The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers

My memories of my sister Claudia remain sharp and clear, as does my grief, more than twenty years after her death. Those of you born after I began missing Claudia will find it difficult to imagine that even though I’ve read hundreds of submissions to the award that carries my sister’s name each year, every year’s entries are fresh and deeply gratifying. That is what art does. It transcends everyday life and time. Art reaches far beneath the surface, and illuminates what is unchanging and universal in the human experience. Those of us who love literature have found a soul-sustaining passion and wellspring of knowledge and inspiration, pleasure, wit, and beauty.

The Seaman family established the award in memory of my sister, a young poet, with the generous support of the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, in our hometown, Poughkeepsie, New York. We are now thrilled to have another partner in this exciting endeavor, Chicago-based Polyphony H.S., a student-run, national literary magazine for high school writers.

Members of PHS’s editorial staff will read and comment on submissions to the Seaman Award for Young Writers with the goal of nurturing the writing community, connecting young writers and editors, and enabling young writers to reach a wider audience. Our hope is that participants will better understand the impact their writing has on readers, and that the close scrutiny of editors will help writers perceive greater possibility in their work.

Thank you for participating in the Claudia Ann Seaman Award for Young Writers, and thank you for keeping the profound and transforming arts of reading and writing vital.

~ Donna Seaman, Associate Editor, Booklist

How to Submit for the CAS Awards

OPEN TO: All students in grades 9–12

SUBMISSION: Each participant may submit a total of three works, either poems, stories, essays, or any combination

(1500 word limit for fiction and creative non-fiction)

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by April 15, 2010 

CASH AWARD:  $200.00 award for each genre

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT: September 20, 2010 

HOW TO SUBMIT: There are three ways to submit:

  1. You can submit your work directly to Polyphony H.S. at www.polyphonyhs.com
  2. You can submit your work through www.teenreads.com
  3. You can submit your work through the Community Foundation of Dutchess County (paper copies accepted here) at:

 

The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers

The Community Foundation of Dutchess County

80 Washington Street, Suite 201

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

845-452-3077

Each entry must contain the following information:

• Student name, address, phone number, email address, year of HS graduation (Class of_______);

• School name, address, phone number;

• Name and email address of student’s English or writing teacher

When’s that deadline again? April 15, 2010