MFA Writing for Children & Young Adults

MFAWC Scholarship Winners

 
We wish to express deep gratitude to our named and anonymous scholarship sponsors. Not only do these awards offer students much-appreciated financial support, but they also provide recognition for the high-caliber work of our talented writers. Thank you, thank you!
 

The Winter 2013 Scholarship Winners

ALUMNI GIFT AWARD

This scholarship was started by the January 2004 graduating class.  Recipients are nominated by the student body and the winner is selected by the faculty committee.  The award is based upon the demonstration of some or all of the following characteristics: leadership, inspiration, support of fellow students, and/or contributions to the program. 
 
Heidi Kim,a current second semester student, was nominated for the Alumni Gift Award by her peers for her dedication and contributions to her class.  One of the nominators wrote, “Heidi is the heart of our class.”  Heidi is a reformed former-business woman, a marketing strategy consultant, and a substitute teacher.  During her first semester she worked with Jane Kurtz and she is currently working with April Lurie.  When asked to tell a bit about herself, Heidi stated, “I moved around a lot as I grew up and have lived in California, New Hampshire, New York, and Korea.  I have never really felt like I was from anywhere, but I have always found a home in books.”
 
 

 

 

 

 

CRITICAL THESIS PRIZE

The $1,000 Critical Thesis Prize recognizes an outstanding third semester critical thesis each semester.  Critical theses are nominated by faculty advisors and a faculty review committee selects the winning thesis.
 
Helen Zax is a writing teacher and a dog lover who lives in Washington, DC with her husband, and,for the time being, her daughter’s wild and wooly puppy Huckleberry. Helen worked on her critical thesis Learning to Feel: Practicing Empathy in Coming-of-Age Novels with Tim Wynne-Jones.
 
 Helen wrote, “Empathy has always been a core value of mine. So, as I worked on my thesis last semester, I was delighted to discover that many gifted writers resolve their characters’ deepest emotional conflicts by having them learn and practice empathy. I hope characters on empathic journeys become models for young readers to emulate as they, too, try to come to terms with their larger emotional concerns."
 
 

HOLY SMOKES!  THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

With great thanks to alumna Meg Wiviott (’11) we awarded our first Holy Smokes! This Makes a Difference! scholarship in July.  This award, offered each semester, recognizes strong academic achievement as well as provides support for an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults student. The prize winner receives a VCFA program scholarship of $1,000. In starting this award, Meg said, “My hope is that this scholarship will support someone's creative spark both emotionally and financially.” 
 
Callie Miller,a third semester student, lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she battles the heat, desert plant life and animals, all of which have violent and unscrupulous intentions (except for the bunnies).  Callie writes primarily science fiction and fantasy for middle grade readers, and is slowly learning the difficult yet ever satisfying form that is the picture book.
 
 
 
 
 
 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT PRIZE

Started in January 1998, the $1,000 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize honors strong writing for the third-grade audience or higher in any genre. It is open to students enrolled in any semester. The prizewinner receives a careful reading of the manuscript and a phone/e-mail consultation with a Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt or Clarion editor. 
 
Kate Beasley worked on her winning submission, Hating Mary Sue Spivey, with Julie Larios.  She has also worked with Coe Booth and Susan Fletcher, and is currently pursuing her final semester in the program with Martine Leavitt.
 
Hating Mary Sue Spivey is about a girl who believes that if she just works hard enough she can make the world exactly the way she wants it.  And she wants a world in which everyone hates Mary Sue Spivey as much as she does.
 
 

IN A NUTSHELL SHORT STORY AWARD

This $300 scholarship was started by six women from the July 2007 graduating class to offer students an opportunity to be recognized each semester for their writing. They chose short stories because it embodies the essence of good storytelling.
 
Jessica Cooper is a second semester student from New Jersey.  While at VCFA, she's worked with An Na and Bonnie Christensen.   Her winning submission, Butter Sandwiches, is somewhat a stream of consciousness, experimental story of a little girl growing up with an extreme fundamentalist mother who is determined to control her children's beliefs no matter what it takes, even faking miracles. Jessica was inspired to write this story while grappling with the idea that, when isolated from the world, a child might never learn to think for herself.
 
You can learn more about Jessica at www.jm-cooper.com    
 
 
 
 
 

MARION DANE BAUER SCHOLARSHIP

The $1,000 Marion Dane Bauer Scholarship for middle-grade work also recognizes the dedication and heart of founding faculty member Marion Dane Bauer.  Marion (pictured on the left) retired from the program in 2009 after serving over 10 years as a revered teacher, including many years as Faculty Chair. 

 

Kate Beasley was born, raised, and still lives in rural south Georgia.  When she's not reading or writing, she's helping out in her family's pecan orchard.  She worked with Julie Larios on her winning submission, Hating Mary Sue Spivey.
Sometimes inspirations for stories come in strange ways.  Kate told us, “I was staring at the pond in my backyard, trying to scratch up an idea for a story, and I saw a bullfrog hop into the water.  A bossy voice in my head said, ‘You know, there's a lot you can do with a bullfrog.’  I let that voice tell me all the things she would do with a frog, and I knew that I had my main character.”
 
 

NORMA FOX MAZER AWARD

Norma (pictured on the left) was a beloved faculty member here at VCFA and her heart and dedication to the program went far beyond her years as faculty member and Faculty Chair. This $2,000 award was generously founded by Norma's family in her memory and received additional support from other donors.  

This substantial scholarship aligns with Norma's young adult writing and recognizes both Norma's support for the program and her prominence in the field of children's literature.  In addition, the winning piece will be read and responded to by Rosemary Brosnan, Norma’s editor at HarperCollins.

 


Katherine Quimby Johnson, a third semester student, was born and raised in northeastern Vermont. She now lives about sixty miles from where she grew up, although it took more than a decade of wandering to destinations that included Vienna, Austria, and St. Louis, Missouri, to bring her back.   Katherine worked on her winning submission with Tom Birdseye.
 
Set in Katherine’s native Vermont, Three Minutes Thirty is a contemporary young adult novel that explores what it means to be a man, what it means to be the first in your family to graduate from high school, and it’s about how, sometimes, we can save each other without knowing it.  It was inspired by a basketball player who performed at her daughter’s last high school dance recital, who grabbed the mike at the end of the evening and said, “Yo, dudes, dance is cool! You should try it!”  She found herself wondering what it had taken to get him to that point.
 
You can learn more about Katherine at www.wordsrmylife.livejournal.com

 

Previous  SCholarship Winners

 

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF WRITING FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS

 

The Summer 2012 Scholarship Winners

NEW SCHOLARSHIP!

 
With great thanks to alumna Meg Wiviott (’11) we awarded our first Holy Smokes! This Makes a Difference! scholarship in July.  This award, to be offered each semester, recognizes strong academic achievement as well as provides support for an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults student. The prize winner receives a VCFA program scholarship of $1,000. In starting this award, Meg said, “My hope is that this scholarship will support someone's creative spark both emotionally and financially.”
 

HOLY SMOKES!  THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Jenny Mason is a current third semester student. Not too long ago, Jenny crawled out of the creosote forests of southern New Mexico to follow her dreams. They led her simultaneously to the woodsy mountains of Vermont and the mossy cliffs of Ireland. When she is not working on her studies, she spends her time reading, playing tennis, and fishing.  During her studies at VCFA Jennifer has worked with Mark Karlins, Julie Larios and Bonnie Christensen.
 
According to Jenny, “Progressing through an M.F.A. in Writing for Children & Young Adults can feel as daunting as climbing a beanstalk, especially with all the giants lurking above (debt, self-doubt, access to resources). This essay pushes past those giants in search of the writer's ultimate rewards.
 
“I would say that having embarked on a semester-long, intensive study into nonfiction for young readers with Julie Larios, my dreams and goals for writing have been eternally altered and enriched. Often, though, the substantial amount of research that comes with writing nonfiction also comes with costs. I applied for this scholarship attempting to alleviate those costs and keep on track a nonfiction novel about glass.”  

 

ALUMNI GIFT AWARD

This scholarship was started by the January 2004 graduating class.  Recipients are nominated by the student body and the winner is selected by the faculty committee.  The award is based upon the demonstration of some or all of the following characteristics: leadership, inspiration, support of fellow students, and/or contributions to the program. 
 
Heather Strickland, a current fourth semester student, was born in New Jersey but currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her day job is in social media and she also does some freelance writing on the side. When Heather is not writing, reading, or hanging out with her dog, you can find her on the shuffleboard courts, at the brunch table, or riding her bike around the city. During her studies at VCFA she has worked with Mary Quattlebaum, Amanda Jenkins, Martine Leavitt, and is currently working with Susan Fletcher.

 

 

CRITICAL THESIS PRIZE

The $1,000 Critical Thesis Prize recognizes an outstanding third semester critical thesis each semester.  Critical theses are nominated by faculty advisors and a faculty review committee selects the winning thesis.
  
Stephen Bramucci is a travel writer who constantly strives to be as pure-hearted and “uncivilized” as Huck Finn. He worked on his critical thesis, Huck’s Legacy, with Uma Krishnaswami.  
 
When asked about his critical thesis Stephen wrote, “Huck’s Legacytries to define an archetype based on the character of Huckleberry Finn by investigating his descendants in the world of children’s literature. Unofficially, I’ve been working on “Huck’s Legacy” for the past eight years. In 2005, at the beginning of a backpacking trip around the world, I bought a copy of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at a used bookstore in Munich. I read the novel 25 times across 27 countries over the course of the next 13 months (I wasn’t in the UAE or Singapore long enough to finish). At the end of that trip I embarked on my own river odyssey, traveling down the Mekong Delta in a traditional Vietnamese x’ampan. … My love for Huck has only grown since.” 
   

 

FLYING PIG GRADE-A, NUMBER-ONE HAM HUMOR AWARD

This is the program’s one and only humor award! Students enrolled in any semester of the program are eligible to apply for this annual award of $775.  We are so grateful to alumna Elizabeth Bluemle (7/04) and Josie Leavitt for sponsoring this special prize.  Elizabeth and Josie are proprietors of the Flying Pig Bookstore, a delightful shop in Shelburne, VT which features books for all ages and provides a lively venue for many prominent events with authors and illustrators.  In addition, they blog for Publishers Weekly for the children's books and bookselling blog, ShelfTalker, taking turns posting bookselling observations, book reviews, funny stuff, and literary treats of all kinds.   Elizabeth and Josie read blind copies of the humor manuscripts and select the winning submission each spring.

 

Aimee Payne, a second semester student originally from Ohio, currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with fellow writer Will Ludwigsen, two greyhounds, and three cats. She worked on her winning submission Candy From Strangerswith April Lurie. 
 
Candy From Strangers is about a boy who thinks he's found a quirky, beautiful girl to change his life. But she has her own agenda. 
 
When asked what inspired her to write Candy From Strangers she stated, “I kept seeing movies with moody boys falling in love with quirky girls who inspire them to live more freely. I wanted to write a story where the quirky girl wasn't content to be some guy's catalyst. What if she had her own story that didn't turn out so well for the boy? What if she was the villain instead of the love interest?”
 
You can learn more about Aimee at aimeepayne.com

 

 

IN A NUTSHELL SHORT STORY AWARD

This $300 scholarship was started by six women from the July 2007 graduating class to offer students an opportunity to be recognized each semester for their writing. They chose short stories because it embodies the essence of good storytelling.
 
Susanna Paterson, a second semester student, lives in Burlington, Vermont with her husband.  A school librarian in an elementary magnet school filled with amazing kids and teachers, and a school-wide focus around sustainability. She considers her love of writing to have its origins in her oxygen-like infatuation with reading. Matt de la Peña worked with Susanna on her winning submission, House of Sugar and Spice.
 
House of Sugar and Spice takes place during the night Tessa goes out with her friends for the first time since her brother became ill.  At the house of their dealer, she finds that she has to choose between the allure of escape and the bite of reality. 
 
Susana stated, “I was inspired to write this story after reading a book of short stories that made me just want to play with language and structure.  It is somewhat inspired by and structured around the story of Hansel and Gretel, and explores the choice between escapism and bare-bones reality – something that, as a lover of stories, I’ve always wrestled with.” 
 
 

 

The Winter 2012 Scholarship Winners

Alumni Gift Award

This scholarship was started by the January 2004 graduating class.  Recipients are nominated by the student body and the winner is selected by the faculty committee.  The award is based upon the demonstration of some or all of the following characteristics: leadership, inspiration, support of fellow students, and/or contributions to the program. 
 
Lori Steel, a current 4th semester student, was nominated by her peers for this award.   She lives in Kensington, Maryland with her husband and two children. Lori is a teacher and school librarian. During her studies here at VCFA she has worked with Sharon Darrow, Julie Larios (Picture Book Semester), Sarah Ellis and Martine Leavitt.

 

 

Candlewick Picture Book Award

The $2,000 Candlewick prize for picture books was initiated in 1998, in the early days of the MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program. Candlewick Press of Boston generously sponsors this annual award, and editors from the press select the winning manuscript.

 
Skila Brown has three children, one of whom was briefly obsessed with sharks.  She worked with Sarah Ellis, Sharon Darrow and Julie Larios on her winning submission, Slickety Quick.
 
Slickety Quick is a picture book collection of poems about sharks.  Each page has a poem about a different breed of shark and a small bit of nonfiction information as well.
 
When asked what inspired this piece she wrote, “While in the Picture Book Semester, I challenged myself to write as many different kinds of picture books as I could.  I studied a lot of picture book poetry collections and especially loved the ones that blended poetry with nonfiction.” 
 
 

Critical Thesis Prize

The $1,000 Critical Thesis Prize recognizes an outstanding third semester critical thesis each semester.  Critical theses are nominated by faculty advisors and a faculty review committee selects the winning thesis.
 
 
 
Patrick Downes is a dual-discipline student studying in both the Writing and Writing for Children & Young Adults programs. Born and raised in New York City, he’s lived most of his adult life in northern New England. He worked on his thesis, Pursuit, with Alan Cumyn. 
 
When asked about his thesis, Patrick wrote, “The thesis, or, rather, the personal aspect of the thesis, which renders it something other than a straight academic paper or even an essay on craft, emerged from a need to push deeper into the relationship between writers/readers and characters.  I wanted merely to suggest that fictional characters, as if autonomous, pursue us while we pursue them. “ 
 
   

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize

Started in January 1998, the $1,000 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize honors strong writing for the third-grade audience or higher in any genre. It is open to students enrolled in any semester. The prizewinner receives a careful reading of the manuscript and a phone/e-mail consultation with a Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt or Clarion editor. 
 
Rachel Hylton is a current 4th semester student. She worked with Martine Leavitt and Shelley Tanaka on her winning submission, Robber, Not Thief.  
 
Robber, Not Thief is the story of a London schoolboy who leaves home to seek adventure and becomes, by turns, a pickpocket, a convict, a train robber, and an Australian national hero. The story came straight from a truly wonderful name--the protagonist's--and Rachel owes that name (ever so gratefully) to Laura Cook.
 

 

In A Nutshell Short Story award

This $300 scholarship was started by six women from the July 2007 graduating class to offer students an opportunity to be recognized each semester for their writing. They chose short stories because it embodies the essence of good storytelling.
 
Rachel Hylton grew up in and out of North Carolina and remains firmlyentrenched in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She writes middle grade and tutors high school math. Uma Krishnaswami worked with her on her winning submission, Off the Cuff.
 
Rachel stated, “I'm very interested in familial relationships, particularly those across generations, like daughter, mother, and grandmother. Off the Cuff which was inspired by my own grandmother, a crazy NPR funeral story and my friend Biff, who got punched in the face for no apparent reason (unless perhaps he did look like a televangelist.)”
 
 

Marion Dane Bauer scholarship

The $1,000 Marion Dane Bauer Scholarship for middle-grade work also recognizes the dedication and heart of founding faculty member Marion Dane Bauer.  Marion (pictured on the left) retired from the program in 2009 after serving over 10 years as a revered teacher, including many years as Faculty Chair. 

Skila Brown is currently living with her family in Antigua, Guatemala. She worked on her winning submission with advisors Shelley Tanaka, Sharon Darrow, and Julie Larios, as well as with  Rita Williams-Garcia and Jane Kurtz in a workshop session.
 
Caminar is a coming-of-age novel told in verse and set in 1981 Guatemala.  It is the story of a boy who, after surviving the massacre of his village, journeys up the side of a mountain and must decide what being a man during a time of war really means. Caminar also recently won the 2011 SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant.
 
 Skila commented, “The best stories come into our lives when we aren't really looking.  I have been very interested in Guatemala, its political history, and especially the turmoil the country endured during the 1980s.  For over ten years, I've read and studied a lot about that time period, with no intention to ever write about it myself.  But when you spend that much time thinking about something, it's no wonder that you end up needing to write about it, too.” 
  

Norma Fox Mazer AWard

 

Norma (pictured on the left) was a beloved faculty member here at VCFA and her heart and dedication to the program went far beyond her years as faculty member and Faculty Chair. This $2,000 award was generously founded by Norma's family in her memory and received additional support from other donors.  

This substantial scholarship aligns with Norma's young adult writing and recognizes both Norma's support for the program and her prominence in the field of children's literature.  In addition, the winning piece will be read and responded to by Rosemary Brosnan, Norma’s editor at HarperCollins.
 

Nancy Hatch, a 4th semester student, lives on the mesa northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico . She tutors English part-time, and loves to swim, cook and discuss books in between packets. Nancy worked with both Jane Kurtz and Susan Fletcher on her winning piece, Prophecy's Child.

Prophecy's Child is a story about faith and choices that have no right answer, and ultimately about the love between a brother and sister.

Nancy told us, “This novel began as a short story with the image of a boy removing a feathered mask from the face of his father, a face he had never seen. That image had haunted me for 15 years, but I couldn't figure out how to make it into a novel. Literally, one morning I awoke with the realization that the short story wasn't the beginning of the book, it was the end. That realization was the spark I needed to undertake this book.”

 

 

 

The Summer 2011 Scholarship Winners

(L-R Rachel Smoka-Richardson, Sharon Van Zandt, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, and Val Howlett)

 

Alumni Gift Award

This scholarship was started by the January 2004 graduating class.  Recipients are nominated by the student body and the winner is selected by the faculty committee.  The award is based upon the demonstration of some or all of the following characteristics: leadership, inspiration, support of fellow students, and/or contributions to the program.  

 

 Lyn Miller-Lachman, a 3rd semester student, was raised in Houston, Texas and now lives in Albany, New York. She’s a former teacher and reference librarian and for many years the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review, a quarterly journal dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of diversity in literature and education. She edited a collection of short stories for young people by Latino authors, Once Upon a Cuento, published by Curbstone Press in 2003. Her young adult novel Gringolandia, published by Curbstone in 2009, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and received the Americas Award Honor Book citation from the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs. http://web.mac.com/lynml

Critical Thesis Prize

The $1,000 Critical Thesis Prize recognizes an outstanding third semester critical thesis each semester.  Critical theses are nominated by faculty advisors and a faculty review committee selects the winning thesis.

 

Rachel Smoka-Richardson lives with her husband in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves as the Director of Institutional Giving at the Children's Theatre Company.

 Rachel worked on her winning thesis with Coe Booth. Rachel writes, “For my critical thesis, I reviewed the first three drafts and published version of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie, and examined how DiCamillo used the revision process to develop distinct, memorable characters. I researched my paper using the Kerlan Collection, part of the Children's Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota.”

She adds, “I first visited the Kerlan Collection in July 2009 and was amazed by the sheer volume of their collection of papers and books. When I began my studies at VCFA, I knew I wanted to use the Kerlan for my critical thesis. I chose to study Because of Winn-Dixie for several reasons: the book is a personal favorite; the Kerlan had several complete drafts of the book, including a full first draft; and DiCamillo is a local author and I succeeded in obtaining a personal interview with her.”

 

Additionally, Rachel’s critical thesis also won the 2011 Kerlan Essay Award from the Kerlan Collection. The award is given to an outstanding paper written during the preceding school year by a college or university student using the CLRC resources. You can find out more information at http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/kerlan/awards.php

 

Flying Pig Grade-A, Number-One Ham Humor Award

This is the program’s one and only humor award! Students enrolled in any semester of the program are eligible to apply for this annual award of $775.  We are so grateful to alumna Elizabeth Bluemle (7/04) and Josie Leavitt for sponsoring this special prize.  Elizabeth and Josie are proprietors of the Flying Pig Bookstore, a delightful shop in Shelburne, VT which features books for all ages and provides a lively venue for many prominent events with authors and illustrators.  In addition, they blog for Publishers Weekly for the children's books and bookselling blog, ShelfTalker, taking turns posting bookselling observations, book reviews, funny stuff, and literary treats of all kinds.   Elizabeth and Josie read blind copies of the humor manuscripts and select the winning submission each spring.   

 

Sharon Van Zandt, a 3rd semester student, worked with Susan Fletcher on her winning piece, The Chicken Tree.

 

THE CHICKEN TREE is a middle grade enviro-comedy about a dorky kid and a giant tree, about saving face, and doing the right thing.  I was inspired to write this book after visiting a huge, seven hundred year old live oak tree and hearing stories about the children who climbed it.

  

Sharon grew up in the Deep South but currently lives and teaches in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.  She loves all sorts of children's books, especially those that make her laugh.

You can learn more about Sharon on her blog skvanzandt.wordpress.com

 

In A Nutshell short story award

This $300 scholarship was started by six women from the July 2007 graduating class to offer students an opportunity to be recognized each semester for their writing. They chose short stories because it embodies the essence of good storytelling.

 

 

Val Howlett writes middle grade and YA and forces her fourteen-year-old sister Claire to read it all. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

 

Told from multiple perspectives of characters in a middle school, The Arf Thing explores the growth of a small incident involving a dog into a situation much larger.

 

When asked what inspired her to write, she responded: “The media exposure of teen suicides in 2010 and the ensuing It Gets Better campaign spurred a national discussion about bullying in our schools. It took place everywhere, from TV news to Facebook, often using rhetoric that I felt was oversimplified. "Our schools need to do more to stop bullying" was a common outcry. But what is a bully? Are bullies that clear-cut? Haven't we all engaged in a form of bullying at some point in our lives? I began writing this story to explore these questions.”

 

 

 

The Winter 2011 Scholarship Winners

(L-R Maggie Lehrman, Miriam McNamara, Melanie Crowder, Erin Barker, Erin Hagar, and Anna Boll)

 

New Scholarship

We are pleased to announce the first award of the Norma Fox Mazer Award.  Norma was a beloved faculty member here at VCFA and her heart and dedication to the program went far beyond her years as faculty member and Faculty Chair. This $2,000 award was generously founded by Norma's family in her memory and received additional support from other donors.  This substantial scholarship aligns with Norma's young adult writing and recognizes both Norma's support for the program and her prominence in the field of children's literature.  In addition, the winning piece will be read and responded to by Rosemary Brosnan, Norma’s editor at HarperCollins. 

Pictured above is Norma Fox Mazer; above right is Harry Mazer (Norma's husband) and winner Miriam McNamara.

 

Norma Fox Mazer Award

Miriam McNamara is the first recipient of this scholarship for her manuscript Pirate’s Promise.  Miriam is a full-time hair stylist and lifelong children’s literature enthusiast with an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education. She worked on this piece with Martine Leavitt last semester, as well as Tim Wynne-Jones and Rita Williams-Garcia during her July 2010 residency workshop. Her winning submission is a YA historical fiction about the life and times of Mary Read, a woman best known for piracy in the Caribbean in the early eighteenth century. Miriam has always been fascinated by pirates, and the timeless themes of gender, sexuality and class conflict implied in Mary’s story were particularly intriguing to her. Miriam currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina.

 

Alumni Gift Award

This scholarship was started by the graduates of the January 2004 class.  Recipients are nominated by the student body and the winner is selected by the faculty committee.  The award is based upon the demonstration of some or all of the following characteristics: leadership, inspiration, support of fellow students, and/or contributions to the program.

     

Anna J. Boll was nominated by her peers for the $500 Alumni Award.  She lives in Maine with her husband, two children, and a yellow Lab named Lucy. Anna is an author/illustrator, triathlete, educator, and the Regional Advisor for SCBWI-Northern New England. She co-directed the SCBWI conference in 2008 & 2009, and help found the Maine Illustrators' Collective.

 

Candlewick Picture Book Award

The $2,000 Candlewick prize for picture books was initiated in 1998, in the early days of the MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program. Candlewick Press of Boston generously sponsors this annual award, and editors from the press select the winning manuscript. For the first time, we have a tie with winners Erin Hagar and Erin Barker.

Erin HagarErin Hagar lives in Baltimore with her husband and two children.  Her winning submission is There Was a War On, which she developed with Uma Krishnaswami and Laura Kvasnosky .  In response to a farm labor shortage during the first World War, groups of women defied social conventions by organizing the Women's Land Army of America.  These trained volunteers uprooted their lives to learn how to work on farms,  and then hired themselves out to help farmers bring in their crops. 

Erin states, "I think children will relate to the experience of having people in power underestimate their abilities, of having something to contribute that no one else seems to value.   And the way these women overcame those challenges to serve their country during wartime should inspire anyone.  I'm excited to help share the Farmerettes' story."

Erin Barker is a former junior high school teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah.  She receives the scholarship for her submission Crazy Bixby, which she worked on with Julie Larios.  In this story the other kids won’t let Bixby play kickball, so he sets off on his own adventures which include space travel and playing moonball with martians.            

 

Erin was inspired to write this from Jennifer Taylor’s graduate lecture during her first residency.  She wanted to write a story where anything was possible.

  

Critical Thesis Prize

The $1,000 Critical Thesis Prize recognizes an outstanding third semester critical thesis each semester.  Critical theses are nominated by faculty advisors and a faculty review committee selects the winning thesis.

 

Erin Barker's critical thesis, Shakespeare Never Wrote a Memoir: Minimizing the Distance Between the Adult Memoirist and the Teenage Reader, is this semester's winner. She worked on her thesis with Kathi Appelt.  

 

Erin states, "I’ve always been interested in creative nonfiction, but most of it seems to be written for adults. I wrote this thesis, because I wanted to learn how to make the reflective adult voice inherent in memoir appeal to a teenage reader." 

 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize

Started in January 1998, the $1,000 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize honors strong writing for the third-grade audience or higher in any genre. It is open to students enrolled in any semester. The prizewinner receives a careful reading of the manuscript and a phone/e-mail consultation with a Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt or Clarion editor. 

 

Melanie Crowder, an Oregon native who now lives and teaches in Colorado, is the recipient of this year's scholarship for her manuscript Water.  Water is an eco-fable set in the near future, during a time of widespread drought. It is the story of a little dowser boy, enslaved by a brutal gang, and a girl, who was forced to fend for herself after her parents were killed in the water riots. Melanie comments, "The book began for me as a single image: an aerial shot of Sarel, scrawny and filthy, jogging along a dusty game track in the savanna, surrounded by her pack of brown, black-mouthed dogs. Her longing for water, her thick-skinned vulnerabilities resonated with me; they compelled me to tell her story." 

 

In A Nutshell short story award

This $300 scholarship was started by six women from the July 2007 graduating class to offer students an opportunity to be recognized each semester for their writing. They chose short stories because it embodies the essence of good storytelling.

Maggie Lehrman, who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, is the January 2011 winner of this scholarship for her manuscript How to Crash a Party, which she worked on with Rita Williams-Garcia.

In How to Crash a Party, Ryan's best friend and neighbor Hennes is hosting a party, which Ryan thinks is a horrible idea. And it is -- for Ryan. Things quickly go from bad to worse, as he deals with a party that he doesn't want and a best friend that he does.

When asked what inspired her to write this she responded, "Rita and I worked on a lot of short stories together, and I had just written a long and unwieldy one. I wanted to write something short, with funny action, that makes its point and gets out quickly. I loved Norma Fox Mazer's lecture about short stories and was very inspired by her description of her short story process and apprenticeship."

 

Marion Dane Bauer scholarship

The $1,000 Marion Dane Bauer scholarship for middle-grade work also recognizes the dedication and heart of founding faculty member Marion Dane Bauer.  Marion retired from the program in 2009 after serving over 10 years as a revered teacher, including many years as Faculty Chair. 

Zibby and Molly, this year's winner, is a piece that Erin Barker worked on with Kathi Appelt.  Zibby’s younger sister Molly is a champion athlete, a kid genius, and a troublemaker. When Molly is promoted into Zibby’s fourth-grade class, Zibby must take drastic measures to ensure that her little sister doesn’t take over everything.

Erin explains her inspiration for this piece: "My sister Rachel told me that she would tattle to our swim team coach whenever our other sister (who is about two years older) refused to let Rachel pass her. The image of two little girls jockeying for position while swimming down the pool lane stuck with me. While Zibby and Molly are very different from any of my sisters, that anecdote inspired this piece and became the opening scene."

 

 Pictured above is Marion Dane Bauer.