Calling Teen Authors: The Write Rhode Island Fiction Contest Is Back

From School One: With September marking the kick-off of a new school year it also marks the beginning of School One and Goat Hill’s Write Rhode Island short fiction competition for Rhode Island students. Write Rhode Island is hoping to get teens excited and spur entries by hosting free creative writing workshops at the Cranston Public Library on September 13, 20 and 27th . To register for this free workshop contact the teen librarian at the Library, 401-943- 9080

Last year Write Rhode Island received more than 100 submissions from students attending public, private and parochial schools from across the Ocean State. Last year Cranston resident, Kateri Bajer of LaSalle Academy received a Notable Read from the judges for her story From Here to Eternity. This year, the competition has been expanded and will now include 7 th graders. Write Rhode Island is also partnering with new schools and organizations like Shea High School, Teen Book Fest and ENRICHri to provide free writing workshops for students to get their stories started.

The goal of Write Rhode Island is to promote and celebrate student by incorporating Rhode Island as a theme
in a creative piece of prose. The competition is open to all public, private, parochial or home-school students
throughout the Ocean State. Winners in various categories by grade level will receive prizes, awards, and an
opportunity to be published. The deadline to submit a piece is Saturday, December 10, 2017, and additional
information and full competition guidelines can be found at www.school-one.org. Winners will be
announced in Spring 2017.

As part of the competition, the free creative writing workshops will be led by authors and teaching artists
who will provide support to spur student writing and participation in the contest. While the workshops are
free, participants are asked to register in advance by contacting the library directly. Also new this year School One and Goat Hill have designed The Art of Storytelling for teachers. The Art of Storytelling will encourage and engage teachers in creative writing, through in-class writing exercises and discussions, and learning how to approach creative writing as a teaching tool. This workshop will be held Wednesday, September 27 th 4:30-6pm at School One in Providence. Attendance is free but registration is required.

“As educators, we understand the value of giving students an opportunity to write for their own purposes and
in their own voice,” said Jennifer Borman, Head of School for School One. “This type of writing involves
self-expression and sharing an authentic view of students’ perspective of the larger world—we’re really
excited about these workshops and eager to read the stories that are submitted.”

School One does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin or disability. For students who want to hear excerpts from last year’s winners, Barnes & Noble Warwick will host Write Rhode Island at the Teen Book Fest at Barnes & Nobel Warwick, Saturday, September 23 rd 2-5pm. A free workshop for teens will follow at 5pm.

Write Rhode Island is being presented by School One and Goat Hill. School One is a small, independent high school in Providence that provides an arts-intensive, college preparatory education to an array of students from across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Goat Hill is the coming together of three Providence writers, Ann Hood, Hester Kaplan and Taylor Polites with the collective goal of producing and expanding literary events across the state.

The competition has been made possible thanks to support from BankRI, Pawtucket Credit Union, the Rhode
Island Council for the Humanities, Stenhouse Consulting, Rhode Island Department of Education, the RI State Council on the Arts, teachers, librarians and educators from around the state. For more information, including a full list of available workshops, visit www.school-one.org or contact Diana Champa at (401) 331-2497 and dianac@school-one.org.

Image Courtesy of School One