Media Contact:
Laura Hudson, NCSU Libraries, 919/513-7315

Dec. 11, 2003

Literary Festival’s Art Contest Sparks Youthful Creativity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katelyn Parrot, a student at Mt. Energy Elementary in Creedmoor, won the 2nd grade prize with this entry.

Using their artistic abilities to help promote an upcoming literary festival, hundreds of school children across North Carolina recently proved the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Teachers and students from around the state in grades K-8 enthusiastically responded to a call for submissions for the North Carolina Literary Festival Bookmark Art Contest. The kids’ entries will help promote the North Carolina Literary Festival, scheduled for April 15-18, 2004, on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh. The biennial event, which is co-sponsored by NC State, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is expected to attract thousands of visitors.

Members of the NCSU Libraries staff judged more than 900 entries and selected the final winners, with one winning entry per grade, on Thursday, Dec. 4. The winners’ artwork will be developed into bookmarks and festival posters that will be distributed across the state.

Fawn Oxendine, a student at Swansboro Middle School in Swansboro, won the 6th grade prize for this design.

The winning entries were submitted by Suzannah Kaiser (kindergarten), Falkland Elementary, Greenville; Luke Sasser (1st grade), Wiley International Studies Elementary, Raleigh; Katelyn Parrott (2nd grade), Mt. Energy Elementary, Creedmoor; Callie Walters (3rd grade), J.W. Seabrook, Fay; Sarah Bailey Wilson (4th grade), Myers Park Traditional, Charlotte; Drew Pressly (5th grade), Myers Park Traditional, Charlotte; Fawn Sunshine Oxendine (6th grade), Swansboro Middle School, Swansboro; Ashley Pederson (7th grade), Rosewood Middle, Goldsboro; Arie Gee (8th grade), Burgaw Middle School, Burgaw.

“Every school in North Carolina was invited to participate in our bookmark contest,” said Laura Hudson, director of the North Carolina Literary Festival Program. “Children were invited to create bookmarks that highlighted the theme ‘Read Your Way to the North Carolina Literary Festival.’ More than 50 schools and over 900 students participated, and we’re pleased to have so many talented partners with us to promote the festival.”

For more information about the North Carolina Literary Festival, as well as images of all the winning entries, visit www.lib.ncsu.edu/nclitfest2004.

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