The Mississippi School of the Arts’ Literary Arts Department captured 108 total Scholastic Writing awards for the 2022 regional competition. The competitive event, held every year by Scholastics Art and Writing, encourages high school students from all over the country to submit creative writings and artwork for, potentially, national recognition. MSA’s Literary program instructor is Clinnesha Sibley.
Sydney Knotts, a senior, received 2 Silver Keys for Critical Essays through her English Class (Tobie Lambert, instructor): An Analysis of “Your New Boyfriend” by Wilbur Soot; What Does It Mean to Have a Home? Sydney also received 3 Honorable Mentions for Critical Essays: Neurodiversity in Education; How Autism Impacts Secondary Students; The Influences and Impacts of K-pop and Psychedelic Rock.
Overall, students captured 35 Gold Keys, 40 Silver Keys, and 33 Honorable Mentions in the Mississippi Regional Scholastic Writing Competition.
The awards ceremony will be held April 10, 2022, at the Eudora Welty House in Jackson, MS.
Other awards from the Literary Arts department as of February, 2022, include:
Diego Mendez: William Winter Institute’s Community of the Future Creatives Showcase, Winning Personal Narrative. Taylor Lafayette: William Faulkner Literary Competition, 2nd Place. Sydney Knotts: William Faulkner Literary Competition, 3rd Place. Locklyn Wilchynski: Ephemera Prize, Honorable Mention. Jordan Brown: Ephemera Prize: Honorable Mention. Sara Hebert: American High School Poets Just Poetry National Quarterly, Winner. Matthew McLain: The Next Generation High School Writers, Poetry Winner. Morgan Douglas: Poetry Out Loud In-School Contest Winner.
Best of Mississippi Honors
- Best of Quality Writing – The Phoenix Literary Journal Volume 13 (Winner)
- Best Poem – Sydney Knotts (Finalist)
- Best Flash Fiction – Lillian Denney (Finalist), Sara Hebert (Finalist), Madison White (Finalist)
- Best Short Fiction – Sydney Knotts (Finalist)
- Best Narrative Non-Fiction – Sara Hebert (Finalist), Sydney Knotts (Finalist), Diego Mendez (Finalist)
- Best Dramatic Script – Diego Mendez (Winner), Lillian Denney (Finalist), Sydney Knotts (Finalist)
Mississippi Theatre Association High School Playwriting Competition
- Sydney Knotts, 1st Place
- Lauren Stamps, 2nd Place
- Taylor Lafayette, 3rd Place
- Lillian Denney, Finalist
University of Mississippi Writing Competition
- Jordan Brown – “Covalescence of a Bloom”, 3rd Place in high school poetry.
- Lauren Stamps – “Take as Much Time as You Need,” 2nd Place in high school short story.
#ENOUGH Plays to End Gun Violence: Taylor Lafayette, Winner
American Voices Nomination
Student |
Category |
Title |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | The Promethean Collection |
Senior Portfolio Winners
Student |
Award |
Title |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Gold Key | Proud of the Product |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Gold Key | Connectedness: A Short Fiction Collection |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Silver Key | Conveyance: A Literature Collection |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Silver Key | Who am I to Love? |
| Diego Mendez (Sr) | Silver Key | Happiness’ Swan Song |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Silver Key | A Journey Through Imagination |
Gold Key Awards
Student |
Category |
Title |
| Jordan Brown (Jr) | Poetry | For the Love, For the Culture |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Short Story | Pearl |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | Church Clothes |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | chrome history after enduring the same heartbreak for the 254th time |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | i met god in the woods |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Novel Writing | Plum |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Novel Writing | Remorse |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | Remnants |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Poetry | Inscriptions, a sestina |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Poetry | Odes and an Elegy |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Short Story | Rumble |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Short Story | The Spectrum of You, From Me |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Short Story | To Cast Pearls Before Swine |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Don’t Nun Get Old But Clothes |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Poetry | Elegy for Beatrice |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Short Story | Little Brown Girl (A Parable) |
| Diego Mendez (Sr) | Poetry | You Laugh |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Novel Writing | Teenage Stupidity |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Novel Writing | The End of Something, The Beginning of Everything |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | A Hope of Healing |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | Drop by Drop |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | The Promethean Collection |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Short Story | The Station |
| Worth Novinski (Jr) | Critical Essay | An objection to objectivism |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Poetry | Sweet Like Peaches; A Sestina |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Science Fiction/Fantasy | Facility Charm |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Short Story | A Funeral and an Ice Cream Cake |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Short Story | A Heart for Daddy |
| Emma Stapp (Jr) | Dramatic Script | Selfish Creatures |
| Emma Stapp (Jr) | Poetry | Barren |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | Breakthrough Persona |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | In Need of Saving |
| Madison White (Sr) | Science Fiction/Fantasy | Honey and Carcass |
| Locklyn Wilchynski (Jr) | Flash Fiction | A Monument of Sunshine |
| Locklyn Wilchynski (Jr) | Poetry | I Don’t Like Poetry |
Silver Key Awards
Student |
Category |
Title |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | Dearest Womanhood |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Poetry | Southern Observance |
| Lillian Denney (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Ghost Hugs |
| Morgan Douglas (Jr) | Poetry | I Hope |
| Morgan Douglas (Jr) | Poetry | Ode to the Fates |
| Joseph Hanna (Jr) | Poetry | November kudzu sea |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Flash Fiction | Scattered Amnesia |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | stop falling in love in october |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | Subtleties of a Traveller’s Prolonged Wayponts |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Novel Writing | Alignment |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | Hymns of an Adrift Marine |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | The Things You’ll Miss |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Poetry | The Moon Rabbit Weeps |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Critical Essay | An Analysis of “Your New Boyfriend” by Wilbur Soot |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Critical Essay | What Does It Mean to Have a Home? |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Cherry Chapstick |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Reminiscent Affliction |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Flash Fiction | D.U.I |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Poetry | Don’t Touch |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Short Story | The Same as You |
| Diego Mendez (Sr) | Flash Fiction | A Mother knows |
| Diego Mendez (Sr) | Novel Writing | Chasing Shadows |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Flash Fiction | The Meadow |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | Empowerment |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | Life, Wrapped in Nighttime |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | Tree Lines and Street Signs |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Short Story | The Forest Known by Heart |
| Simone Smith (Jr) | Dramatic Script | Lunar Cries |
| Simone Smith (Jr) | Poetry | The White Man’s Eyes |
| Simone Smith (Jr) | Short Story | A Meal To Remember |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Science Fiction/Fantasy | Stranded With the Enemy |
| Emma Stapp (Jr) | Poetry | The Death of a Writer |
| Emma Stapp (Jr) | Short Story | The Broken Bough |
| Emma Stapp (Jr) | Short Story | To My Son |
| Madison White (Sr) | Flash Fiction | Scared to Fly |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | An Elegy |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | the Act of Healing |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | An Ode to Biting Fingernails |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | letters to your fantasies |
| Locklyn Wilchynski (Jr) | Poetry | Hydraulic Failure |
Honorable Mention Awards
Student |
Category |
Title |
| Jordan Brown (Jr) | Poetry | Nyctinasty |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Dramatic Script | Sinner |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Poetry | I Took a Shower |
| Adele Bryant (Jr) | Poetry | Male Gaze |
| Morgan Douglas (Jr) | Poetry | Writer’s Bodies. |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Critical Essay | Passing the Buck |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Critical Essay | Corporal Neglect and Environmental Responsibility |
| Sara Hebert (Sr) | Poetry | by the church |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Dramatic Script | January 24th, 1971 |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Short Story | The River |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Critical Essay | Neurodiversity in Education |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Critical Essay | How Autism Impacts Secondary Students |
| Sydney Knotts (Sr) | Critical Essay | The Influences and Impacts of K-pop and Psychedelic Rock |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Salted Lemonade (A Screenplay) |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Flash Fiction | Spiteful |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Poetry | Ode to the Cool Ones |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Poetry | A Tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Short Story | Blue Blossoms |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Short Story | You Decide |
| Taylor Lafayette (Sr) | Short Story | A Friend With Perks |
| Diego Mendez (Sr) | Poetry | Cigarette’s Realizations |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Dramatic Script | Closing Casket, Opening Night |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Flash Fiction | Autumn Rains |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | The Loss That Never Leaves |
| Hunter Nix (Jr) | Poetry | Candle’s Glow |
| Worth Novinski (Jr) | Critical Essay | Nazis! Commies! Patriots! Oh my! |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Cursed Party Punch |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Flash Fiction | She Said She Had an Exotic Pet |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Short Story | A Wristband and Two Balloon |
| Lauren Stamps (Sr) | Short Story | The Kids at Vleesbury Farms |
| Emma Stapp (Sr) | Personal Essay/Memoir | For G |
| Madison White (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Iced Coffee with Warm Milk |
| Madison White (Sr) | Dramatic Script | Little Dinos |
| Madison White (Sr) | Flash Fiction | Elephants |
| Madison White (Sr) | Flash Fiction | Stars at the Dock |
| Madison White (Sr) | Poetry | An Ode to Bookcovers |
| Madison White (Sr) | Science Fiction/Fantasy | a dance away from shore |
| Madison White (Sr) | Short Story | Stars in a bottle |
| Locklyn Wilchynski (Jr) | Poetry | Ashes of Asteroids |
| Locklyn Wilchynski (Jr) | Short Story | The Last Hint |