2016 Student Literary Awards

Colorado students were honored at the twelfth annual Student Literary Awards at the Denver Public Library on Wednesday May 11, 2016. The winning students, surrounded by parents, family members, teachers and educators from across the state, were recognized for their literary or artistic achievements in two national competitions presented by the Library of Congress:

River of Words contestants create art and poetry about the role of watersheds and the environment in our lives.

Letters About Literature participants write a personal letter to an author about how their book changed their perspective on the world.

Colorado Humanities and its program department, Colorado Center for the Book, administer the program at the state level. "This year's increased participation shows we're offering K-12 programs that challenge the creativity and critical thinking skills of young people," said Josephine Jones, Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book Director of Programs. "The quality of work submitted continues to improve in each year of the competition."

River of Words State Poetry Winners

CATEGORY ONE (K-3rd Grade)
1^st Place Willa Grimsley
2^nd Place Bridget Brown
3^rd Place Quinn London
Honorable Mention Elan Sturtz

CATEGORY TWO (4-6^th Grade)
1^st Place Avery Mederos
2^nd Place Isaac Branch
3^rd Place Elliott Cinkosky
Honorable Mention Ryan Hughes

CATEGORY THREE (7-9^th Grade)
1^st Place Maya Hunter
2^nd Place Margaret Herrick
3^rd Place Aspen Somers
Honorable Mention Daniel Richardson

CATEGORY FOUR (10-12^th Grade)

1^st Place Ilse Meiler
2^nd Place Mallory McKenna
3^rd Place Zhan Su
Honorable Mention Tara Mensch

River of Words State Artwork Winners

CATEGORY ONE (K-3rd Grade)
1^st Place Willa Grimsley
2^nd Place Almas Elayyan
3^rd Place Bryce Hunter

CATEGORY TWO (4-6^th Grade)
1st Place  Isaac Branch
2nd Place  Mia Fasick
3rd Place  Blaine Anderson
Honorable Mention  Camin Muttel

CATEGORY THREE (7-9^th Grade)

1^st Place Maya Hunter
2^nd Place Cat Moelder
3^rd Place Aria Barrera
Honorable Mention Maya Hunter

CATEGORY FOUR (9-12^th Grade)
1^st Place Glynnis Bass
2nd Place  Sommyr Bass
3rd Place  Gwyneth Bass

Letters About Literature State Winners

LEVEL ONE (4-6^th Grade)

1^st Place  Luke Karel
2^nd Place  Gavin Petruzzi
3^rd Place  Erika Lewis
Honorable Mention  Addie Todd

LEVEL TWO (7-8^th Grade)
1^st Place Brenna Wright
2^nd Place Ava Rast
3^rd Place  Sheila Marcil
Honorable Mention Tia Noyes

LEVEL THREE (9-12^th Grade)

1^st Place Sarah Lurie (Also 1st Place National Winner!)
2^nd Place  Brianna Lund
3^rd Place Emmalee Harper
Honorable Mention Lainey Orr

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