• Oswego High School has grown a tradition of excellence in writing.  Through our talented instructors and competitions at the local and national level, Oswego High School Panther Writers continue to impress with their creative, introspective works.  Please see a list of award-winning writers below.

     

    April, 2023:

    OHS Creative Writing instructor and List Fest sponsor Erin Holtz, Lit Fest sponsor Ben Spears, and many OHS student participants at an outstanding SPC Literary Festival competition on Saturday, April 15th!  OHS students not only took home the most awards of any school (14!!) but they earned top honors in poetry and several First Place awards!  Thank you to Erin Holtz for championing this event as part of our Panther Writers!  Her passion and talents help to support students' love of writing. 
     
    Poetry:
    • Critics Choice Award: Ashley Vargas "Who Build the Pyramids?"
    • Honorable Mention: Katey Harris "Maple Seed"
    • Honorable Mention: Katsuki Cronin "My Life"
    Critical Essay:
    • First Place: Emma Ivanov's "Dear Justice Alito"
    • Honorable Mention: Miranda Dominguez' "The Journey of Regan and Goneril: From Selfish Women to Activists of the Seventeenth Century"
    • Honorable Mention: Jessica Taylor "Teenage Sleep Deprivation and How Schools Can Help"
    Descriptive Sketch:
    • First Place: Ronja Schmitz-Wiencke "An Evening with the Redwoods"
    • Honorable Mention: Lucas Chase "Her Eyes on the Moon"
    Dramatic Scene:
    • Honorable Mention: Jessica Taylor" Spirit of the Holidays"
    Personal Essay:
    • First Place: Ashley Hatcher "Three Strikes and a Hole in One"
    • Second Place: Kaylie Poss "Empty Plates"
    Personal Narrative:
    • First Place: Fionnuala Quinn "From Me to the Moon: The Story of La-Lune"
    • Second Place: Aniyah Hoy "Piecing it All Together"
    • Honorable Mention: Chayse White "My Story"
     

    January, 2023:

    Congratulations to the OHS Scholastic Arts & Writing 2023 award winners, Creative Writing instructor Erin Holtz, and Digital Journalism instructor Sarah Hands!  Individual student names, categories, and titles earning recognition are below. 
     
    GOLD KEY:
    • Amber Antonich (senior) - poetry "One Day"
    • Amber Antonich (senior) - poetry "Where Does The Light Come From"
    • Ashley Vargas (senior) - poetry "To All Intents and Purposes"
    • Luke Barry (senior) - personal essay/memoir "Family"
    •  
    SILVER KEY: 
    • Christian Mattern (senior) - short story "Azure Coronation"
    • Jessica Taylor (senior) - critical essay "Teenage Sleep Deprivation and How Schools Can Help"
    • Kara Baaske (senior) poetry - "Spoiled Guilt"
    • Katey Harris (senior) - writing portfolio "Tethers"
    • Katey Haris (senior) - poetry "Cauterized"
    • Raelyn Alvarez (junior) - humor "[SATIRE] OHS Fish sandwich causes new COVID-19 variant"
     
    HONORABLE MENTIONS:
    • Ashley Hatcher (senior) - short story "The Treasure Chest"
    • Christopher Griffins (senior) - short story "Blessing in Disguise"
    • Kennedy Hugunin (senior) - short story "Facing Reality"
    • Kiera Robledo (senior) - flash fiction "The Smelly Microwave"
    • Lina Raimondi (junior) - personal essay/memoir "How to Live Through Something"
    • Matthew Barkley (senior) - flash fiction "The Sweet Bells of a Banshee's Scream"
    • Ryker Stevenson (junior) - poetry "Freedom in Night"
    • Abraham Gallegos (senior) - journalism "Student workers stress & mental health suffer due to a labor shortage"

     

    August, 2022:

    Senior Trinity Arias won the Gwendolyn Brooks Grade Level award for her poem, "Great-Grandmother." Along with a cash prize and publication, Trinity has been invited to read her poem at the Logan Center in Chicago on August 20, 2022.  Congratulations, Trinity!

     

    April, 2022:

    Panther Writers travelled to Yorkville High School to attend Southwest Prairie Conference Literary Festival. At Lit Fest, students attended young adult author Jeff Zentner's keynote speech, various workshops with writing industry professionals, an open mic of slam poetry, and an awards ceremony. Oswego High School won 13 awards this year. Together with Oswego East, our district accounts for 56% of the awards given to the 12 schools in the conference. Award winners include:  
    • Elizabeth Rodriguez-- 2nd place for her Critical Essay "Transgender Women in Female Sports" and Honorable Mention for her Critical Essay "The Dangers of Sex Work: A Negative Toll on Physical Health"
    • Sophia Santiago--2nd place for her Descriptive Sketch "Anthropology of the Heat"
    • Nailah Brown--3rd place for her Descriptive Sketch "Amusement Park"
    • Azreal Parduhn--Honorable Mention for their Descriptive Sketch "Cerulean Swirls" and an Honorable Mention for their Short Fiction "The Illusion of True Joy"
    • Ethan Rhoades & Mikayla Allen--Critic's Choice for their Dramatic Scene "The Super Sophisticated Society of British Butler"
    • Laila Abouhaiba, Jessica Taylor, & Devon Vinopal--Honorable Mention for their Dramatic Scene "Goat Yoga"
    • Tori Akers--1st place for her Personal Essay "Breaking Down"
    • Beatrice Garrigan--3rd place for her Personal Essay "Uncomfortable"
    • Arleth Antunez--3rd Personal for her Narrative "Tears and Sweat"
    • Abby Miller--Honorable Mention for her Personal Narrative "Friday the Thirteenth"
    • Isreal Hopkins--Honorable Mention for his Personal Narrative "The Taller Brother and The Shorter Brother"
    Lit Fest Attendees: Perseus Jackson, Willow Madden, Azreal Parduhn, Abby Miller, Tad Pierski, Joey Waldron, Lily Clementi, Arleth Antunez, Hailey Mueller, Ademir Aviles, Nailah Brown, Skye Weaver, Sophia Santiago.  
     

     

    February, 2022:  

    Congratulating to the following students and their advisers for placing in various categories at Saturday, Feb. 26's Southwest Prairie Conference Journalism Competition!  For the first time in several years, 42Fifty adviser Sarah Hands and Reflector yearbook adviser Ewa Tulak both brought students from our journalism program to this competition, hosted this year by OEHS.  Below are the OHS students who placed in this competition:
     
    Brianna King - 5th in Photo Storytelling - Reflector staff member
    Brady Monahan - 5th in News Writing - 42Fifty staff member
    Tori Trevino - 5th in Review Writing - 42Fifty staff member
    Riley Cherniwchan - 6th in Yearbook Copywriting - Reflector staff member
    Abraham Gallegos - 5th in Editorial Writing - 42Fifty staff member
     
    Congratulations to advisers Hands and Tulak, and kudos to our OHS journalism students who placed in the competition!

     

    January 2022: Multiple students earned awards through the Scholastic Arts & Writing regional competition.  Please join us in congratulating Creative Writing instructors Erin Holtz and Michael Leali and the following students who earned recognition: SILVER KEY: Ademir Aviles (senior) - short story "Witch of Circumspect;" HONORABLE MENTIONS: Natalia Baryla (senior) - poem "Home," Perseus Jackson (senior) - poem "A Hero;" Tessa Melton (senior) - poem "Flying;" Anna Buan (senior) - flash fiction "Fragile Glass."

     

    November 2021: English teacher Erin Holtz (Creative Writing, Spoken Word) and Student Council advisers Anne Sweeney and April Ponte hosted Young Chicago Author/ Slam Poet Adam Gottlieb and DJ Ca$hera for Poetry Day on November 9, 2022. Approximately 50 participants were treated to Adam's poetry, his presentation of others' poetry, and were led through a workshop on identity and writing personal poems to present. For those who participated, it was a moving event!

     

    August 2021: Students from Erin Holtz' Creative Writing and Spoken Word class entered the contest for Fox Valley's Youth Poet Laureate. Ten semi-finalists were interviewed by a panel and performed their pieces of writing, and five finalists were celebrated last week in an inauguration. Of the five finalists, three were OHS Panther Writers.  Autumn Bartle and Cole Boni Granahan were both finalists, and Kaya Stott was a semi-finalist.  

     

    April 2021:  With Literary Festival sponsor Erin Holtz, Panther Writers had another successful year at the Suburban Prairie Conference Literary Festival! Panthers won the top award in two of the seven writing categories. Our 308 writers, Panthers and Wolves, together took 51% of total awards.  Students attended a virtual conference organized by West Aurora High School that featured the keynote speaker and prolific YA author, Brandy Colbert. Students then engaged in breakout workshops with notable authors, journalists, and publishers before attending awards. Thank you to all the teachers who have encouraged students to submit to Literary Festival; your words of encouragement are vital to keeping students engaged in the important and humbling work of writing.    Below you will find the award recipients.

    Critic’s Choice (Top Award)

    Alyssa Krake--Personal Narrative, “Growing up”

    Mia Woltman--Short Fiction, "Two Coffees, Please" 

    Second Place

    Cole Boni Granahan--Poetry, “Room 263”

    Alyssa Krake--Poetry, “I am enough”

    Emily Thomas--Personal Narrative, “Staring at the Milky Way”

    Honorable Mention

    Stephanie Alcala--Personal Essay, “How does addiction affect parents and their children?”

    Giselle Barrios--Short Fiction, “Alive”

    Anna Buan--Critical Essay, "Don’t Kill the Spider: An Exercise in Open-Mindedness"

    Abby Jobgen--Descriptive Sketches, “When Fog Settles” and “The Wildlands” 

    Mia Woltman--Critical Essay,"Enjoy the Little Things in Life: An Evaluation of Life’s Moments"

     

    March 2021:  Creative writing instructor Erin Holtz and English teacher Tracey Contino supported our OHS Panther Writers who earned awards during the January 2021 Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition~  Kudos tro our Panther Writers for their Success!

    Gold Key: awards for the top 5-7%

    Autumn Bartle (senior) "To What Extent does the Voting System in Modern-Day America Suppress Majority Opinion?" - critical essay

    Silver Key: awards for the top 7-10% 

    Jake Krol (senior) "The Candle" - poetry

    Honorable Mention: awards for the top 10-15%

    Autumn Bartle (senior) "Polaroids in my Mind" poetry; Cole Granahan (senior) "Room 263" - poetry

    Sam Boron (senior) "The Journey to Seventeen" - personal essay & memoir

    Madison Figueroa-Walsh (senior) "To What Extent does One's Choice to be a Lawyer Affect One's Overall Life Satisfaction?" - critical essay

    Robert Gleason (senior) "Nostalgia Blink and Behind the Times: To what extent does nostalgia and the lament for the past inhibit an individual's ability to live in the present?" - critical essay

     

    Winter 2020: Creative writing instructors Sarah Hands and Erin Holtz supported 11 OHS Panthers who earned awards during the January 2020 Scholastic Arts & Writing competition! Kudos to our Panther Writers for their success!

    Gold Key: awards for the top 5-7% 
     
    Melanie Lumbert - senior - "Pick a Side, Any Side" - Personal Essay & Memoir
     
    Mia Woltman - junior - "A Red Rose" - Flash Fiction
     
    Silver Key: awards for the top 7-10% 
     
    Kaya Stott - junior - "Scarlet Petals" - Poetry
      
    Honorable Mention: awards for the top 10-15%
     
    Juan Aguilera - junior - "He won" - Short Story
     
    Ali Baker - senior - "Kore" - Poetry
     
    Jovanna Gonzalez - senior - "The Ticking Clock" - Flash Fiction
     
    Mark Melton - senior - "Family Feud" - Dramatic Script
     
    Ryan Nolan - senior - "Victory" - Flash Fiction
     
    Andrew Provost - senior - "What a Lovely Party" - Flash Fiction
     
    Kaya Stott - junior - "Fowler" - Short Story
     
    Coral Sutton - junior - "The Ghost Who Could" - Flash Fiction
     
    Hayden Welchko - junior - "Invasive Memories" - Short Story

     

    Winter 2019: Creative Writing instructors Sarah Hands and Erin Holtz supported 17 students who earned awards during the winter 2019 Scholastic Arts & Writing competition! Students also earned National Medals in the Scholastic Arts and Writing competition.  This is the second year that OHS students have earned a National Medal for writing.

    NATIONAL MEDALS:

    Shelbie Brasher earned a Silver Medal in Poetry for her piece titled "The Definition of Loneliness."

    Melanie Lumbert also earned a Silver Medal in Poetry for her piece titled "Lady Wanderlust." Award recipients are below:

    REGIONAL AWARDS:

    Gold Key (top 5-7%)

    Shelbie Brasher - Poetry, "The Definition of Loneliness"

    Melanie Lumbert - Poetry (2), "A Chemist's Love Poem" and "Lady Wanderlust"

    Riah Trevino - Dramatic Script, "Relief"

    Silver Key (top 7-10%)

    Julia Dedic - Short Story, "A Letter to Mom"

    Robert McDonald - Flash Fiction, "Vitality"

    Ronald Nichols - Science Fiction, "Before Völuspá"

    Michael Valdez - Flash Fiction, "The Struggles of a Writer"

    Honorable Mentions (top 10-15%)

    Lauren Abrell - Flash Fiction, "Trying it All"

    Kazual Campbell - Personal Essay/Memoir, "Bump-and-Run"

    Julia Dedic - Humor, "Preschool Prison Riot"

    Cade Fiorito - Flash Fiction, "Far Too Many Times"

    Mark Melton - Dramatic Script (2), "A Reasonable Solution" and "Ghost Unbusters"

    Mark Melton - Short Story, "Business Trip"

    Andrew Neal - Flash Fiction, "Mr. Green"

    Kimberly Rogers - Flash Fiction, "Green Eyes"

     

    April 2019: Conference Literary Festival participants also brought home awards during the April, 2019 competition.  Award recipients, led by advisers Tracey Contino and Erin Holtz, include:

    Melanie Lumbert - Critic’s Choice for Personal Essay and First Place for Poetry

    Allison Sass - Critic's Choice for Poetry

    Zach Sato - Critic's Choice for Personal Narrative

    Josie Diaz - First Place for Personal Narrative

    Deja Smith - Second Place for Personal Narrative

    Grace Chmielinski - Honorable Mention for Personal Essay

    Julia Dedic - Honorable Mention for Poetry

    Riah Trevino - Honorable Mention for Dramatic Scene

    Mark Melton took home three awards, including Critic’s Choice for Short Fiction, Second Place for Dramatic Scene, and Third Place for Dramatic Scene.