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Creative Arts Contest Helps Shape Young Ossining Writers

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – Eleven out of 13 short stories and poems Kaley Mamo submitted to the longest-running art and writing competition in the nation received awards.

Kaley Mamo is an intern at Writopia's Katonah branch.

Kaley Mamo is an intern at Writopia's Katonah branch.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Kaley Mamo performs spoken word poetry at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan while on a field trip with Writopia.

Kaley Mamo performs spoken word poetry at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan while on a field trip with Writopia.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Elizabeth Cui, 13, says she likes to challenge herself by trying writing styles and genres that are out of her comfort zone.

Elizabeth Cui, 13, says she likes to challenge herself by trying writing styles and genres that are out of her comfort zone.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Mamo, an eighth-grader at John Jay Middle School, joins past Scholastic Art and Writing Award winners such as Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Stephen King. The competition dates back to 1923.

Other winners included 33 from Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford,19 from Somers Middle School, four from Horace Greeley High School, two from Ossining High School, and one from Lakeland-Cooper Beech Middle School in Yorktown, John F. Kennedy Catholic in Somers and Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua.

Each year, 100-plus visual and literary-arts organizations partner with the competition to bring it to local communities for teens in grades seven through 12.

There are 28 categories of art and writing and there are national and regional awards, hundreds of which went to Westchester students this year.

Mamo, of Katonah, won four Gold Keys, three Silver Keys and four Honorable Mentions through Writopia Lab, which is a regional affiliate for the competition. It has locations in Katonah, Larchmont, Hartsdale, Stamford and Greenwich.

“I was so happy that people had enjoyed my writing and it had changed them, because that’s what I aimed for,” Mamo said. “When they leave I want them to keep thinking about it.”

Mamo, who interns at Writopia, said she mainly writes short stories and poems about people who have lost their way and the search to find it. She has experimented with other genres, but said she won’t touch the “sappy relationship things.”

She said she finds internalized conflict more interesting.

In addition to the seven John Jay Middle and High School winners, another five from Fox Lane Middle and School were recognized, including eighth grader Elizabeth Cui. She won a Gold Key and three honorable mentions, improving on her two Silver Keys last year.

“It shows me that I’m definitely improving as a writer and my work is becoming more me, and I’m growing as a person. I like change,” she said. 

Gold Key winners will move up to the national level of the competition, results for which are announced in March. All winners will be invited to a regional awards ceremony in March.

For a full list of regional winners, visit the Writopia website here.

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