May 30, 2008
Two students win Young Writers Workshop honor
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Young Writers Workshop, a literary outreach of the Department of English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, announced its 2008 Younkin-Rivera Prizes for Young Writers.
The winners receive $250 and free registration to the 2008 Young Writers Workshop held at SIUC each summer. This year's winners are Hannah Wilson of Ogden, Ill., and Erin York of Raytown, Mo.
Wilson won the prose award with her story, "The Most Boring Short Story Ever." She is a student at St. Joseph-Ogden High School in St. Joseph, Ill.
York won the poem award with her poem, "Bodies' Rain." She attends Raytown High School in Missouri.
The awards are open to creative writers ages 15 to 18 from across the nation. The name of the award honors Brad Younkin and Roxana Rivera, two young writers who were students in the master of fine arts degree program at SIUC.
The Young Writers Workshop celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It is a four-day, co-ed, residential, intensive workshop for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors who want to become better creative writers. This year's program is June 24-28. There is still space but the deadline to register is right around the corner on June 4. Register online and get more information about the program at www.dce.siu.edu or call 618/536-7751.
To learn more about the Younkin-Rivera contest, email workshop and SIUC Creative Writing Program director Allison E. Joseph at aljoseph@siu.edu.