Algonquin Junior Wins Award for Short Story

Laura Welch, a junior at Algonquin Regional High School, recently received an award for "excellence in writing" from the Boston Globe. In an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless" mind type twist with a fish, Welch submitted the story "Goldfish." About a girl who recently lost her boyfriend, the story featured a girl who was envious of the fish, who could forget about the past easily.

"As the story goes on," said Welch, "she realizes that she'd rather have all her good and bad memories, as opposed to not remembering anything at all."

The contest was open to anyone in Massachusetts, and thousands of pieces of writing and artwork were submitted and voted upon by a council. Welch said she was surprised at being chosen.

"I was actually over at a friend’s house when I got a call from my mother saying that I was in the Boston Globe," Welch said. "I wouldn’t have even noticed unless my mother told me. Later in the mail I received my award, but that was a couple of weeks later. I was very surprised. I thought that since I submitted my essay and hadn’t heard a response immediately that it was a lost cause, but apparently I just had to be patient for the good news. I was very happy about it and proud because I really did work on my short story for a very long time and it felt great to get recognition."

The award winner "writes a lot," and is a contributor to Algonquin's literary magazine, Sachem. In her spare time, Welch also turns out some novels. She's written six so far and is working on her seventh.

"I would say writing has been a huge part of my life for a while," said Welch, who hopes to write professionally. It's a "dream" to have one of her novels published. For Welch, writing is something that just happened naturally, as she didn't set out to become a writer, per se.

"Also, writing is fun for me so if I could have a career in it," she said, "that seems like a dream come true to me. Ever since I was a little kid I loved making up stories. I would love to make picture books and write in diaries for hours on end. When I got to high school I realized there were so many opportunities for writing if you just looked for them, so I did look for them."

Somehow, Welch explains, her writing often reflects events and people who are in her personal life. Teenage angst. Dramatic teenagers. It finds a place in her stories.

"I've always been told, 'You write what you know,'" she said, "and that seems to be what I know the most. I like writing realistic fiction because I feel like my readers can connect better to the story, as opposed to if it were science fiction or something along those lines."