Schools

Student Writers To Be Honored at Bethesda Literary Festival

12 Bethesda Youth Writing Contest winners have been selected from amongst 650 entries.

The 12 winners of the Bethesda Youth Writing Contest have been announced, and the student writers will read their work during the upcoming Bethesda Literary Festival.

The winning writers, in grades Kindergarten through 8, were selected from a pool of 650 submissions from 25 Montgomery County schools. Students were prompted to write an essay based on the theme, "One Thing I Do Well."

The contest was produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership and sponsored by Washington Parent Magazine, where the winners will see their work published. The students will read their work at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda as a part of the Bethesda Literary Festival. 

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The winners are:

  • Molly Battista, Brookeville, 4th Grade, Sherwood Elementary
  • Emma Eder, Rockville, 8th Grade, St. Jane de Chantal School
  • Priyanka Fayson, Poolesville, 2nd Grade, Monocacy Elementary
  • Graham Hopkins, Bethesda, 4th Grade, North Chevy Chase Elementary
  • Ayesha Khawaja, Rockville, 5th Grade, Lucy V. Barnsley Elementary
  • Jacob Lee, Germantown, Kindergarten, Sparks Matsunaga Elementary
  • Nayana MacMillan, Bethesda, 7th Grade, Holton-Arms School
  • Annie Myers, Potomac, 6th Grade, St. Jane de Chantal School
  • Carli Needle, Potomac, 8th Grade, Cabin John Middle School
  • Matthew Ober, Silver Spring, 7th Grade, St. John the Baptist
  • Kyla Phillips, Washington, D.C., 2nd Grade, Stone Ridge School
  • Sara Willhauck, Cabin John, 1st Grade, Bannockburn Elementary

Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Bethesda Literary Festival will feature local and national authors, journalists and poets at a series of free events across downtown Bethesda from Friday, April 19, through Sunday, April 21. 

Highlights of this year's festival include David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Barack Obama: The Story; National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Alice McDermott; Bloomberg News executive editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amanda Bennett; and New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker, Kate Alcott.

Finalists in the Bethesda Urban Partnership and Bethesda Magazine's Essay and Short Story Contest will also be honored at the festival.

The Bethesda Literary Festival is produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership. For a full schedule and list of participating writers, visit BUP's website.


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