Student Writers Invited to Enter Contest

Young Danville writers, get out your pens and laptops.

The California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch, invites all Danville middle school students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades to enter its 16th Annual Young Writers Contest by April 1.

The contest is open to students at all middle schools, public and private, throughout Contra Costa County.

Liz Pentacoff of The California Writers Club says the contest aims to encourage students' creative work in three categories: short stories, poems, and personal narratives or essays.

The contest gives kids a chance to find their inner muse, says Pentacoff, "and discover how powerful writing can be."

Jonathan Ng, 13, now an eight grader at the Athenian School in Danville, won second place last year for his poem, "The Sea Slug." As for what inspired him to write the poem, he said, "I only wished to express my disgust for sea slugs—they are repellent creatures."

He credits his mom and dad, who home schooled him for three years, for instilling in him a passion for writing. "I've been writing since I was four or five ... I think the continuous production helped my skills progress."

Sean Lee, now an eight grader at Windemere Ranch Middle School in San Ramon won first place for his short story, "Run." Lee, now 13, says his fifth grade teacher inspired him to "write, write and write with many different writing assignments."

He says his current teacher, Kim Vaiana at Windemere Ranch, inspires him to improve his writing.

San Ramon also has budding poets: Chloe Chan, 12, a seventh grader at Pine Valley Middle School, won first place for her poem, Kaleidoscope.

"Winning the top $100 prize was kind of exhilarating," says Chan, "and it made my parents proud." 

"Chloe is an amazing student," says Robin White, Chan's sixth grade teacher, who credits Chan's writing success to her love of reading and her "vivid imagination and creativity."

White, who has enjoyed seeing four of her students place in the contest over the years, emphasizes the importance of reading and writing in her class: "Strong readers tend to make strong writers."

Gale Ranch Middle School, like Pine Valley Middle School, saw three of its students win top prizes. One of these students, 12-year-old Augustine Chemparathy, a seventh grader at Gale Ranch Middle School, won first place for his essay, "Keeping Your Hand On the Rudder."

Chemparathy, who crafted his first story during the third grade, encourages other students to enter the contest even if they don't think they'll win.

"Winning is nice," says Chemparathy, "but in the end, I think the best part is just being able to write and present what you create to the world."

The top three winners in each category receive cash prizes, ranging from $25 to $100. Honorable mentions in each category receive a certificate.

Submissions are free. To enter, check out the contest guidelines at www.mtdiablowriters.org/youngWriters.html and submit your entry by April 1.