AWF gratefully acknowledges the 2023 High School Literary Arts Awards Judges:

Creative Nonfiction and Literary Magazine: James M. Hilgartner is Professor of English at Huntingdon College. He has published in a number of literary journals and has twice been awarded the Fellowship in Literature from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Since 2015 he has served as Fiction Editor of THAT Literary Review (now Thirteen Bridges Review www.thirteenbridgesreview.com).

Fiction: Kent Quaney is the author of the award-winning novel, One Breath from Drowning (University of Wisconsin Press, 2022). His short fiction has appeared in Literally Stories, Rum Punch Press, Chelsea Station, riverSedge and Polari, among other journals. He studied creative writing at the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Mississippi and is currently Assistant Professor and Creative Writing Coordinator at Auburn University at Montgomery.

Poetry: Jason McCall holds an MFA from the University of Miami. His collections include Two-Face God; Dear Hero, (winner of the 2012 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize); Silver; I Can Explain; and Mother, Less Child (co-winner of the 2013 Paper Nautilus Vella Chapbook Prize); and A Man Ain’t Nothin’. He and P.J. Williams are the editors of It Was Written: Poetry Inspired by Hip-Hop. He is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Alabama.

Senior Portfolio Scholarship: Dr. Zanice Bond is Associate Professor of English in the Department of Modern Languages, Communication, and Philosophy at Tuskegee University (TU). In 2017, she received a Fulbright-Hays award to Santiago, Chile, and a Poetry Foundation Fellowship for the Furious Flower Center’s Legacy Seminar on Yusef Komunyakaa at James Madison University. She is on the board of the Alabama Writers’ Forum and is a member of the Encyclopedia of Alabama Advisory Council. She served on the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame committee for the 2023 class and is on the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer committee. Dr. Bond is an Alabama Folklife Association Cauthen Fellow (2022-2023), currently conducting research on memory quilts in Alabama.

Chair Of The High School Literary Arts Awards Judges: Dr. Susie Paul, a longtime resident of Montgomery, taught American literature and writing at Auburn University Montgomery for over 20 years. Now retired, she is a member of the boards of the Alabama Writers’ Forum and Nora’s Playhouse South. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Kalliope, Negative Capability, Earth’s Daughters, The Village Rambler, Alimentum, and other journals. Her poetry collection The Whited Air: Mary Paul in Winter was published in 2021 by Finishing Line Press. Dr. Paul screens the poetry category and believes in the power and promise of young writers.

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SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Elliot Fletcher, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate winner of the Marvin Lee Paul and Helen Scott Paul Senior Portfolio Scholarship

Skye Anderson, student of Michelle Sisson, Lee High School, winner of the Ruth & Jay Ott Senior Portfolio Scholarship

Makayla Montgomery, student of Brianna Olivera, Springville High School, winner of the Mozelle Purvis Shirley Senior Portfolio Scholarship

Madison Tanner, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School, winner of the Wayne Greenhaw Memorial Senior Portfolio Scholarship

Isabelle Cox, student of Ashley Jones, Alabama School of Fine Arts, winner of the Joseph David Trimble II Senior Portfolio Scholarship

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LITERARY MAGAZINE COMPETITION WINNERS

Exceptional Literary Content:

Cadence (Alabama School of Fine Arts)

Editors: Amaia Corta and Haley Pate, students of Iris Rinke-Hammer

Prize: $200 to the magazine

Exceptional Graphic Design and Layout:

The Eclectic (Bob Jones High School)

Editor: Emily Duong, student of Brandy Panagos

Prize: $200 to the magazine

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CREATIVE NONFICTION LONG ESSAY WINNERS

The Judith Hillman Paterson Award for Excellence in Essay Writing:
Lauren Underberg, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of Fine Arts

First Place: Daniel Troy, student of Karen Hall, Auburn High School

Second Place: Caroline Otis, student of Kathleen Travis, Pelham High School

Third Place: Kyra Richardson, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Creative Nonfiction Long Essay Judge’s Special Recognition

Violet Marty, student of Iris Rinke-Hammer, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Daryl Thomas, student of Ken Spear, Booker T. Washington Magnet School

Creative Nonfiction Long Essay Certificates of Merit

William Bittner, student of Iris Rinke-Hammer, Alabama School of Fine Arts

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CREATIVE NONFICTION SHORT ESSAY WINNERS

Creative Nonfiction Short Essay – Cash Award Winners

Lily Wilson, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Emily Duong, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Jill Ferderber, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Abigail Quinn, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Taryn Billups, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Jashan Grewal, student of Kathleen Travis, Pelham High School
Hannah Mercer, student of Kathleen Travis, Pelham High School
Ashly Vargas, student of Kathleen Travis, Pelham High School

Creative Nonfiction Short Essay Judge’s Special Recognition

Gianna Dieselberg, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Joan Mathew, student of Ken Spear, Booker T. Washington Magnet School
Hayden Fixler, student of Amy Calvert, Briarwood Christian School
William Abel, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Cheyenne Blasingame, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Samantha Copeland, student of Michelle Sisson, Lee High School
Justin Lovejoy , student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy

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FICTION WINNERS

First Place: Ash Pierce, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Second Place: Reilly Crabbe, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School

Third Place: Natalie Wingo, student of Christy Ader, Cleburne County High School

Fiction Judge’s Special Recognition

William Bittner, student of Iris Rinke-Hammer, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Isabelle Cox, student of Ashley Jones, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Emily Duong, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Eve Hampson, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Luke Sloan, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Jake Parisher, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School
Harper Winter, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School
Madeline Cobb, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Samantha Copeland, student of Michelle Sisson, Lee High School
Ju-An Adrianne Lin, student of Scott Richburg, The Montgomery Academy

Fiction Certificates of Merit

Gianna Dieselberg, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Abigail Neely, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Darci Kilpatrick, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Astrid Muffett, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Bella Herring, student of Dawn Sumerford, Briarwood Christian School
Eden Renstrom, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School
Luke Waters, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School
Taryn Billups, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Rowland Fournier, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Daniel Galloway, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School

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POETRY WINNERS

First Place: Isabelle Cox, student of Ashley Jones, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Second Place: RaMya Ellis, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy

Third Place: Darci Kilpatrick, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School

Poetry Judge’s Special Recognition

Addison Phelps, student of Judith Anne Fick, Baker High School
Steven Borden, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Astrid Muffett, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Hayden Fixler, student of Amy Calvert, Briarwood Christian School
Madeline Cobb, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Taryn Billups, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Samantha Copeland, student of Michelle Sisson, Lee High School
J.B., student of Marlin Barton, Lurleen B. Wallace School
L.D., student of Marlin Barton, Lurleen B. Wallace School
Erika Upshaw, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy

Poetry Certificates of Merit

C.B., student of Salaam Green, Adele Goodwyn McNeel School
William Bittner, student of Iris Rinke-Hammer, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Atticus Hill, student of Iris Rinke-Hammer, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Mya Richardson, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of Fine Arts
Lily Wilson, student of TJ Beitelman, Alabama School of the Fine Arts
Gianna Dieselberg, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Thomas Sigler, student of Brandy Panagos, Bob Jones High School
Daryl Thomas, student of Ken Spear, Booker T. Washington Magnet School
Christopher Davis, student of Hannah Pressley, Briarwood Christian School
Cameron Allen, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Madeline Cobb, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Elizabeth Martin, student of Amy Marchino, Homewood High School
Brandon Williams, student of Ginny Phillips, Jefferson Christian Academy
Emsli Chapman, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Reese Thrasher, student of Denise Trimm, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Lauren Todd, student of Michelle Sisson, Lee High School
J.B., student of Marlin Barton, Lurleen B. Wallace School
M.C., student of Marlin Barton, Lurleen B. Wallace School
D.T., student of Marlin Barton, Lurleen B. Wallace School
Ny’lesha King, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy
Aaron Morris, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy
CaMora Robinson, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy
Eden Sciacca, student of Jon Carter, Restoration Academy