Winners of first-ever CWU College in the High School Writing Contest are announced

A group of Cle Elum-Roslyn High School students have been recognized for their work on the inaugural CWU College in the High School Writing Contest, as part of the 2024 Manastash literary journal project.

The panel of judges was in search of prose, poetry, and artwork centered around the 2024 journal theme “Humanity vs. Machine (AI).” The winners, listed below, will be featured in the upcoming issue of the journal, Vol. 34.

Manastash is a student-led literary magazine edited and published by CWU English Department students. The first issue of Manastash — the longest-running print journal at the university —came out in 1990, and an annual collection of student literature has been published ever since.

The journal publishes poems, short stories, creative non-fiction and artworks produced around a certain theme specific to each issue. The program also features two practicum courses taught by English faculty — one for the editing and sequencing during winter quarter, and one for layout and design during spring quarter.

The Manastash literary journal is open to all CWU students. CWU English faculty provide mentorship to the students, who make all the creative and editorial decisions. Past issues can be viewed on manastash.org and purchased at Wildcat Shop.

For the recently completed College in the High School Writing Contest, judges recognized the following works from a highly competitive pool of submissions:

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POETRY (co-winners)

"glue" by Monica Leers 

• Judges: "glue" demonstrated careful attention to language with assonance, consonance, repetition of phrases, internal and end rhymes, and the building of tension with questions. This poem's message articulated the anxiety of our times.

"Man-Made Clockwork" by Addison Green 

• Judges: Green’s poem deftly plays with the field of the page and through juxtaposition of technical language with the language of feeling, sends a warning for the future.

FICTION

"In Desperation For Survival" by Afroditi Zervou

• Judges: Zervou’s short story operates successfully on many levels, displaying impressive character development while also maintaining an engaging plot — a notable achievement in craft and language.

ARTWORK

"AI Conflict" by Sadie Melhorn (pictured above)

• Judges: Melhorn’s artistic interpretation of the theme vividly portrays the complex interplay between humans and machines. The striking image, with its lines and hues, beautifully enhances the multifaceted aspects of our future.

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About the Winners

• Monica Leers is a senior at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.
• Addison Green is a sophomore at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School, currently enrolled in the CiHS program for English 102 and Mathematics 152. She's been a lover of the arts since birth and spends most of her time hanging out with dogs. In the future, she hopes to study anthropology and history.
• Afroditi Zervou is a sophomore at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School. She is taking English 101 and 102 and enjoys writing novels and sketching in her free time. She is a first-generation immigrant from Greece and has been able to speak four languages since elementary school.
• Sadie Melhorn is a senior at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School who is involved in Key Club and ASB. In her free time, she is the voice of students while being a student representative on her school board. Sadie is passionate about making a difference for those around her.