MOREHEAD CITY — The Crystal Coast Reading Council hosted its annual Young Authors’ Celebration on Saturday with the theme for the 2020-2021 Young Authors Project being “Let Your Light Shine.”
The project is sponsored by the North Carolina Reading Association and locally by the Crystal Coast Reading Council. These organizations are composed of volunteers, many of whom are educators and parents who volunteer their time to promote literacy statewide.
“This program gives students throughout our county a way to express themselves,” noted Tiffany Mayo, Young Authors’ co-chair and media specialist at West Carteret High School. “We are so grateful for their enthusiasm and for the various sponsors who helped us put on this celebration. Even though it looked different than in previous years, it was nice to see the students’ pride in what they had accomplished.”
The theme of the project was presented to local council members in September. Members then shared the theme with students who were encouraged to submit entries in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or prose to express their creativity and ideas about nature.
“We are thankful and honored to have such a special partnership between parents, teachers and students in our county, and we were excited to celebrate these young authors and artists today,” said Amanda McCall, Young Authors’ co-chair and media specialist at Morehead City Primary School.
Nearly 125 writing entries were judged at the local level in November. The top 30 submissions went on to be judged at the state level in January. In addition, over 40 cover art entries were submitted to the local council, and 15 of those went on to be judged at the state level. Of the 464 statewide entries, 24 of Crystal Coast student and adult (Forever Young) writers and artists achieved the status of state winner. Local and state winners received prize packages, printed anthologies of their work and certificates at a drive-thru ceremony.
“I entered because I love drawing, and to have my artwork published in a book would be very rewarding,” said Morehead Elementary School fifth-grader Lindsey Rappaport. “It was surprising that my artwork won, and I was very happy.”
Special thanks go to sponsors Keller Williams Crystal Coast, Carteret Yard Card, The Book Shop, and Chick-fil-A Morehead City.
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