Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 26On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, students in grades 7-12 made their way to YSU for the 39th annual English Festival. 10-12th graders went on Wednesday, April 26, while 7-9th graders took part on Thursday, April 27. During the festival, students got to participate in various competitive games, learn more about the books that they read in different workshops, and listen to authors E. Lockhart and Gene Luen Yang talk about their careers and upcoming projects.

In her speech, E. Lockhart referenced some of her works while giving advice on how to write a book and push through writer’s block. The point she emphasized the most, though, was to do as much research as you can so your writer’s block is not as severe. Other suggestions Ms. Lockhart made was to read as much as possible and write down quotes that you like and to find pictures that intrigue you. Another tip she put emphasis on was to try and tap into your emotions or your character’s emotion to make your story more interesting, to allow it to connect with readers.

 

If you saw E. Lockhart speak, then you got lucky if you also got to see Gene Luen Yang’s lecture. Gene Luen Yang took a completely different route on his speech, talking about how he became an Asian-American cartoonist. He started by talking about his youth and how he got into comic books, commenting on how for a while he changed who he was because one of his friends told him that he would never get a girlfriend by being the nerd that he was. After a few years of not reading and making comics, however, Gene decided to go back to the way he was as he never got a girlfriend anyways. He talked about the projects he has worked on, including a series based off of Nickelodeon’s “Avatar the Last Airbender,” and the beloved “Superman” comics. With lots of jokes and laughs, Gene Luen Yang’s speech was amazing and a pleasure to watch.

 

When the end of the fun-filled day came to an end and the awards ceremony rolled around, those who got honorable mentions and placed in the competitions from throughout the day got the pleasure in receiving their awards from YSU staff members and lecturers E. Lockhart and Gene Luen Yang. On Wednesday, Patricia Jones, a sophomore, got an honorable mention award for writing games. On Thursday, Elizabeth Kolkowski, a seventh grader, was awarded in two of her sessions, Isabel Bryer, an either grader, was awarded in one of her sessions, and Riley Britt, a freshman, was awarded in her journalism workshop. Every student that participated in the festival had a good time and hopefully will return next year for the 40th anniversary and to see authors Lauri Halse Anderson and Chris Crutcher speak.