Congratulations to the Winners of the 2026
Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards!

Senior Portfolio Scholarship Winners

Our most prestigious award, open to graduating high school seniors, the Senior Portfolio Scholarship Winners represent the best Alabama High School writers in our state, as recognized by exceptional literary merit in two or more literary genres. All submissions are anonymously reviewed.

Judge: Dr. Donna Estill, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Calhoun Community College


Kaiden Boykin | Joseph David Trimble II Senior Portfolio Scholarship
Alabama School of Fine Arts | Iris Rinke-Hammer

Violet Marty | Mozelle Purvis Shirley Senior Portfolio Scholarship
Alabama School of Fine Arts | TJ Beitelman

Namira Rubaiyath | Sally and Wayne Greenhaw Memorial Senior Portfolio Scholarship
Vestavia Hills High School | Ben Davis

Elizabeth Hargrove | Ruth & Jay Ott Senior Portfolio Scholarship
Vestavia Hills High School | Holly Robinson

Fiction Category Winners

All submissions are anonymously reviewed.

Judges: Dr. Jocelyn Cullity of the University of South Alabama, Dr. Tom Perrin of Huntingdon College, and Mr. Foster Dickson of Huntingdon College

First Place: Jaaziel Alvarez-Alvarez, “Mississippi Boy”
Pelham High School | Joseph Schill

Second Place: Kennedi Parker, “The Artisan”
Alabama School of Fine Arts | TJ Beitelman

Third Place: Violet Marty, “Reina”
Alabama School of Fine Arts | Iris Rinke-Hammer

Poetry Category Winners

All submissions are anonymously reviewed.

Judges: Dr. Jacqueline Allen Trimble, Poet Laureate of Alabama, Dr. Susie Paul of Auburn University-Montgomery (emeritus), and Lauren Goodwin Slaughter of UAB

First Place: Hazel Pool, “Function or Form/Getting Existential”
Alabama School of Fine Arts | Iris Rinke-Hammer

Second Place: Tamara King, “Odd Men”
Auburn High School | Michelle Sisson

Third Place, Willow Barkley, “The Act of Belonging To”
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate High School | April Sport

Judges’s Special Recognition:
Addison Loyless, “Son of Adam”
Homewood High School | Amy Marchino

Shayla Largadas, “Back to the Womb”
Alabama School of Fine Arts | TJ Beitelman

Brooklyn Capps, “Little Things”
DAY Program | Liz Hughey & Lisa Giles

Corey Jackson, “The Garden Waits”
Booker T. Washington High School | Ken L. Spear

Colman Watts, “All That Jazz”
Florence High School | Vanessa McCulloch

Creative Nonfiction Category Winners

All submissions are anonymously reviewed.

Judges: Jay Lamar and Edward Journey

First Place: Benjamin Wynn, “Lost in Translation”
Oxford High School | Yevett Meadows

Second Place: Alyssa Kariuki, “To Be Or Not To Be”
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate High School | April Sport

Third Place: Jaya Jotani, “it’s the little things”
Vestavia Hills High School | Holly Robinson

 

Judges’s Special Recognition:
Eli Calvert, “The Price of Growing Up”
Pelham High School | Katie Travis

Isabela Saavedra, “As The Ice Melts”
Pelham High School | Katie Travis

Diamond Douvon, “The First Time Someone Said It”
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate High School | April Sport

Literary Journal Category Winners

The Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards awards cash prizes to support exceptional student-produced literary journals and magazines.

Judge: Jeanie Thompson, Executive Director Emerita of the Alabama Writers’ Forum

Winner for Exceptional Literary Content
Cadence | Alabama School of Fine Arts

Winner for Graphic Design and Layout
Harmoniouslee Literary Magazine | Lee High School, Huntsville

Judges’s Special Recognition for Graphic Design and Layout
The Artisan | Briarwood Christian School