Ten students from the 7th and 8^th grades at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy were awarded top prizes in the Scholastic Writing Awards competition for their literary submissions. 

In a separate Writing Portfolio category open only to high school seniors, 12^th grader and Livingston resident Edyt Dickstein was awarded the top Gold Key prize for her work.  The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition is the oldest and most esteemed student writing competition in the nation, recognizing the work of creative teens across the United States.  

Mentored by novelist  and lecturer Dara Horn (In the Image, The World to Come, All Other Nights, and the forthcoming A Guide for the Perplexed), the students were able to hone their skills with Horn as part of a guest lecturer program in the school’s Language Arts department.  The students submitted work in such categories as Flash Fiction, Personal Essay/Memoir, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Poetry.  “I am thrilled with the results of the competition,” commented Horn.  “The students are such gifted, thoughtful writers, who exhibited dedication and creativity throughout the writing process.   For their submissions to obtain recognition on this level is a testament to the caliber of their work.”

While the work of all eleven students received impressive awards, the work of 12^th grader and Livingston resident  Edyt Dickstein  and 8^th grader and East Brunswick resident Samuel Shersher received the highest accolades - obtaining the esteemed Gold Key level award and will be entered into the nationwide competition, the results of which are announced in March.


Rebecca Cohn: Honorable Mention for "My Mom's Hair" (Personal Essay/Memoir)

Edyt Dickstein: Gold Key for Writing Portfolio; two Gold Keys for Poetry; Silver Key for Poetry and Personal Essay/Memoir; Honorable Mention for Personal Essay/Memoir