By Grace Marion
Staff Writer

Each year Scholastic Inc. hosts a nationwide competition for the artistically and linguistically inclined. This competition is open to 7-12 graders enrolled in public, private, or home schooling. The program has been credited with identifying early talent in generations of America’s cultural icons, including Truman Capote (1932), Richard Avedon (1941), Andy Warhol (1945), Sylvia Plath (1947), Robert Redford (1954) and Zac Posen (1998), all of which won one of the awards affiliated with the program.

Entries must be submitted between September 15th and January 26th (depending on which category you wish to compete in). All that is required to enter is an original piece of work. You must simply submit it online, and mail an application form to your local program building.
Many students are reluctant to enter this contest because they do not know how to prepare themselves. “To prepare for such contests they could use their own projects that they’ve developed in class and take them a step further to fulfill the contest requirements” said Art Instructor, Cheryl Soltis. For artists and writers not enrolled in related classes, this may be an issue.

“Read. If you want to be a writer obviously you’re going to write as often as you can and as much as you can but allot of people overlook the reading aspect of that. They should have an eclectic background; Different genres, types of writing, tones. Too many writers kind of get stuck in one kind of writing. Say they like twilight or something they’ll just read twilight all the time or books like it. They don’t get the depth of all the types they really need. All those writers, you know, they read allot of people. They know allot of types. The more types you see- you can change your style, change your vocabulary, change the way you write” said English teacher, Dan Luongo.

Since first established in 1923 the Scholastic Art and Writing awards have awarded young artists with scholarships and exhibition. Teens can enter in any or 28 categories for such a chance. In 2012 two Neshaminy students won 2nd place awards known as ‘The Silver Keys’ in photography.
English and art departments alike of schools across the country encourage students to work to compete in this competition. Past recipients from Neshaminy include Steph Skrot, Kin Timbone, Molly MacDonald, Virginia Anselmi, Emily Later, Gina Kay, and Maddy MacDonald. ” I think it is definitely a good idea for high school age students to enter contests like this because it’s important for them to get their portfolio work developed and then see how it compares to their peers,” commented Soltis.