The Young Georgia Authors competition is in full swing, with school-level submissions due Feb. 10. Clarke Central High School Instructional Coach Ginger Lehmann has been a judge for the competition since she became an Instructional Coach in 2019 and has seen a wide variety of submissions over the years. “We always see more poetry than short stories. We’re more likely to see that than informational writing or memoirs,” Lehmann said. “(I) encourage (English department teachers) if they’ve given an assignment or something where they saw some really impressive writing that students turned in, they can talk to the student about submitting (to the YGA competition).” Illustration by Lila Sams
Submissions for the annual Young Georgia Authors competition are open at CCHS until Feb. 10.
The Young Georgia Authors competition, a multi-level writing contest that has taken place for over two decades for kindergarten through 12th grade, is back for another year.
Clarke Central High School-level submissions are due on Feb. 10, and winners from each grade will be chosen soon after. Entries will be judged by CCHS English department co-chair David Ragsdale and Instructional Coach Ginger Lehmann.
The guidelines for judging state-level Young Georgia Authors submissions are shown above. Clarke Central High School Instructional Coach Ginger Lehmann is a judge for the school-level competition and offered advice for students. “Sometimes there’s a tendency to not be original and just sort of follow a pattern that (students) think would fit if (they’re) a reader,” Lehmann said. “It’s good to have examples and to use other texts as mentors, but it’s important to put your own originality into a piece and then just expand the details and really pay attention to every detail.” Graphic by Lea D’Angelo
“The biggest thing that I’m looking for (in the submissions) is a voice (of) a writer, to be able to really get a sense of who that student is in their writing, a style that’s unique and expressive and something that goes beyond just the typical formulaic writing,” Lehmann said.
Competitors can submit anything from a short story to a memoir, with no constraints beyond the 1900 word limit, allowing students more creative freedom than the typical classroom setting allows for.
“I decided to submit a short story about my experience coming to the United States,” CCHS sophomore Daniela Cuicar said. “I want to let people know how that experience can shape people’s lives (and) what some immigrant people go through just to get to a place where they can live and have a future.”
For Cuicar, an avid reader and writer, the annual competition is a chance to step away from fantasy and show appreciation to her parents for her current reality through a more personal story.
“I wrote (the story) from my heart, because it’s an event that I treasure because it’s probably what made me into the person I am today,” Cuicar said.
“I want to let people know how that experience can shape people’s lives (and) what some immigrant people go through just to get to a place where they can live and have a future.”
— Daniela Cuicar,
CCHS sophomore and YGA participant
Lehmann has found that YGA gives students a platform for their creativity and a means to showcase their worldviews.
“This is not only good practice for you and (to) get feedback on your writing, but it builds that identity as a writer and as someone that has important things to share about your own perspectives and ideas,” Lehmann said.
