Some $1,000 in prize money from a fund established by a mens short story discussion group was shared by three juniors at Evanston Township High School at the school’s annual Pen & Press Tea Monday.
It was the Sixth Annual Bruce E. Mitchell Short Story Awards, named in honor of a retired ETHS English teacher who is a member of the Evanston Mens Short Story Club, which instigated the program in 2011, in cooperation with the school’s English Department.
The group targeted juniors for the award, Mitchell said, because there are already a number of awards given to seniors.
Typically there are about 50 students who accept the challenge each year. They write their stories and hand them in to their English teachers. The faculty members select six finalists that are presented to the club for consideration.
The club, which regularly meets monthly to discuss short stories, devotes its May meeting to a lively discussion of the merits of the finalists and selects a top award for $600 and two runners-up for $200 each. The money comes from a donor-designated fund that the club established with member contributions to the Evanston Community Foundation.
The $600 award this year went to Thomas Mar Wee, and the runners-up awards of $200 each were presented to Honor Jane Allen and Grace Johanna Goodman.
Club members never know the names of the finalists when they are doing the judging, so many of them attend the Pen & Press Tea each year to discover the identity of the authors.
A number of other awards were also presented at the ceremony.
Anna Harvey, designated as ETHS’ Best All Around English Student
The Mary L. Taft Award for the Best All Around English Student went to Anna Harvey.
The John Reque Journalism Award was captured by Isabella Senno.
Carolina Stutz won the Barbara Pannwitt Creative Writing Award.
Annie Bouchet won the Joanne Ichkoff Humanities Award.
Paula Camaya won the Marie-Claire Davis Award for Creative Writing.
The William B. K. Beatty Scholarship Award went to Viveka Herzum.
Ariel Hasak-Lowy took the Peggy Dye Yearbook Award.
Winners of the Black History Month Writing Contest were Honor Allen (first prize), Etta Schaye (second prize), Carrington York (third prize), and Hyohee Kim (honorable mention).
National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards were earned by Danny Frank-Siegel, Abigail Hanson, Katherine Grossman, and Holly Cunningham
Booster Club Awards went to Ivy Hettinger-Roberts and Gabby Smith.
Freshman Honorees were Tavonie Freeman, Beza Pernacke, Vanessa Lopez, Lanae Kennedy, and Isaac Urow.
Sophomore Honorees were Tianna Henry, Simone Torres, Kanyinsola Agbabiaka, Erica Gomar, and Hadeem Quadri.
Junior Honorees were Emma Milner-Gorvine, Abelardo Enriquez-Ramirez, and Shania Castillo.