WILLIAMSBURG — Several college, high school and middle school students received cash prizes in the first-ever Williamsburg Book Festival Student Writing Contest sponsored by Williamsburg’s Pale Horse Books.
The awards were presented at the festival on Feb. 4. The event had been rescheduled from Oct. due to a hurricane.
Abigail Swanberg earned first-place honors in the college division, with second going to Greyson Fisher and third to Alexander Wolff. All are William & Mary students.
In the high school division, Elisabeth Ososanya from Jamestown High School placed first, Samantha Brinkley from Warhill placed second, and Lillianna Jetter of Bruton High School was third.
Jimena Diego de Simonte was the winner in the middle school division. Jimena attends Queens Lake Middle School.
Students, parents, friends and teachers were in attendance. Sally Stiles from Pale Horse Books and Williamsburg Book Festival President Peter Stipe made the presentations.
Students could enter under poetry, fiction, or non-fiction categories. The school division winners were chosen from among the winners in each genre. Sara Collins Honenberger, Laura Fiorentino, and Sharon Dorsey served as judges for fiction, non-fiction and poetry, respectively.
One of the festival’s missions is to encourage youth in the literary arts. Earlier in the day, children’s and YA author Sarah Glenn Marsh spoke to students and parents at the Williamsburg Regional Library.
For more information about the Williamsburg Book Festival and to stay up to date about future events, refer to its official website.
