On Tuesday, January 10, Upper School students Sydney Edgecomb ’18 and Jack Stein ’19 were honored at a ceremony where they were awarded first and second place respectively in the 17th Annual Short Story Contest sponsored by the Ventura County Writers Club. Sydney’s first place short story, Completely Perfect, was featured in Laguna’s 2016 arts and literature publication, Portfolio, and is written from the raw perspective of a soon-to-be high school graduate who is fighting cancer. Jack’s short story, Morning Offering explores a protagonist’s midlife crisis.

“Sydney’s and Jack’s reading at the awards ceremony was flawless and engaging, says proud English Instructor Bojana Hill. “I was impressed by their poise in front of a room of writers.” She continues, “It’s important  to encourage students to take risks. Hopefully, these two prizes will motivate both Sydney and Jack to continue honing their craft.”

The Ventura County Writers Club was founded in 1933 by four writers in the Ojai, California area. Since then, the club has grown to more than 150 members and holds regular monthly general membership meetings. In these meetings, persons prominent in all areas and genres of the literary field speak on sources for ideas, enhancing creativity, and getting work published.