JFK eighth grader Sara Feng recently earned top honors in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, claiming a Gold Key – the competition's highest recognition – along with six additional awards for her short fiction.
Sara, an aspiring novelist, submitted eleven flash fiction pieces to the competition on her own initiative. With support from her mother, who actively seeks out opportunities for Sara to showcase her work, the young writer earned three Honorable Mentions, three Silver Keys and a Gold Key for her story “Safire.”
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. Since its founding in 1923, the competition has launched the careers of notable writers including Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Lena Dunham, and Amanda Gorman. As a Gold Key winner, Sara's piece advances automatically to the national level competition. If selected, she could attend a recognition ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Sara's creative ambitions extend beyond this recent success. She is currently working on completing her first novel and awaiting results from the New York Times Learning Network's multimedia competition, where she submitted work on the topic of Growing up with AI.
I love to write, even in my spare time, Sara said. Her ultimate goals include becoming a published author and seeing her stories adapted for film.
With such impressive achievements already under her belt by eighth grade, Sara appears well on her way to making those dreams a reality.
