There is no ceiling to our professional growth, but we need each other to accomplish difficult work on our students’ behalf. We need to raise our voices, lift our pens, and reflect deeply on the problems and systems we confront daily in classrooms and schools. We need to revise our practices to meet learners’ needs.
That is where the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project comes in. Many of the strongest, most innovative practitioners in the region trace their growth and development to WPWP.
Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Summer Institute for Teachers: Writing to Transform
In a time of rapidly changing conditions and circumstances, the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project will offer a Summer Institute for Teachers that accounts for social distancing and the complex lives educators are leading. The program will be offered from June 27-July 24, 2020, in an online form. We’ll use a platform to meet virtually—and we’ll engage in writing, reading, study and discussion with our colleagues. We’ll play, curate, document, and write…for ourselves and for our students’ sakes. This year in particular, we’ll be reflecting together on what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and what opportunities and constraints our technologies offer. By engaging with each other and a national group of powerful teacher-leaders, we’ll delve deeply into literacies, and explore how writing can be used to learn, to heal, to take social action, and to make art.
Graduate credit and Act 48 credit available
Open to preK-college formal and informal educators, across disciplines and levels
Apply now! New deadline: May 20, 2020
An interview will be scheduled when we receive your application.
Saturday, June 27 (online conference)
June 29-July 24 (M-F)
Application form:
Our brochure, which describes the plan pre-COVID-19:
22-26 July 2019 Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School
co-taught by Melissa Butler and Michelle King
This week-long course, inspired by Paulo Freire’s “reading and writing the word and the world,” is for educators who want to co-create learning about what, how, and why we teach. We will explore concepts of trust-play-annotate-imagine-curate through reading, writing, moving, improvising, creating, noticing, reflecting, and being.
Throughout the week, educators will have an opportunity to grapple with a core question of practice, be in dialogue with others to find new questions, and enrich our overall collective inquiries.
The course is for any educator who has been part of the Summer Institute for Teachers (including those registered for SIT 2019) and for other educators whose practice or aspirations align with the central tenants of the National Writing Project (www.nwp.org).
1 graduate credit and Act 48 available
29-31 July 2019 Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School
facilitated by Dr. Richard Koch
This three-day summer institute is designed to provide WPWP teacher-consultants access to two related experiences. In the morning sessions the group will experience key components of an effective writing workshop—including ideas for helping students get topics, craft mini-lessons that can help students improve writing quality, and also a review of writing circles as a method for assisting peers to help peers reflect on their writing for revision. In the afternoon session the group will experience both engaging texts and reading response discussion techniques designed to help teacher consultants prepare to effectively facilitate a book study for educators—quite possibly in their home school or district.
WPWP will provide books on site at the institute to help teachers “shop” for a book they might wish to utilize for a Book Club they would lead. The choice of books to use is open, however, and WPWP will provide books for the book study teachers will lead back in their communities or districts, as long as cost is mutually agreed upon.
We hope this institute will be inviting to new or recent teacher-consultants aiming to develop their practice and leadership.
Act 48 available
This year, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, in collaboration with New York Life, created a beautiful and fascinating anthology and discussion guide, Healing Through Creativity. This guide contains a piece of writing, “It Is What It Is,” by Makayla Wach, a 10th grader at North Allegheny High School. Makayla’s piece won a Gold Medal in the competition. Here is a link to the anthology: New_York_Life_Guidebook_w-links
Did you know the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards turn 100 in 2023?
To celebrate this major milestone, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is collecting stories from
alumni. Did you receive a Gold Key, Silver Key, or Honorable Mention when you were in high school? Share your Scholastic Award Story—or encourage a friend to share theirs—by participating in our nationwide survey.
When you participate in the survey, you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of five $50 Blick Gift Certificates and have the opportunity to join our Alumni Network for access to events, grant opportunities, writers’ residencies, and more.
You’re part of our legacy. Take a moment to reflect on your Scholastic Award memories and tell us what you’re up to now by completing the Alumni Survey by April 1.
PICTURE: Notable Alumni include Andy Warhol, Marc Brown, Paul Chan, Joyce Maynard, Yolanda Wisher, & many more!
We want to thank the educators, parents & guardians for all you do to make the Scholastic Awards Competition a successful and enriching experience for your young people. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards offer students an incredible chance for regional and national recognition of their writing skills, as well as for scholarship opportunities.
Thank you to new and returning young writers who are willing to share their voice and talent!
We also want to thank the many young writers in the Pittsburgh region who submitted work to the 2020 Pittsburgh Regional Scholastic Writing Competition. We truly appreciate your work, as well as that of the many inspiring teachers who support youth writing. The over 400 submissions received this year reflect the vibrant breadth of youth writing in Allegheny County.
**Winners are sorted in alphabetical order by last name
Ian Aiken, Gold Key, Poetry, A Trip to Point State Park with The Bull Moose, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Balaji Alagar, Gold Key, Poetry, Night Roost
Beatrice Alba, Silver Key, Poetry, One Cream, Two Sugar, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Jacob Allebach, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Imaginary Loss, Winchester Thurston School,
Hannah Anderson-Brownlee Gold Key, Critical Essay, How Women are Expected to Protect Male Egos, Ellis School
Elaini Asamere, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, The Correlation Between Education and Successful Marriages, Ellis School
Margaret Balich, Silver Key, Writing Portfolio, Adolescence, Winchester Thurston School
Henry Bard, Gold Key, Poetry, You’re Not Far from Solace, Public Stunt: An Order of Calibrated Fear, Doctrinaire, Waltz Down Pennsylvania Avenue, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Eleanor Barth Wu, Gold Key, Critical Essay, Keeping it Real with Austen and Ibsen, Ellis School
Esmeralda Bessor-Foreman, Silver Key, Poetry, Ghost Story, Winchester Thurston School
Radhika Bhargava, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Class Fluidity of Marriage in 19th Century Literature, Ellis School
Benjamin Bischoff, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Into The Snow, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Ayisat Bisiryu, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Discombobulated Brain, Winchester Thurston School
Caroline Block, Gold Key, Novel Writing, The Renew Project, Ellis School
Aubrey Booth, Honorable Mention, Short Story, The Magic Inside All Of Us, Elizabeth Forward Middle School
Grace Braham, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Gender Inequality Cooking up a Storm in the Culinary World, Ellis School
Madalynn Brielle, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Attendance, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School
Abigail Calvetti, Honorable Mention, Short Story, The Locket
Timothy Calvetti, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Milvale in Two Miles
Christina Campbell, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Curious, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Lena Carson, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Rain, Sky, Effulgence, Temper, East & 25th, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Annika Chaves, Silver Key, Poetry, Our Future is Not a Trend, Upper St. Clair High School
Mirae Choe, Silver Key, Poetry, His Majesty’s Ship, North Allegheny Intermediate School
Mia Cirilano, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, The Connection Between Letter Writing and Cowardice in Literature, Ellis School
Robin Clement, Silver Key, Dramatic Script, CSI: Crayon Scene Investigation, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Natalie Cohen, Gold Key, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Stop, Commonwealth Charter Academy
Scout Conley, Silver Key, Poetry, Self-Pity Keeps Me Warm, Winchester Thurston School
Moira Connell, Silver Key, Critical Essay, Asian-Americans and Affirmative Action in Universities, Ellis School
Azriah Crawley, Gold Key, Poetry, The Bull, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Marcie Crow, Honorable Mention, Poetry, The In Between, Carson Middle School
Emerson Davis-Martin, Silver Key, Flash Fiction, A Song for Stan, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Gwendolyn Davison, Gold Key, Short Story, Blown in by the Hot Winds, Fox Chapel Area High School
Edward DeBruce III, Gold Key , Personal Essay & Memoir, My Memoir, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Gemma DeMeo, Gold Key, Writing Portfolio, Poems From The Gods, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School
Shelley Demus, Silver Key, Poetry, Incendiary, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Julia Dlugosz, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Curiosity Killed The Mouse, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Payton Dosdor , Honorable Mention, Poetry, Ode to Vermont, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Mia Dzuba, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Maladaptive Daydreaming, Chartiers Valley Middle School
Elena Eiss, Gold Key, Flash Fiction, 1:20, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Ella Engberg, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Sky Falling, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Jack Engel, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Charlie and I, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Diana Farraj, Honorable Mention, Writing Portfolio, A Solitary Stroll, Jeannette Senior High School
Beatrice Fernandes, Silver Key, Poetry, Poetry Collection, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Madeline Ficca, Gold Key, American Voices Nominee, Poetry, Golden Jupiter, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Maddie Figas, Gold Key, Writing Portfolio, When the Sky Bends Closer, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Katharine Fleischner, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Finding My Magic, Ellis School
Charles Forster, Gold Key, Writing Portfolio, Assembled Works, Taylor Allderdice High School
Alexandra Friedlander , Gold Key, Poetry, Bronze olive branch: A souvenir from Ithaca, Winchester Thurston School
Sophia Fruehauf, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, It Was Not Death, Sewickley Academy
Allen Gao, Honorable Mention, Poetry, New Year’s Eve Dinner, Winchester Thurston School
Grace Glowczewski, Gold Key, Poetry, Peaches and Cream, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Caden Green, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Inside, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Matt Hall, Honorable Mention, Poetry, The Death God and His Loss, Gateway Senior High School
Hannah Hammons, Silver Key, Short Story, The Monarch, Winchester Thurston School
Madelyn Hansen, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Anxiety, Chartiers Valley Middle School
Kiera Harrell-Danks, Silver Key, Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Girl With the Violet Eyes, Ellis School
Alison Harvill, Silver Key, Poetry, Generational, Pittsburgh CAPA School
David Herman, Silver Key, Short Story, An Encounter, North Allegheny Senior High School
Eliot Herron, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Day/Dream, Winchester Thurston School
Roan Hollander, Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Return, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Iris Hong, Silver Key, Poetry, Where I’m From, Marshall Middle School
Athena Iverson, Silver Key, Poetry, A Decision, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Gabriela Jegasothy, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Sonnets: Modern Issues Through A Classical Lens, Shadyside Academy
Jizhou Jiang, Gold Key, Poetry, My collection of poems, Winchester Thurston School
Yipeng “Eric” Jiang, Honorable Mention, Poetry, A Poem Collection, Winchester Thurston School
Joseph Johns, Gold Key, Dramatic Script, Galactic Fever, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Jacqueline Junko, Honorable Mention, Flash Fiction, The Night For Disaster, Marshall Middle School
Max Kaizer, Silver Key , Personal Essay & Memoir, Target Troubles, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Kris Kaminski, Silver Key, Poetry, They/The, Ellis School
Marie Kaminski, Silver Key, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Dragonite, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Alexa Karet, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Art Of Coloring Outside The Lines, Shadyside Academy
Himani Karia, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Cherry Blossom, Upper St. Clair High School
Komalpreet Kaur, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, What Othello Taught Me About Discriminatory Language, Ellis School
Costello Keene, Gold Key, Poetry, Boy in The Painting, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School
Nina Kellar, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Northern Sun, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Arianna Kelly, Honorable Mention, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Under the Red Bridge, Chartiers Valley Middle School
Silver Key, Short Story, The Final Punchline
Helen Kish, Honorable Mention, Short Story, The Feast Day of Saint Gabriel
Hunter Kloss, Honorable Mention, Flash Fiction, Sun, Moon, Earth. Sleep., Ellis School
Natalie Kocherzat, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Break Down the Walls, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Daniel Kochupura, Honorable Mention, Short Story, The Run of Our Lives, Winchester Thurston School
Danielle Kohr, Silver Key, Poetry, Autumn Leaves, Afternoon Sun, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Maddie Krills, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Perfect, Hampton High School
Magdalene Kudrick, Honorable Mention, Short Story, All I Never Saw, Pennsylvania Leadership
Georgia Lampenfeld, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, A Woman’s Place, Ellis School
Nadia Laswad, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Mosque, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Alena Lateef, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Junior Year, Ellis School
Rivers Leche, Gold Key, Poetry, Soot, Winchester Thurston School
Abril Linares Mendoza, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Little Voices, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Madison Lott, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Mind’s Illusions, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Ilan Magnani, Silver Key, Writing Portfolio, Clamor of Bodies, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Skylar McCormack, Honorable Mention, Flash Fiction, Things Left Unsaid, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Marnie McCormick, Silver Key, Poetry, Barren Crib, Shadyside Academy Senior High School
Neila McElfresh, Silver Key, Poetry, House Fire, Band-Aid Summers, Ode to Lake Superior, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Sara Mcgowan, Silver Key, Short Story, You Can’t Leave, Elizabeth Forward Middle School
Mila McGrosky, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Loose Change, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Caroline McLaughlin, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Memoir project, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Meghan McNabb, Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Empty and Exhausted: My Struggle with Anorexia Nervosa, Ellis School
Brynne McSorley, Silver Key, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Remembering Tomorrow, Winchester Thurston School
Zehra Mehdi, Silver Key, Poetry, Shark, North Allegheny Senior High School
Allie Miller, Honorable Mention, Poetry, There’s a Last Time for Everything, Hempfield Area Senior High School
Lauren Miller, Gold Key, Poetry, The Descend, Gateway Senior High School
Max Minard, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Beginnings., Shadyside Academy Senior High School
Amanda Mitchell, Gold Key, Poetry, Scouting, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Charle’ Moore, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Sunshine, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Oliver Moore, Gold Key, American Voices Nominee, Poetry, Goring the Torero, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Maggie Mu, Silver Key, Flash Fiction, Fear is a Powerful Thing, North Allegheny Intermediate School
Sebastian Mueller, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, The Problem with the Pledge of Allegiance, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Peri-Lila Muftuoglu, Honorable Mention, Poetry, To All the Lost Ones, Gateway Senior High School
Shivani Nangia, Silver Key, Critical Essay, Outcasts in Literary Works, Ellis School
Sadie Navid, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, An Underdog With an Overbite?, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Elizabeth Neel, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Fog of Snow, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Faith Nguyen, Honorable Mention, Dramatic Script, Lonely Teardrops, North Allegheny Senior High School
Lily Nguyen, Gold Key, Poetry , Being Me, Marshall Middle School
Sao Mai Nguyen, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay , Disney Doesn’t Shoot Straight for Queer Characters, Ellis School
Gina Palladino, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Lest We Forget, Oakland Catholic High School
Jamie Palone, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Hurricane, North Allegheny Intermediate School
Ada Perlman, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Corrupted Education and the Dumb Blonde, Ellis School
Sasha Petchal, Gold Key, Poetry, Dear World, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Danielle Pickett, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Barbara Land, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Jack Pitard, Honorable Mention, Flash Fiction, Gemstone, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Lucy Potts, Silver Key, Poetry, Faded, Vague, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Kamya Rajesh, Silver Key, Short Story, This Too Shall Pass, Ingomar Middle School
Annika Ramani, Gold Key, Poetry, Stolen Fruit, Ellis School
Ella Rath, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Miseducation of Women and Inequality, Ellis School
Ella Reed, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Climate Change: Its Causes, Effects, and Solutions, Ellis School
Josephine Reiter, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Five Rules for Living in an Altered Reality, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Elena Reynolds, Honorable Mention, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fire in the Sky, Winchester Thurston School
Leo Rickard, Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Heist, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Erika Rispoli, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Romantic Ideals in Literature: A Balancing Act, Ellis School
Julia Roeschenthaler, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Creation, Upper St. Clair High School
Paige Roeschenthaler, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Loving Annuals, Upper St. Clair High School
Talia Rosen, Gold Key, Critical Essay, To Have and to Hold: Portrayal of Marriage in 18th and 19th Century Literature, Ellis School
Lydia Rosenstock, Silver Key, Critical Essay, Vindication of the Rights of Girls who are Like Other Girls, Ellis School
Iris Roth-Bamberg, Silver Key, Short Story, Asleep, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Sophia Sandholm, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Monster In The House, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Elliott Scheri, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Tiny Teeth Marks, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Madeira Semins, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Accidental Theft, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Helen Shaffer , Silver Key, Dramatic Script, Legacy, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Claire Shao, Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, A Code-Filled Summer, North Allegheny Senior High School
Paige Shea, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Affinity, Shadyside Academy Senior School
Odette Sherk, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Friends Forever, North Hills Senior High School
Nicole Shigiltchoff, Silver Key, Novel Writing, They Came for Me, They’ll Come for You, Winchester Thurston School
Samantha Silk, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Ferdinand, Ellis School
Kyra Simmons, Silver Key, Critical Essay, The Subjugation of Women Through Insufficient Education, Ellis School
Claire Simon, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, I Went to The Woods: The Incorporation of A Transcendentalist Idea in a Dark Romantic Novel, Ellis School
Tijana Slepcev, Silver Key, Poetry, Migraine, Pittsburgh Allderdice High School
Zoe Smith, Silver Key, Short Story, Grandpa’s House, Penn Trafford High School
Katerina Smotrov, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Leaves, Bugs and Yarn; Headed Hearth; Hope’s Garden, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Morgan Snyder, Honorable Mention, Short Story, A Boy and His Shed, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Joshua Sohn, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, I am Who I am, North Allegheny Intermediate School
Clara Sorby, Honorable Mention, Dramatic Script, Missing, Ingomar Middle School
Zoe Soteres, Silver Key, Poetry, Collarbone to Navel: A Pantoum on Breast Reduction, Winchester Thurston School
Lila Spiro, Silver Key, Poetry, Skylarks, Winchester Thurston School
Amelia Staresinic, Gold Key, Poetry, Luck, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Emma Steckline, Gold Key, Writing Portfolio, Decaying Voices and Fermenting Skin, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Allison Stein, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Macey, Mt. Lebanon High School
Elizabeth Stenson, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Last Night an X-Ray Woke Me Up, and Here Is What It Told Me, Winchester Thurston School
Vidya Surti, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Dysesthesia, Vitriol, Damaged, North Allegheny Senior High School
Danielle Swearingen, Silver Key, Poetry, Poetry is Like This, Kirsopp Ave, The Sound of Thunder, The Fire’s Light Reflecting in my Eyes, Pittsburgh CAPA School
James Sweeney, Silver Key, Poetry, AntiBuoyancy, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Andreina Taylor, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Women’s Lack of Liberty in the Nineteenth Century, Ellis School
Ella Thomas, Gold Key, Short Story, Quiet Uptown, Winchester Thurston
Phoenix Thomas, Silver Key, Poetry, Heavy is the Head That Bears the Crown,Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School
Melaina Thompson, Silver Key, Poetry, Steadfast, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Theodore Tolliver, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Teddy grief essay, Moon Area High School
Joey Tracht, Silver Key, Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Ember, Winchester Thurston School
Jenna Trent, Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, The Importance of Diversity in Healthcare Professions, Ellis School
Eden Tsvetkov, Honorable Mention, Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Girl Beneath the Full Moon, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Aysu Türkay, Gold Key, Critical Essay, Make Room for Comics, Sewickley Academy
Hari Viswanathan, Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, The Building Blocks of Identity, Shadyside Academy Middle School
Makayla Wach, Honorable Mention, Flash Fiction, LEGO Bricks, North Allegheny Senior High School
Porter Waldrup, Silver Key, Poetry, Anything, Nurturing, Moonlight Walkers, Conflicted., Pittsburgh CAPA School
Lily Weatherford-Brown, Silver Key, Poetry, Photo Album, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Anika Weber, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Filling a Prescription with Kathy Acker, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Ava Weidensall, Silver Key, Dramatic Script, Words, Baldwin Senior High School
Liam Weixel, Silver Key, Humor, Agnes, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Chaynee White, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, Wooden Spoons, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Matthias Wiezorek, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Don’t Think About That, Pittsburgh CAPA School
Anthony Wiles, Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir, So, So Soulful Food, Sewickley Academy
Joel Williams, Silver Key, Poetry, All That Is Left Behind, Winchester Thurston School
Chapin Wilson, Silver Key, Critical Essay, The Role of Dance in Pride and Prejudice and A Doll’s House, Ellis School
Evie Yin, Honorable Mention, Short Story, Jack, Ingomar Middle School
Melody Yuan, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir, Stranger, Shadyside Academy Senior High School
Anker Zhao, Silver Key, Critical Essay, The Great Green Wall: Both a Step for Climate Change and Humanity, Shadyside Academy Senior High School
Qingqing Zhao , Honorable Mention, Critical Essay, Golf is the Best Sport, Shadyside Academy Senior High School
Grade 8
Ella Engberg, Gold Medal for Poetry “Little Miracles, Sky Falling, Night on a Rocky Beach”
Morgan Snyder, Silver Medal for Poetry “Nature’s Majesty”
Amelia Staresinic, Gold Medal for Poetry “Broken Boat, Broken Body, Broken Soul”
Grade 10
Ilan Magnani, Gold Medal for Personal Essay “Far from the Tree”
Allison Stein, Gold Medal for Poetry “A Subway Sign: Please Hold On Tight”
Makayla Wach, Gold Medal for Short Story “It Is What It Is”
Makayla Wach, New York Life Scholarship for Short Story “It Is What It Is”
Grade 12
Yumika Amemiya, Silver Medal for Critical Essay “The Fall of Romanticism”
Erica Davis, Gold Medal for Critical Essay “Hamlet’s Dichotomic Madness: An Exploration of Interior and Exterior Disunion”
Brianna Kline Costa, Gold Medal for Poetry “Golgatha in Texas”
Brianna Kline Costa, American Voices Medal for Poetry “Golgatha in Texas”
Brianna Kline Costa, Gold Medal for Flash Fiction “Heretics in the Promised Lands”
Brianna Kline Costa, Gold Medal for Personal Essay “Happy Girls”
Brianna Kline Costa, Gold Medal and American Voices Medal for Writing Portfolio “Unidentified Female Corpses”
Rin Swann, Gold Medal for Flash Fiction “The Second Rule”
Rin Swann, Silver Medal for Personal Essay “Stitches”
Rin Swann, Silver Medal for Short Story “Sophia”
Giordana Verrengia, Silver Medal for Flash Fiction “If You Want to Talk About Life (After Jamaica Kincaid)”
American Voices Nominees
Erica Davis, Grade 12, Ellis School, Critical Essay for “Hamlet’s Dichotomic Madness––An Exploration of Interior and Exterior Disunion”
Faith Nguyen, Grade 10, North Allegheny Senior High School, Poetry for “A Walk to The Edge of Saigon”
Roshie Xing, Grade 12, North Allegheny Senior High School, Poetry for “Names”
Brianna Kline Costa, Grade 12, Pittsburgh Capa School, Poetry for “Golgatha in Texas”
Brianna Kline Costa, Grade 12, Pittsburgh Capa School, Poetry for “Tenement Building in Delaware”
Senior Writing Portfolios
Madeline Bain, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Pleasantries”
Tess Buchanan, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Oceansongs”
Jora Hritz, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Lexicon of Life”
Hazel Shanks, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Dream Worlds”
Giordanna Verrengia, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “On the Same Tangent”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Perceptions”
Jimmy Coblin, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Disconnect”
Katrina Mondor, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Never Enough”
Destiny Perkins, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “8 Trials of Saying Goodbye”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “Restless Thoughts”
Madison Kararski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “An Instructional Guide on Molding a Human”
Brianna Kline Costa, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Unidentified Female Corpses”
Grade Seven
Poetry
Lucy Potts, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Fantasy”
Short Story
Caileigh Duffy, St Sebastian School, Honorable Mention for “Saving Color”
Lucy Larsen, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “An Orphan’s Adventure”
Ella Thomas, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Catching Peace”
Grade Eight
Personal Essay
Sabrina Lateef, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Cancer Across Seas
Vishnu Venugopal, Andrew W Mellon Middle School, Honorable Mention for “A Day on the Battlefield”
Poetry
Teddi Pavalack, Elizabeth Forward Middle School, Honorable Mention for “The Abandoned Child of Fire”
Gábriel Götz, Marshall Middle School, Honorable Mention for “Forever the Same”
Delaney DeVault, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Simpler Times, Roses”
Jack Pitard, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Optimism, Bug Bight Blues”
Madison Sabo, Elizabeth Forward Middle School, Silver Key for “Gender Confusion”
Georgia Siemon, Elizabeth Forward Middle School, Silver Key for “Bouquet of Truth”
Christina Campbell, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Belief, Delusions”
Lena Carson, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “The Sunken Face, Self-Portrait, Bookstore”
Amelia Staresinic, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “A Shadow Hanging By, A Storm of Gold Rain, Blue Plastic Swing”
Gina Palladino, Providence Heights Alpha School. Silver Key for “That Lovely Old House”
Isabella Cosgrove, Elizabeth Forward Middle School, Gold Key for “Terribly Funny”
Ella Engberg, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Little Miracles, Sky Falling, Night on a Rocky Beach”
Morgan Snyder, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Nature’s Majesty”
Amelia Staresinic, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Broken Boat, Broken Body, Broken Soul”
Short Story
Markella Jahn, Ft Couch Middle School, Honorable Mention for “The Quiet Café”
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Daniel Kochupura, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Only an Animal”
Grade Nine
Flash Fiction
Jamie Palone, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Before the Sun Sets”
Journalism
Roan Hollander, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “An Average But Discredited 2018 Season”
Personal Essay
Anker Zhao, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “The Man Behind the American Dream: Walt Disney”
Aysu Türkay, Sewickley Academy, Silver Key for “Playdate”
Poetry
Kris Kaminski, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Of Silence and Mind”
Emerson Davis Martin, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Dry Drowning, Dirty Hands and Skinned Knees”
Madison Lott, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Licking Flames”
Lilly Werling, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Statue”
Julia Roeschenthaler, Upper St. Clair High School, Honorable Mention for “Lies”
Molly Figas, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Downtown is a little safer than it used to be”
Roan Hollander, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Wilderness”
Natalie Kocherzat, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Self Portrait as a Rubik’s Cube”
Neila McElfresh, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Fairy Dust, Dragon”
Oliver Moore, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Ursula, My Neighbor”
Josephine Reiter, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “The Band Plays On, The Erasing”
Julia Roeschenthaler, Upper St. Clair High School, Silver Key for “The Bricks That Bondage Built”
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Odette Sherk, North Hills Senior High School, Gold Key for “I’m Here to Save the World”
Grade Ten
Critical Essay
Grace Coffelt, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “A Difference in Perspective”
Rachel Bina, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “The Individualist’s Struggle”
Rachel Bina, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “The Age Old Problem”
Lowrie Woodside, Ellis School, Silver Key for “Marriage: The Goal for Young, Childlike Women in 19th Century Literature”
Flash Fiction
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Over the River, Through the Woods”
Azriah Crawley, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Going and Coming”
Joseph Johns, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “What You Should’ve Said”
Humor
Skyla McCormack, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Be Careful What You Wish For”
Faith Nguyen, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Caffeine-Induced Truth From a Derailed Buddhist”
Personal Essay
Claire Shao, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Tennis Team: The Oxymoron”
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Worst Night”
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Colors”
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “This I Believe”
Poetry
Samantha Silk, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Souls Like a Vase, In the Darkness of My Mind, Leaping Through the Night Sky, My Life is Poetry, Neutron Star”
Ashnaa Bhide, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “movie theater”
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Honorable Mention for “Identity”
Alison Harvill, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Self Portrait as a Kitchen Knife”
Amanda Mitchell, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Peach”
Allison Stein, Mt Lebanon High School, Gold Key for “A Subway Sign: Please Hold On Tight”
Faith Nguyen, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Gold Key for “A Walk To The Edge of Saigon”
Science Fiction
Jakob Schreiber, Mt Lebanon High School, Silver Key for “Recovery Under Duress”
Short Story
Natalie Cohen, Commonwealth Charter Academy, Honorable Mention for “Ashes”
Elizabeth Stenson, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Hues”
Robin Clement, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Break Free”
Lily Weatherford-Brown, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Devil’s Fork”
Makayla Wach, North Allegheny Intermediate School, Gold Key for “It Is What It Is”
Grade Eleven
Critical Essay
Julia Lombardi, Baldwin Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “It’s All About the Money”
Gwendolyn Davison, Fox Chapel Area High School, Honorable Mention for “Change in ‘Reuben Bright’”
Max Minard, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Freedom and Society”
Akshay Amesur, Shady Side Academy, Silver Key for “The Pain of the Pill”
Akshay Amesur, Shady Side Academy, Silver Key for “The Holocaust: A Unique Product of Early-Twentieth Century Germany as a Culmination of Early-Twentieth Century, German Anti-Semitism and Individual, Socio-Psychological Factors”
Max Minard, Shady Side Academy, Silver Key for “Shining Light on the Darkness of Classism”
Zofia Luther, Sewickley Academy, Gold Key for “By The Numbers”
Dramatic Script
Zoe Soteres, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Welcome Home”
Aaliyah Thomas, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Brown Like Milk and Tea”
Qingqing Zhao, Shady Side Academy, Silver Key for “The Children And The Frog”
Flash Fiction
Zehra Mehdi, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Not My Life”
Humor
Esmeralda Bessor-Foreman, Winchester Thurston School, Silver Key for “King Engages in Intellectual Fisticuffs with Birmingham Foe”
Journalism
Mishon Levine, Sewickley Academy, Honorable Mention for “E Pluribus Unum”
Grace Lee, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Lessons from History: An Analysis of the Rwandan and Rohingya Genocides”
Novel Writing
Bethany Edwards, Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, Honorable Mention for “Wind Walker”
Personal Essay
Zehra Mehdi, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Even After 200 Years”
Tara Stenger, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Butterfly Effect”
Caroline Cox, Sewickley Academy, Honorable Mention for “The 19th”
Bing Han, Sewickley Academy, Honorable Mention for “Essence of Food”
Erin Mahoney, Sewickley Academy, Honorable Mention for “The World Will Never Be the Same”
Akshay Amesur, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “The Parchment Stallion”
Margaret Balich, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “AQUARIUS”
Margaret Balich, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “A Meditation on Divorce”
Zoe Soteres, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Orange Popsicle”
Zoe Soteres, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Living Life A Block from the Tree of Life”
Aria Eppinger, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Hair’s Why I’m Satisfied”
Thalia King, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “How to be a Woman: a Checklist”
Mishon Levine., Sewickley Academy, Silver Key for “Well, What’s It Worth to You?”
Zofia Luther, Sewickley Academy, Silver Key for “Wigs”
Jacob Voelker, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Masculine”
Mishon Levine, Sewickley Academy, Gold Key for “The Fruits of China”
Ilan Magnani, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Far from the Tree”
Poetry
Gwendolyn Davison, Fox Chapel Area High School, Honorable Mention for “Conquistador”
CG Marchl, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Menton for “Father Figure, down days, Panic Attack, An Old-Fashioned Ham Dinner”
Emma Steckline, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “In Sickness and In Health”
Misho Levine, Sewickley Academy, Honorable Mention for “Lost, Found, Always Searching”
Max Minard, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Drooling”
Qingqing Zhao, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Walk Into The Light”
Margaret Balich, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Odds and Ends”
Zoe Soteres, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “sometime wen”
Brando Sell, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Silver Key for “A Muzhik Pulling a Cart Through the Snow”
Allie Miller, Hempfield Area Senior High School, Silver Key for “Dictionary of a 16 Year Old Girl”
Maddie Figas, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Corey I’m Writing Because Nothing Good Has Happened Since You Died, Amelia Badelia and I Walk Through the Aisles of Tsunami Surf Shop, To My Mother Who Tells Me To Cover Up, We’re Lonely in the Spring, Kelly Shows Me Summer”
Margaret Balich, Winchester Thurston School, Silver Key for “Love Poems for the Past & Present”
Margaret Balich, Winchester Thurston School, Silver Key for “Pay Attention”
Javin Lee-Lobel, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Mindset”
Mishon Levine, Sewickley Academy, Gold Key for “Coffee Breath”
Eden Auslander, Upper St Clair High School, Gold Key for “Analyzation of Procrastination”
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Gwendolyn Davison, Fox Chapel Area High School, Honorable Mention for “The Last Ladybug”
Marie Kaminski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “We’d Never Been There”
Gwendolyn Davison, Fox Chapel Area High School, Gold Key for “The Blinds”
Short Story
Gwendolyn Davison, Fox Chapel Area High School, Honorable Mention for “Ash Island”
River Sell, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “4932 Mulwood Street”
Nicole Shigiltchoff, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Milo and the Graveyard”
Qingqing Zhao, Shady Side Academy Senior High School, Silver Key for “Breakfast with Strangers”
Grade Twelve
Critical Essay
Erica Davis, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Frankenstein and the Disjunction of Passion and Nature”
Emmy Hsiung, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Shelley’s Rejection of Rejection in Frankenstein”
Lauren Jasper, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Frankenstein as a Criticism of Romantic Ideals and Promethean Figures”
Meredith Warden, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “The Detriments of Duty: A Psychological Study of Remains of the Day”
Meredith Warden, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Politics Made Personal: A Response to a Divided Congress”
Emma Schell, Ellis School, Silver Key for “Frankenstein as a Reflection of Romantic Ideology”
Yumika Amemiya, Ellis School, Gold Key for “The Fall of Romanticism”
Erica Davis, Ellis School, Gold Key for “Hamlet’s Dichotomic Madness––An Exploration of Interior and Exterior Disunion”
Flash Fiction
Jimmy Coblin, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Things You Don’t Know”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Hyenas”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Rooting”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Glory”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Laughing Now”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “The Actor”
Isabella Johnson, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “He Catches My Tears”
Giordana Verrengia, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “A Chance to Explain (After Wynne Hungerford)”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “The Second Rule”
Brianna Kline Costa, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Heretics in the Promised Lands”
Giordana Verrengia, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “If You Want to Talk About Life (After Jamaica Kincaid)”
Humor
Giordana Verrengia, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “My Fifteen”
Journalism
Amanda Lu, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “The Case Against Harvard”
Julianna Jacques, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Foster Care to Prison Pipeline”
Erica Davis, Ellis School, Silver Key for “Do You Have to be Rich to be Sustainable?”
Personal Essay
Lauren Jasper, Ellis School, Honorable Mention for “Oreo”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Color of Comfort”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Fear of Queer”
Sydné Ballengee, Ellis School, Silver Key for “Carving the path”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “Cornerstone of Chemicals: Green County”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “Stitches”
Brianna Kline Costa, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Happy Girls”
Poetry
Maya Berardi, Avonworth High School, Honorable Mention for “The Female Body Is”
Maya Berardi, Avonworth High School, Honorable Mention for “To Janis Joplin”
Margaret Fletcher, Fox Chapel Area High School, Honorable Mention for “Love Painted Yellow”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Little Princess”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Stories”
Riley Moore, Pine Richland High School, Honorable Mention for “The Beat of the Body”
Jimmy Coblin, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Bus That Won’t Come”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Swerving Through Route 30 Lines”
Hazel Shanks, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Bridge Locks”
Hazel Shanks, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “The Pianist”
Hazel Shanks, Pittsburgh Capa School, Honorable Mention for “Mother’s Roses”
Ramir Burks, Urban Pathways 6-12 Charter High School, Honorable Mention for “The Mystic Soil”
Elizabeth Petro, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School, Honorable Mention for “The Killer She Became”
Margaret Fletcher, Fox Chapel Area High School, Silver Key for “A Life Beyond Ten”
Margaret Fletcher, Fox Chapel Area High School, Silver Key for “Alive”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Impact”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Smile, Sweetheart”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Crime Scene (A Tableau of Toxic Masculinity)”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “When We First Spoke”
Madison Katarski, Pittsburgh Capa School, Silver Key for “A Body Made Brittle”
Brianna Rios, Vicentian Academy-Duquesne University, Silver Key for “We’re not the lesbians in your dreams”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “Status of Dreams”
Roshie Xing, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “Names”
Brianna Kline Costa, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Golgatha in Texas”
Brianna Kline Costa, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Tenement Building in Delaware”
Hazel Shanks, Pittsburgh Capa School, Gold Key for “Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor”
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “Shades of Green”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Silver Key for “The Monster Under the Bed”
Short Story
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “The Dorm Hall Therapist”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “The Wolf”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Honorable Mention for “Wine Stain”
Evie Jin, Winchester Thurston School, Honorable Mention for “Drowning Together”
Evie Jin, Winchester Thurston School, Silver Key for “The Things We Reach For”
Evie Jin, Winchester Thurston School, Silver Key for “If We Have To Fall”
Rin Swann, North Allegheny Senior High School, Gold Key for “Sophia”
Evie Jin, Winchester Thurston School, Gold Key for “After The Show”
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Registration for this year’s institute is now full.
If you completed an application, you should have received a welcome letter.
If you have any questions, please email Colleen Geiger.
Please check back here in August 2020 to read the anthology created by participants!
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Thank you to all our students who participated in this year’s Young Writers Institute! We truly value your talent and creativity. Your voice is a remarkable contribution and we feel lucky to have had the opportunity to spend a week reading and hearing your work.
Below is a link to the Young Writers Institute 2019 Anthology which is a sample collection of the incredible work our students produced this year. We hope you all enjoy!
Young Writers Institute 2019 Anthology