Rye Neck Senior Earns Gold Key Award In Writing Competition

MAMARONECK, NY — Rye Neck High School senior Risa Liebmann has earned a Gold Key award in the 2019 Hudson-to-Housatonic Writing Region of the Scholastic Art & Writing awards competition for her collection of poems, “Fragments.”

“What makes Risa unique is her voice – it is real and honest, and a product of her being a wordsmith,” her teacher Melinda Merkel said. “This is her first Scholastic entry, and the result is gratifying, but not surprising.”

A panel of professional novelists, editors, teachers, poets, librarians and journalists considered 2,151 entries submitted this year, according to a district spokesman. They awarded 345 honorable mentions to promising works, 194 Silver Keys to distinguished works, 120 Gold Keys to the most accomplished works and five American Voice Nominees to the strongest regional works.

As a Gold Key award recipient, Liebmann has advanced to the national level of the competition. She will be recognized at an awards ceremony at Manhattanville College on March 3.

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Photo caption: Rye Neck High School senior Risa Liebmann has earned a Gold Key award in the Scholastic Art & Writing awards competition. Photo credit: Rye Neck Union Free School District.