The winners of the 2009 Savannah Children’s Book Festival Young Writers Contest are as follows:

Grades K-2 Category

1st Place “What I Like” Logan Yakin 1st Grade St. James School
2nd Place “Moon River” Jamya Taylor 2nd Grade Hodge Elementary
3rd Place “John Was a Good Singer” Ru’Nique Brown 2nd Grade Bartow Elementary

Grades 3 – 5 Category

1st Place "Dreams" Lauren Jackson 5th Grade Blandford Elementary
2nd Place "Johnny's Dream" David Schwarze 4th Grade May Howard Elementary
3rd Place "Savannah Secrets" Sarah Schmidt 3RD Grade St. James Catholic School
Honorable Mentions:
“Gypsies” Magee Roe 4th Grade Veritas Academy
“What Keeps Me Going” Nadira Scott 5th Grade Bartow Elementary

Grades 6 – 8 Category

1st Place “My Paradise” Sophie Lichtman 8th Grade Rambam Day School
2nd Place “Johnny Mercer, Savannah Native Son” Jakeem Smith 8th Grade Shuman Middle School
3rd Place “A Night in the Woods” Trenton Roy Woodard 6th Grade Ebenezer Middle School
Honorable Mention “The Love I Got For You” Darius Grahm 7th Grade Snelson-Golden Middle School

Grades 9 – 12 Category

1st Place “Mice Dreams” Elizabeth Lincoln 11th Grade Groves High School
2nd Place “Just Another Night in the Plains” De'Autry Jarrett. 12th Grade Groves High School
3rd Place “I Am From” John Glenn 11th Grade Savannah Country Day School

College Category

1st Place “Good Night, Morning Glories” Allison Young Savannah College of Art & Design
2nd Place “Roxy the Cat” David Reis Savannah Technical College
3rd Place “Butterfly” Celina McMillian Armstrong Atlantic State University

The Young Writers Contest Awards Ceremony will be held at the 20009 Savannah Children’s Book Festival on Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m. on the Main Stage at Forsyth Park. The winners are invited to read their winning entries and receive their awards.

Many thanks to this year’s judges. They are:

K-2
Dottie Lynch, LOPL Foundation Director
Dianne Thurman, Chairman, Johnny Mercer Centennial Committee
Bill Dawers, Savannah Morning News Columnist

Grades 3 – 5
Nancy Cvetan, President, LOPL Friends of the Library
Tom Barton, Editorial Page Editor, Savannah Morning News
Dr. Allen Berger, Professor at AASU and Library Trustee

Grades 6 – 8
Dr. Rebecca Gaston-Dawson, Educator and Library Trustee
Alberta Warren, Library Volunteer
Howard Dawson, Friend of the Library

Grades 9 – 12
Emma Conyers, Educator
Patricia Diane Rilington, Educator
Jane Thimme, Flannery O’Connor Home Board Member

College
Ed Field, Development Coordinator, LOPL
Christian Kruse, Library Director, LOPL
Susan Lee, Public Relations Coordinator, LOPL

Many thanks to all who entered. We received hundreds of entries from throughout the library’s service area and beyond.