Last night we celebrated the winners and honors of 2013's BPL Teen Writing Contest with a reception at the Central Library. Relatives, friends, teachers and librarians came to listen to the writers read from their work, then get tips about the writing life from a panel of authors.

The authors on the panel were Nicola McDonald, a BPL young adult librarian and author of two books, Daniel Nayeri, an editor and young adult author, Ashley August, 2013 NYC Youth Poet Laureate, author and professor Zetta Elliott, and graphic novelist Matt Loux. McDonald spoke about her empowering experience with self-publishing, Elliott encouraged everyone in the room to write at least five memoirs, and August suggested reading widely, keeping a journal and attending poetry events for teens from Urban Word, such as the monthly Brooklyn Open at BPL's Central Library. Loux spoke about the value of having experiences beyond writing and reading, while Nayeri simply urged writers to be open to just how interesting other people can be.

We have compiled the winning entries into an e-book anthology titled Discovering Hidden Treasures: Works from Brooklyn's Young Writers, available for download or printing here. Feel free to stop by the Central Library Youth Wing, where a print copy is on reserve.

Here are photos of our winners and honors from last night's reception:

Andrew Ravaschiere, 1st Place Prose Winner for The Path of a Baseball

Arina Bykadorova, 1st Place Poetry Winner for Back Then, When We Found that Piano
and 2nd Place Prose Winner for Evening At Home

Sasha Herman, Third Place Prose Winner for The Bruised Apple

Khadjiah Johnson, 2nd Place Poetry Winner for #Nerd Problems

Mie Abouelkheir, 3rd Place Poetry Winner for The Unity of Generations

Maria Filipchenko, Prose Honor for Drives and Their Causes

Aliza Schapiro, Prose Honor for Police Statement

Ashaki Lloyd, Poetry Honor for In The Year 2020

Erika Lopez, Poetry Honor for Ode to a NYC Subway Train Car

Zenobia Lowe, Poetry Honor for Streets

Sara Wallace-Lee, Poetry Honor for On Being Static

group photo!

Thanks to the over one hundred teens who entered the contest, and stay tuned for next year's!

Kiana volunteers as a Shelf Organizer. She also helps with programs for kids and teens.

What do you do as a volunteer at BPL?
I shelve books in different sections (mostly fiction), this also includes movies. Every Tuesday at 5pm I help set up gaming systems so kids can come up and play. Usually the progam ends within an hour.

What do you like best about volunteering for BPL?
I like putting away movies because I see what's new on DVD and I like helping the gaming program because it's fun watching people enjoying themselves.

What advice would you give other volunteers?
I would tell the other volunteers to have patience. Shelving books seems easy but it's really not.

What is a typical day like for you as a volunteer?
I go upstairs, sign in, go back down, grab a cart, and start organizing and putting away books or movies.

What is one of your favorite books?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Thank you, Kiana!

Do you want to be featured on Teenzone? E-mail us at tzone@brooklynpubliclibrary.org.

Interested in volunteering with BPL? Find out more here: http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/support/volunteer/

Over one hundred (!) teens entered our teen writing contest this April. The quantity and quality of the entries was so high that it was incredibly hard for our panel of judges to select the winners. Here they are:

Winning entries will be published here. Stay tuned!

What do you do as a volunteer at BPL?

As a volunteer, I help other people.  I also help in programs such as “gaming” and “arts and crafts.”  I have also created three bulletin boards which advertise why reading is fun.

What do you like best about volunteering at BPL?

My favorite part about volunteering at BPL is helping others.  In my opinion, the best part is to help kids during arts and crafts.  There is a good feeling when you see little kids finish their crafts.

What advice would you give other volunteers?

I would tell other volunteers it is a benefit for yourself, others and your career.  Volunteering taught me responsibility and it should to you.

What is a typical day like for you as a T4 or Book Buddy?

A typical day for me as a volunteer teaches me the importance of helping others and showing respect.

What is one of your favorite books?

The Giver by Lois Lowry is my favorite book because it showed a character facing difficult situations and that never stopped him from accomplishing what he set out to do.  It taught me a valuable lesson.

Thank you, Sohaib!

Do you want to be featured on Teenzone? E-mail us at tzone@brooklynpubliclibrary.org.

Interested in volunteering with BPL? Find out more here: http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/support/volunteer/

Thank you for your participation in the teen writing contest! We received submissions from over 100 teens, and will notify winners and honors, and post results, by mid-May.

Any questions? Write us at tzone@brooklynpubliclibrary.org.