• MBHS students win 13 awards in literary arts contest

    Mountain Brook High School students performed exceptionally well in a statewide literary arts contest. 

    Twelve junior students captured 13 total honors in the Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards 2020, which were sponsored by the Alabama Writers’ Forum.

    MBHS 11th-grade English teacher Denise Trimm oversaw the students’ work and said she is extremely proud of how they did. 

    “It’s not required that they do it, but since we write all throughout the year, I’m always encouraging them to try to find publication or recognition for their writing,” Trimm said. 

    According to the Alabama Writers’ Forum, the contest exists to recognize young writers, teachers, and schools for their work in creative writing. Competition categories include creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, senior portfolio, and literary magazine. 

    A panel of writing experts judges the entries. 

    MBHS student Emily King won two awards in the contest. She took third overall in the creative nonfiction long essay category for her personal narrative entitled “In the Round” and garnered judges’ special recognition in fiction for her short story entitled “The Other Side of the Mountains.”

    King said she has been telling stories for as long as she can remember and hopes to incorporate creative writing into her future career. 

    “Having my work recognized in multiple categories really validates my writing ability and encourages me to grow even more as a writer,” she said. 

    Winning entries are typically celebrated during a ceremony at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    Below is a list of MBHS award winners by category:

    Creative Nonfiction Long Essay

    Emily King: Third place winner

    Marielle Cornes: Judges’ special recognition

    Emily Russell: Judges’ special recognition

    Will Black: Certificate of Merit

    Mary Carolyn Sink: Certificate of Merit

    Creative Nonfiction Short Essay

    Daniel Kimble: Cash award winner

    Margo Belden: Judges’ special recognition

    Fiction

    Arden Tapp: Judges’ special recognition

    Emily King: Judges’ special recognition

    James Nichols: Certificate of Merit

    Patrick Neil: Certificate of Merit 

    Poetry

    Lindsey Smith T: Judges’ special recognition

    Jack Smith: Certificate of Merit

     

    Click here to see all of the winners.