Literary Awards

Dr. Carey Scott Wilkerson Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Lleyton Kane, "Algorithm"
2nd Place: Allie Rezek, "Infliction”
3rd Place: Cecily Turner, "Fuji Fallen to Earth"

Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Novelle Dennis, “Ardenti Lacrimis”
2nd Place: Annie Lee, “Redefining Revolution: Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and the Power of Moral Reform”
3rd Place: Cailey Dritchas, “I Have a Dream / Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction

1st Place: Kaylee Duncan, “Resting Upon Open Hands”
2nd Place: Novelle Dennis, “Spine”
3rd Place: Dean, “Project SYVORTKA”

Dr. Jim Owen Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: Chanwoo Lee, “A Boy and His Bugs”
2nd Place: Phaedra Temmis, “Trailer Treasures”
3rd Place: Shazneen Sayed, “Crash Course in Life”

Melissa Pritchard Schley and Dr. Philip Schley Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Myra, “My Grandma’s House”
2nd Place: Laronda Furlow, “Five-ish Nights at Bradley’s”
3rd Place: Michelle Antony, “Regret is the Real Failure”

Andrew Ruhs Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: Symara Seward, “Star Troop”
2nd Place: Tamay Yarwaye, “Behind the Scenes”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Rowan Swank, “A Ladybug”
2nd Place: Cynthia Short, “Time is the Living’s Luxury”
3rd Place: Emma Silverstein, “Rotten Peach Twang”

Dr. Daniel William Ross Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Erin Billiot, “Soul's Beauty, Body’s Beauty, and the Prevailing Narratives of Women in Literature”
2nd Place: Emma Silverstein, “Tumultuous Tempest: The Transformative Nature of the Ocean in Shakespeare’s Pericles and The Tempest”
3rd Place: Brande George, “A Vision of Moloch: The Shamanic Journey in Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction

1st Place: Huda Sayedzada, “When the Hijab Slips”
2nd Place: Savannah McGill, “Perfect Babe”
3rd Place: Ivory Alexander, “Charm for when the Sandman falls for you”

Dr. Patrick McHenry Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: Evie Fletcher, “A Family Under Attack”
2nd Place: Theodore Pound, “Die Extremgfckt, or, the Allegory of the Rat King”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Sal Woessner, “The First and Last”
2nd Place: Evie Fletcher, “Re-Birth-Day"
3rd Place: Theodore Pound, “Truth n Comedy”

Dr. Barbara J. Hunt Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: Theodore Pound, “SK(eLe)TOR!”
2nd Place: Sal Woessner, “Her Still Singing Limbs"

Dr. Carey Scott Wilkerson Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Allen Moore, “Orange Picking,” UMS-Wright Prep School
2nd Place: Arin Joshi, “I couldn’t go further. Sorry.,” Johns Creek HS
3rd Place: Emily Nguyen, “An Ounce of Filial Piety,” Global Impact Academy

Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Lily Choy, “Why You Should Boycott Shein: An Essay,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
2nd Place: Trinity Williams, “Banned,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
3rd Place: Abigail Heiss, “Swallowed Tears,” Columbus HS

Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction

1st Place: A. James, “Do Not Take the Train,” Paideia School
2nd Place: Adi L. Wright, “Color in the Form of Suffering,” Harris County HS
3rd Place: Kai M. McMichael, “Pentobarbital,” Central HS

Dr. Jim Owen Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: Phaedra Temmis, “Your First Breath Took Mine Away,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Rachel Davis, “Delivery 1,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
3rd Place: Tamay Yarwaye, “A Mother's Lament,” Columbus HS

Melissa Pritchard Schley and Dr. Philip Schley Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st place: Chloe Bullard, “My Experience with a Flawed Treatment System,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Charlsie Evans, “My grandmother,” Heritage HS
3rd Place: Rachel Davis, “Rumination of Self,” Rainey-McCullers SotA

Andrew Ruhs Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: Trinity Williams, “Pointing Fingers,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
2nd Place: Hunter Richardson, “Piano Man,” Harrison HS
3rd Place: Jay Magee, “Smoke and Mirrors,” Northview HS

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Emma Silverstein, “Eclipse”
2nd Place: Ivory Alexander, “Kill the Sublime Stranger”
3rd Place: Cynthia Short, “Rancid Reminiscence”

Dr. Daniel William Ross Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Ransom May, “To Be Poisoned by a Book: Oscar Wilde and The Picture of Dorian Gray as a Lens for Censorship”
2nd Place: L'Anita Heiss, “Tell My Story: Defending Ophelia ’s Suffering in Hamlet”
3rd Place: Zagreus Rivers, “You're Going in the Camps Too: Blaire White and The Futility of Being ‘One of the Good Ones’”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction

1st Place: Evie Smith, “The Hunter Next Door”
2nd Place: Nadia Jacobs, “That Which Is Only Living”
3rd Place: Emma Silverstein, “Cavity”

Dr. Patrick McHenry Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: Nadia Jacobs, “OXYMORON”
2nd Place: Evie Fletcher, “Eclipsed Survival”
3rd Place: Madeline Ginter, “Set in Motion”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Sal Woessner, “Institutionalized”
2nd Place: Evie Fletcher, “Military Wife”
3rd Place: Gianna Cabrera, “The Silver Lining”

Dr. Barbara J. Hunt Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: Katelyn McCormick & Emma Gaines, “Let them be Sea Captains”
2nd Place: Nadia Jacobs, “An Exploration of Time”
3rd Place: Gianna Cabrera, “Everything Will Be Better Tomorrow”

Brick Road Greear Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Lily Wilson, “Nightmares of the Exuviae,” Alabama SoFA
2nd Place: Elizabeth “Eddie” Young, “A Xenobiologist Finds God,” Hallie Turner Private School
3rd Place: Gene Yoon, “The Mudbug’s Burrow,” Columbus HS

Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction

1st Place: Gene Yoon, “Anchor of Hope,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Cole Hearted, “Dumpster Fire,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
3rd Place: Angel Cotte, “The Grafting,” William H. Shaw HS

Melissa Pritchard Schley and Dr. Philip Schley Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st place: Gene Yoon, “Bung-Eo-Ppang: Sounding Like Me,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Emmanuela Ejoga, “Operation AA: Academic Attack,” North Cobb HS
3rd Place: Mickie Cerda, “How I Found Theatre,” Rainey-McCullers SotA

Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Gene Yoon, “The Legacy of Korean Picture Brides,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Daniel Troy, “China’s Guanxi Culture and its Influence to a Global Superpower Status,” Auburn HS
3rd Place: S. Maysa Johnson, “Lessons Learned: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study,” Columbus HS

Dr. Jim Owen Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: JG, “Eternity at Sea,” Central HS
2nd Place: Phaedra Temmis, “My Best Friend and Dead Celebrities from the 90s,” Columbus HS
3rd Place: Jordan Strobel, “The Hermit,” Gwinnett Online Campus

Andrew Ruhs Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: Jade Magee, “The Thing,” Northview HS
2nd Place: Wil, “A Trip to the Future,” Rainey-McCullers SotA
3rd Place: Lucien Jervis, “The Supernatural Seekers Club,” Rainey-McCullers SotA

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry

1st Place: Cynthia Short, “Piercing”
2nd Place: Nadia Jacobs, “3/27”
3rd Place: London Van Every, “Best Friends”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction

1st Place: Sal Fleischer, “March to the Sea”
2nd Place: Molly Thomas, “Screaming Beautiful Things”
3rd Place: Samira Hibbler, “Everything Good Comes to an End”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction

1st Place: Gianna Cabrera, “All the Love Under the Sun”
2nd Place: Melanie Miller, “Land of the Sown Salt”
3rd Place: K.D. Buckner, “My Eyes Were Watching God: An Essay Inspired by Joan Didion’s The White Album”

Dr. Daniel William Ross Prize for Expository Essay

1st Place: Sal Fleischer, “The Panopticon of Gender: A New Foucauldian Critique of ‘I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter’”
2nd Place: Molly Thomas, “God is a Woman: The Feminine in Anne Bradstreet’s Poetry”
3rd Place: Melanie Miller, “Honeysuckles Embracing the Thorns: Bronte Sisters’ Protofeminism”

Anbessita Productions, Inc., Prize for Screenwriting

1st Place: Starr, “Change My Mind”
2nd Place: Christina Ricks, “Back to You”
3rd Place: Guérin Asante, “Onion”

Dr. Barbara J. Hunt Prize for Playwriting

1st Place: D’Miya Richburg, “Outlived”
2nd Place: London Van Every, “The Naming of the Dolls”
3rd Place: Dvn Dsn, “The Hell that is Human Interaction”

Brick Road Greear Prize for Poetry:

1st Place: Sujana Vangala, “Coin Flip,” Northview HS
2nd Place: Mark Harris, “The Choir,” Heritage HS
3rd Place: Oluwatumilara Owolabi, “Oh Mama,” Mount Pisgah Christian

Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction:

1st Place: Ivie Kirby, “Adoring and Ignoring,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Sujana Vangala, “Your Mother Was a Girl Once,“ Northview HS
3rd Place: Eva J. Hammonds, “Mirum: The Volcano,” Columbus HS

Dr. Jim Owen Prize for Creative Nonfiction:

1st Place: Benjamin Badgett, “Brothers,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Peyton McRae, “This Is My Neighborhood,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Alexandra Boyd, “Journey Paved With Imagination,” Heritage HS

Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay:

1st Place: Gene Yoon, “The Ann Arbor Black English Case Revisited,” Columbus HS
2nd Place: Princess (Ainani) Graham, “Interracial Relationships in 19th-20th Century South,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Mark Harris, “The increased Need for LGBTQ Support in Schools,” Heritage HS

High School Prize for Screenwriting:

1st Place: Mickie Cerda, “The origins of Jimmy,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
2nd Place: Kadyn Moore, “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” Heritage HS
3rd Place: Lily Choy “The Future is a Terrible Place,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

Andrew Ruhs Prize for Playwriting:

1st Place: Kadyn Moore, “Hesperia,” Heritage HS
2nd Place: Mariella (Mickie) Cerda, “Untitled Ghost Monologue,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: Ella Jervis “Sock Puppet Slasher,” Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry:

1st Place: Ana Dinis Perez, “Upside Down”
2nd Place: Jonathan Stringfellow, “In Love”
3rd Place: Youbin Park, “the Beauty [and] the Beast”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “Yearly Traditions”
2nd Place: Theo Pound, “The Obelisk Without a Story At the Bottom of the Crimson Manor”
3rd Place: Youbin Park, “Honeyl”

Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction:

1st Place: Melanie Miller, “Might as Well”
2nd Place: Youbin Park, “Coffee Pot”
3rd Place: Les Anderson, “Control”

Dr. Daniel William Ross Prize for Expository Essay:

1st Place: Melanie Miller, “Ophelia: A Secret Feminist”
2nd Place: Cynthia Short, “The Black Girl As A Vehicle for Poetry”
3rd place: Theo Pound, “The Good, The Bad, and The Storytellers”

Anbessita Productions, Inc., Prize for Screenwriting:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “Ammonia”
2nd Place: Les Anderson, “Fall from Grace”
3rd Place: Alexis Barron, “Coffee House”

Dr. Barbara J. Hunt Prize for Playwriting:

1st Place: Dallas Curry, “The Infinite Coffee Theorem”
2nd Place: Les Anderson, “Jackpot”
3rd Place: Theo Pound, “The Death of Jerry Farber, or the Jerry Farber Story”

HS Poetry Winners:

1st Place: “The Teenage Fallacy,” by Sujana Vangala, Northview HS
2nd Place: “Pretty People,” by Kadyn Moore, Heritage HS
3rd Place: “ebony sun,” by Kyra Richardson, Alabama School of Fine Arts

HS Fiction Winners:

1st Place: "My Soundtrack,” by Madison Hoar, Alabama School of Fine Arts
2nd Place: “The Unexplored 95%,” by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts
3rd Place: “The Words of the Devil” by Ella Jervis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Nonfiction Winners:

1st Place: "Satsuma," by Joseph Barns, LAMP High School
2nd Place: "Memory Bread," by Sarah Phillis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: "Mitosis," by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts

HS Playwriting Winners:

1st Place: "A Play in Progress," by Jocelyn Peebles, Harris County High School
2nd Place: "Gay Polyamorous Cowboys," by Ella Jervis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts
3rd Place: "Lorelei," by Sarah Phillis, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Screenwriting Winners:

1st Place: “Emily,” by Dylan Black, Harrison HS
2nd Place: “Seen,” by Elizabeth Webb, Heritage HS
3rd Place: “Look Away,” by Khayla Truitt, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts

HS Expository Essay Winners:

1st Place: "Thoughts on Healthcare," by Izzy Cox, Alabama School of Fine Arts
2nd Place: "The Crucible: How Fear Perpetuates Suffering in a Community," by Emma Delaney, Heritage High School
3rd Place: "Gone but NEVER Forgotten," by Samuel Mansi, Heritage High School

CSU Poetry Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Neville to Percival," by Bailey Parker
2nd Place: "And You Fall in Love With Them Both," by Sidney DuCleroir
3rd Place: "Fear," by Youbin Park

CSU Fiction Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Out By the Tracks," by Zagreus Rivers
2nd Place: "Sir Lancelot and the Red Villa of Cortenova," by Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson
3rd Place: "Purple Prose and Other Clichés," by Bailey Parker

CSU Nonfiction Winners: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize

1st Place: "Snapshots of a Silent Composer," by Ana Dinis Perez
2nd Place: "Freedom From Speech," by Youbin Park
3rd Place: "Death of a Small Town and the Memories They Hold," by Kailey Katzfey

CSU Screenwriting Winners:

1st Place: "A Father's Story," by Dallas Curry
2nd Place: "The Games We Play," by Latisha Spikes-Brown
3rd place: "Room for Two," by Donni "Les" Anderson

CSU Playwriting Winners:

1st Place: "Dad's Not Dead," by Maja Nearing
2nd Place: "The Call," by Kiera King
3rd Place: "My Sin To Hide," by Christina Ricks

CSU Expository Essay Winners:

1st Place: "Text without Context:” Jessard Deal’s Literary Allusions in Louis Owens’ The Sharpest Sight, by Maja Nearing
2nd Place: "Binaries, Identity, Community, and Bridging the Gap," by Melanie Miller
3rd Place: "Gawain Reborn," by Sidney Ducleroir

High School Poetry: Brick Road Greear Prize for Poetry

First Place: Gabrielle DeWeese, “Taurean Fathoms,” Alan C. Pope High School
Second Place: Rebekah E. Smith, “I am a Columbus Author,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts
Third Place: Sydney Womack, “Aesthete,” Columbus High School

High School Fiction: Dr. Joseph Francavilla Prize for Fiction

First Place: Macy Cardwell, “The Song We Were,” Homeschool
Second Place: Charlotte Young, “The Invaders,” Columbus High School
Third Place: Jasmine Drawdy, “697 Miles,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

High School Creative Nonfiction: Melissa Pritchard Schley and Dr. Philip Schley Prize

First Place: Andrew Song, "Long Way Home," Heritage High School
Second Place: Macy Cardwell, "I Talk to My Mother's Best Friend," Homeschool
Third Place: Emily Woody, “The Reality of Negativity," Heritage High School

High School Expository Essay: Susan Schley Gristina Prize for Expository Essay

First Place: Andrew Song, “Treasures of Sierra Madre: A Critique of Laissez-Faire,” Heritage High School
Second Place: Bobby Livingston, “How Should Thomas Jefferson be Commemorated in the 21st Century?”Columbus High School
Third Place: Khayla Truitt, “AAVE vs ‘Internet Slang’: Muzzling Black Voices,” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

High School Screenwriting:

First Place: Brynn Dean, "Becoming the Department Head," Heritage High School
Second Place: Beth Webb, "The Rose," Heritage High School
Third Place: Ivie Kirby, "Bats!" Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

High School Playwriting:

First Place: Andrew Song “Blackjack,” Heritage High School
Second Place: Sarah Phillis, “Squirrels...” Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

CSU Poetry: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry

First Place: Sidney Ducleroir, “Secrete/Secret”
Second Place: Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson, “From Lavinia to Creusa”
Third Place: Adrienne Baxter-McNeil, “Chocolate”

CSU Fiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction

First Place: Gavin Moss, "Northern Lights"
Second Place: Jeffrey J Maynard, "Peripheral"
Third Place: Kiara Herron, "Shallow"

CSU Creative Nonfiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction

First Place: Vivian Duncan, “Oxford Pre-Pandemic”
Second Place: Hayley Maine, “I Don't Cry at Funerals”
Third Place: Anayia Cook, “The (re) Creation of Joe”

CSU Expository Essay: Naartjie Multimedia Prize in Expository Essay

First Place: Anayia Cook, “Gandalf the White in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings”
Second Place: Cynthia Short, “Exposed: Media and Opinion”
Third Place: Kayla Pipkins, “Her Philosophy”

CSU Screenwriting:

First Place: Dallas Curry, “Projects”
Second Place: Donni "Les" Anderson, “Little Victories”
Third Place: Jeffery J Maynard, “Sunken Ship”

CSU Playwriting: Dr. Barbara Hunt Prize in Playwriting

First Place: Theodore Pound, “Elmer and Paul
Second Place: Katherine Lovern, “Phoenix”
Third Place: Dallas Curry, “Tone Deaf”