that the fiction second place category had to be a tie. Many thanks to the talented students and to all the hard-working teachers for encouraging their students to participate,” says Carol Essert, facilitator of the contest. “And we really cannot thank the judges enough for their time and the thought they put into their co-operative decisions.”
Works were judged in an anonymous process by published authors and publishing professionals, who volunteered their services for this contest. This year’s judges included David Cudaback (a retired magazine writer and editor), Elaine Khosrova (author of “Butter, A Rich History” who has also worked for various national magazines), Emily A. McCully (author of an O’ Henry Prize story, two adult novels, and many children’s books), and Kathy Zdeb (a retired newspaper and public health science writer).
The top three winners in each category received cash prizes ($300, $200, and $150 respectively) and all the winning pieces are now published on the Academy’s website: www.spencertownacademy.org.
Nonfiction/Personal Essay or Memoir
- First Place: Halimah Hotbani, Hudson Senior High School senior, “Naseeb”
- Second Place: Ummuy Chowdhury, Hudson Senior High School senior, “Her Hands, My Shelter: A Mother’s Quiet Rebellion (A Broken Promise)”
- Third Place: Phalyn Renderer, Wahconah Regional High School senior, “Rocks”
Fiction/Short Story
- First Place: Hazel Moody, Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School sophomore, “In the Last Chapter, I Start the Story Again”
- Second Place Tie: Jiongnan Wu, Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School junior, “Cycle” and Nazmun Bhuiyan, Hudson High School junior, “Clair de Lune”
- Third Place: Keira Noonan, Ichabod Crane High School junior, “Corporate Nightmare”
This program is made possible by Hawthorne Valley Farm and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York. For more information, please contact info@spencertownacademy.org.