Teens win writing contest

This spring, high school students across the Flathead Valley threw their words in the ring for the Authors of the Flathead Student Writing Contest, with winners from Whitefish, Bigfork, and Linderman schools taking the top spots.

Every year the nonprofit organization of “writers helping writers” hosts a contest with cash prizes to encourage teens in their writing ambitions. With categories in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, the contest is wide open to interpretation and subject matter. This year’s contest saw entries on themes ranging from romance to addiction and grief, environmental awareness, and everyday family love. 

A panel of local professional authors judge the submissions based on theme, creativity, artistic merit, clarity, spelling and grammar. Sometimes, as in the professional writing world, if theme, creativity, and artistic merit are especially strong, they can outweigh a few grammar mistakes.