INTRODUCTION

About the Awards

Started in 1923 by Scholastic founder Maurice R. Robinson, the Awards have grown to become the nation’s highest honor and largest source of scholarships for creative teenagers. All students in grades 7-12, whether public, private, or home schooled, are encouraged to apply. Through a nationwide network of more than 100 visual arts and literary arts organizations across the country, the 2022 Awards received more than 260,000 submissions in 28 categories of art and writing. More than 71,000 regional awards were given over 40,000 creative teens.

Across the decades, some young Scholastic winners have included names you’ll recognize: Stephen King, Robert Redford, Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Bernard Malamud, Ken Burns, Kay Walkingstick, and Amanda Gorman, who read a poem at the 2021 U.S. Presidential inauguration. Most alumni are less famous but no less important, for creativity, imagination, and risk-taking are hallmarks of being fully human.

The Hoosier Writing Project at IUPUI recognizes regional winners with Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention certificates. In 2022, our region gave 201 awards and honored these students at the Regional Visions and Voices Awards Ceremony. Gold Key writing is published in this annual anthology.

Submissions receiving a Gold Key are forwarded to the national level of the competition. To see a list of our regional medal winners, visit our regional microsite: https://www.artandwriting.org/regions/IN002W .

For more about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit www.artandwriting.org .

Introduction

Congratulations to our 2022 Gold Key winners whose work is exhibited in this anthology.

In light of the ongoing Covid 19 environment that rattled and reprogrammed everyday living, the writing was extraordinary. The 507 entries submitted in the Central and Southern Region of Indiana clearly provided an outlet for many, and an escape for others. Often both. Art can make sense of chaos.

Please know how many of our judges return year after year. Most of them are writers. They know how writing can fill up empty spaces, generate joy, and provide revelations and solace. They know that encouraging young writers is important and necessary. And the bonus—our judges are inspired not only by what they see on the page, but also by the teachers who give so much of themselves to provide a safe, appreciative, constant home for creativity.

Altogether, 50 works were honored with Gold Keys, 65 with Silver Keys, and 86 with Honorable Mentions. A separate panel of judges read the Gold Key works and chose five as American Voices nominees—the “best in show”—that were sent on to the national Scholastic Awards for further judging, as were all the Gold Key winners.

All Gold Key works, including selections from two Gold Key portfolios, are printed in this anthology.

These works demonstrate the criteria that Scholastic has used throughout its history: technical skill, originality, and emergence of a personal vision or voice. The writers play with language, structure, and ideas. They represent their experiences and imagine other worlds. They have something to say, and invite you to hear it.

er and Abigail Freestone, who also edit IUPUI’s genesis literary and arts magazine under the outstanding sponsorship of Prof. Sarah Layden. They spent many, many hours designing and putting this issue together.

We thank the dedicated teachers who have encouraged students to honor and express their creativity. And we thank the families and friends who support teens’ creative thinking, problem-solving and experimentation. Enjoy reading this work.

Steve Fox and Sara Harrell Hoosier Writing Project Department of English School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI