Power of the Pen 2018 Winners

2018 Power of the Pen Winners

HAALSA Young Poet's Award: Mikaela Hart, The Star-Girl  & Illyria Volcansek, Modern Butterflies

Maitland Banting Silver Quill Award: Samantha Potts, Kate Walks Into a Bar

List of Awardees: 

Poetry

Age 12

1^st    Olivia A. Gringhuis, The Night

2^nd   Helen Lu, Sunset

Honourable Mention: Bohmie Song, Okay

Age 13

1^st    Kezia Hart, They Call

2^nd   Sarah Reid, And Yet They Call This Peace

Age 14

1^st   Illyria Volcansek, Modern Butterflies

2^nd   Abbey Hanson, Vacant Dreamer

Honourable Mention: Vanessa Koens, Chérie en France

Age 15

1^st    Sarah August, Back From 10

2^nd   Grace McNamara, When Songbirds Can't Sing 

Honourable Mentions:  Saieda Muntaha Begum, You Wrote: Hamilton-Inspired Poem; Sue Lee, Quiet Observer of Rising Light; Daisy Li, Castle of Hope & Mara Ribaudo-Begin, Time  Goes On. 

Age 16

1^st    Mikaela Hart, The Star-Girl

2^nd   Ramona Ribaudo-Begin, What Do I Remember

Honourable Mentions: Maeve Jenkinson, Art for Those who Can't Afford It

Age 17

1^st     Nicola Lawford, three-part poem form august

2^nd   Iris Wang, Colours of War - A Tribute to the Veterans

Honourable Mentions: Reem Balousha, Shattered Dreams and Hopeless Teens & Warisha Rehman, Breaking News

Age 18

1^st  Lisa Watts, you; a bleeding bird

2^nd   Nicki Startek, Puddles

Honourable Mentions: Hannah T. Rosales, behind the bookshelf & Kendra Zhang, The Art of Washing the Dishes

Short Fiction

Age 12

1^st    Olivia A. Gringhuis, On Enemy Ground

2^nd   Ifeoluwa Aderibigbe, Kirra's Story

Honourable Mentions: Alice Kayser, Mrs. Fresco's Flower Shop; Helen Lu, June and July & Karlyn Wildeboer, The Schoolmaster's Secret.

Age 13

1^st    Paul Kyum Lee, Giant

2^nd   Sarah Reid, Dalson on the Run 

Honourable Mentions: Sofia Pimenta, Monster Star Hunter; Timothy Mantel, The Life I Live & Nikki Vanderboom, River of Tears.

Age 14

1^st    Samantha Potts, Kate Walks Into a Bar

2^nd   Jocelyn Mattka, The Boat

Honourable Mentions: Madison Barlow, Clownfish; Kaushihan Ahilan, Listen Closely; Samantha Hounsome, All that is Gold Does Not Glitter & Alice Zheng, Whispers from Paradise.

Age  15

1^st    Rebekah Young, Winds of Change

2^nd   Nicola Dodds, First Impressions

Honourable Mentions:  Kristen Van Kampen, Over; Sonya Pallapothu, November 2 & Ben Wighall, Through a New Lense.

Age 16

1^st    Maeve Jenkinson, 15 Minutes

2^nd   Ramona Ribaudo-Begin, War Letters

Honourable Mentions: Anne Clock, There's a Leak in the Ceiling & Rachel Reid, Simple Things

Age 17  

1^st    Sawyer Berkelaar, Maye

2^nd   Nicola Lawford, Saturday Morning Phone Call to Jordan 

Age 18

1^st    Oussama Badran, A Day in the Life of a Lebanese Street Rat

2^nd   Nickie Startek, Vintage Space 

Honourable Mentions: Sarah Derikx, Hero

For previous years, please visit the Local History & Archives Department at the 3^rd floor of the Central Library