These 7 area students will put their writing skills up for state honors

Six Beaufort High School students and one from Battery Creek High are among 72 finalists from across the state in the fourth annual South Carolina High School Writing Contest, where a $1,000 prize awaits two winners.

Finalists were selected from an initial submission and move on to a second stage of competition March 17 at the University of South Carolina, where they will face a timed writing test in response to an impromptu topic. The competition is divided into junior and senior classes, with prizes awarded in each division.

Beaufort High seniors Morgan Mayne-Alexander, Alexandra Batista and Jessica Elkins advanced in the upper division. Junior finalists are Beaufort’s Sophie Bellomy, Natoria Smalls and Sarah Suber, along with Battery Creek’s Amanda Taylor.

The senior class winner will receive $1,000 and the Walter Edgar Award, named for the renowned South Carolina historian and writer. The junior winner also receives $1,000 and the Dorothy Skelton Williams Awards, named for a prominent public school educator.

Runners-up in each division will receive $500, and third place gets a $250 award.

“We started in 2013 with 23 finalists, so we have grown remarkably,” said Steven Lynn, dean of the South Carolina Honors College and founder of the contest. “We are impressed with the quality and quantity of writing we’ve received.”

Finalists were selected for their answer to the question, “How can we make South Carolina better?” Students could respond in the genre of their choice – poetry, fiction, essay, drama, letter – in 750 words or less.

Writings by the finalists will be included in an anthology published by the University of South Carolina Press.

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 6:08 PM with the headline "These 7 area students will put their writing skills up for state honors."