2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

By Jennifer Fogarty, communications content manager
Eight students were awarded in a national creative contest.
Congratulations to the regional award recipients of the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. This year, there were an amazing 29 winning submissions from eight students in Grades 8–12. Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24 won in both art and writing. “Dilemma,” Hally’s Gold Key-winning submission in drawing and illustration, is pictured above.

The awards recognize student achievement in the visual and literary arts in 28 categories, including drawing and illustration, photography, flash fiction, poetry, film and animation, journalism and more. Works are judged on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal vision or voice. Gold Key winners are automatically considered for national awards. The National Medalists are announced in the spring.

Art Winners 
  • Qinzhe “Lawrence” Cai ’24
  • Hongying (Hally) Wu ’24
  • Sijia “Scarlett” Xi ’24
Gold Keys
Qinzhe “Lawrence” Cai ’24: Photography (4)
Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24: Drawing & illustration (pictured above)

Silver Keys
Qinzhe “Lawrence” Cai ’24: Photography
Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24: Drawing & illustration
Sijia “Scarlett” Xi ’24: Photography (2)

Honorable Mentions
Qinzhe “Lawrence” Cai ’24: Photography; drawing & illustration
Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24: Film & animation
Sijia “Scarlett” Xi ’24: Photography (2)

Writing Winners 
  • Eliana Bevash ’27
  • Leila Ghazi Nouri ’23
  • Victoria Huang ’25
  • Are Stein ’23
  • Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24
  • Julia Zhuang ’26
Gold Keys
Eliana Bevash ’27: Flash fiction
Victoria Huang ’25: Poetry
Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24: Critical essay
Julia Zhuang ’26: Fiction

Silver Keys
Eliana Bevash ’27: Poetry
Are Stein ’23: Personal essay
Hongying “Hally” Wu ’24: Personal essay; critical essay

Honorable Mentions
Leila Ghazi Nouri ’23: Poetry
Victoria Huang ’25: Personal essays (2); critical essay; science fiction; flash fiction; short story

Scroll through below to see Scarlett’s winning photographs, and read Victoria’s Gold Key-winning poetry submission:

Happy Birthday, Dad
It’s your birthday again, but each year
I seem to forget the date. Sometimes
it’s September 27th, sometimes the 29th.

One thing that always stays the same—
I know nothing about you.

Hunting for gifts, I think maybe 
a tool set, but I don’t think 
you like to build things. Maybe a book! But

I don’t know what you like to read. I’m back
on Buzzfeed: “Top Ten Things for Your Old Man.”
Old? Are you turning fifty this year? Or fifty-one?

Jongho says he gets his Dad guitar picks. His dad loves 
to play guitar. He told me
to get a gift card from your favorite restaurant

but you don’t have free evenings.

Instead, you have three children: pulling
all-nighters during Ellen’s finals week, reading her
AP Chem textbook cover-to-cover to reteach her. 

The only time we’ve really spent together: walking
through Costco aisles together, after
you tell me: “Pick a snack for this week.”

Every year, you make sure that you bought flowers
and put them in a vase the night before Mother’s Day
so mom wakes up each year with them on the nightstand.

I don't know your favorite food or your favorite color, 
and I'm not sure you know yourself—
more than half your life has likely gone by

and I won’t ever know what your dream job was, if 
as a child, there was a sport you always wanted to play. 

Maybe you never knew yourself. 
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