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Announcing the 25th Anniversary! We're back with the 25th annual Our Own Expressions Things will look a little different this year, but we're excited to find new ways to cultivate and celebrate teen creative and artistic talent in Pierce County. Below you'll find more information on contest guidelines, program schedules, and links to find and build a community of teen writers, poets, artists, and photographers!
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Contest Dates: January 18 - February 28, 2021 The Pierce County Library Foundation awards prizes in four categories: poetry, short story, photography and drawing. Each category has three age groups: grades 7 and 8, grades 9 and 10, grades 11 and 12. Award-winning entries are published in a online and in a booklet available at all library locations! GUIDELINES Do: - Submit your entry by Feb. 28, 2021.
- Enter with a team or on your own.
- Submit only one entry per person or team per category.
Don't: - Put your name on the submission.
- Submit a work that has been published elsewhere.
- Enter someone else's work as your own.
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REMEMBER - All entries become property of the Pierce County Library and will not be returned.
- Our Own Expressions is open to any student in grades 7 - 12 living or attending school in Pierce County.
- The contest is free to enter.
- View FAQ online at expressions.pcls.us
- Winning works are published exactly as submitted.
- Winners' names may appear in the news media and in communications.
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WRITING ENTRIES - Poems: Up to 20 lines.
- Short stories: Up to 1,200 words.
- Professional writers review entries on the basis of originality, style, general presentation and evidence of skill commensurate with the age of the writer.
ART ENTRIES: Submit a high-quality image of your original photograph or drawing. Professional artists review entries on the basis of composition, evidence of skill commensurate with the age of the artist, creativity and effective use of media.
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Writing Jams Tuesdays from 2 - 3pm January 19th, February 2nd, February 16th on Zoom Wednesdays from 12:30 - 1pm January 27th, February 10th on Instagram Live @pclteens
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Art Jams Thursdays from 2 - 3pm January 21st, February 4th, February 18th on Instagram Live @pclteens Wednesday from 2 - 3pm February 24th on Instagram Live @pclteens
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Did you know you can receive professional feedback on your writing for free? Send any kind of writing (research papers, college application essays, scholarship essays, creative writing, short stories) to the Writing Lab and receive professional feedback within 24 hours!
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Women in art : 50 fearless creatives who inspired the world
by Rachel Ignotofsky
Illustrated profiles of 50 pioneering women artists includes entries covering a wide array of artistic mediums and historical periods, providing entries for famous and lesser-known individuals, from Harriet Powers and Nampeyo to Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe.
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Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book?
by Ally Carter
What it is: an honest, easy-to-read guide for aspiring writers that covers the entire process of writing a book, from outlining to editing to publishing.
Featuring: tried-and-true advice from popular author Ally Carter, as well as cameos from David Levithan, Marie Lu, and Holly Black (to name just a few).
Is it for you? If you’ve ever struggled through NaNoWriMo or gone to an author event just so you could ask for writing tips, this book is for you.
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Ordinary hazards : a memoir
by Nikki Grimes
The award-winning author of Garvey’s Choice describes her childhood marked by a mentally ill mother, a mostly absent father, abusive caregivers, stints in a succession of foster homes and how, from a very young age, she discovered the magic and solace of writing in order to deal with the pain and hazards of her life.
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How I Discovered Poetry
by Marilyn Nelson
What it is: a collection of 50 autobiographical sonnets describing poet Marilyn Nelson’s experiences growing up black in 1950s America, including her family’s frequent moves (her father was an Air Force officer) and her realization that "there's a poet behind my face."
Who it’s for: those who find comfort in words, as well as those who see themselves in Nelson’s search for her own authentic voice.
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Find booklists by grade level on our website Check out these fall booklists below, available to download - Our Favorite Books of 2020
- Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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(Some of our) Favorite Books of 2020
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Elatsoe
by Darcie Little Badger; illustrated by Rovina Cai
What it's about: In a modern-day U.S. infused with magic, aspiring paranormal investigator Ellie looks into her cousin's murder. Using both her know-how and her ability to wake the ghosts of animals (a power inherited from her Lipan Apache ancestors), Ellie uncovers something truly sinister.
Art alert: Intricate illustrations by Rovina Cai heighten the atmosphere of this suspenseful read.
You might also like: Akwaeke Emezi's Pet, another own voices fantasy that's absolutely outside the box.
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Everything sad is untrue : (a true story)
by Daniel Nayeri
"At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. But Khosrou's stories are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the refugee camps of Italy, and further back to Isfahan."
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The Henna Wars
by Adiba Jaigirdar
What it’s about: Dismayed by her parents’ disapproval after she comes out as a lesbian, Bangladeshi Irish Nishat sets her sights on winning her school’s business competition. Marketing her mehndi design skills seems like the perfect plan...until Nishat’s childhood friend (and current crush) Flávia opens a competing henna art business.
Why you might like it: This own voices story offers authentic characters and an exciting blend of romance and rivalry.
You might also like: Leah Johnson’s You Should See Me in a Crown.
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Deeplight
by Frances Hardinge
What it’s about: After scavenging the pulsing, disembodied heart of a monstrous god from the waters hear his home on Lady’s Crave island, storyteller Hark uses the grisly relic to revive his half-drowned friend, Jelt, kicking off a sinister transformation that challenges Hark’s understanding of faith, fear, and friendship.
Reviewers say: “Chilling and provocative, this dark fantasy will appeal to thrill seekers” (Booklist).
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Raybearer
by Jordan Ifueko
What it's about: Tarisai was raised by The Lady with a specific destiny: to become one of the eleven elite councilors to the Crown Prince of Aritsar, gain the Prince's trust, and assassinate him.
What happens: Tarisai's love for the Prince contradicts her deadly mission, but how can she declare her true loyalty when she's bound by The Lady's magic?
Try this next: Roseanne A. Brown's A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, another lush Afrofantasy about the tension between desire and duty.
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Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel follows the experiences of a courageous socialite in 1950s Mexico who is drawn into the treacherous secrets of an isolated mansion.
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Sia Martinez and the moonlit beginning of everything
by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Separated from her mother in the years following a painful ICE raid, Sia drives into the desert and lights prayerful candles on every new moon before an astonishing night when her mother emerges from a blue spacecraft that crashes in front of her car.
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You Should See Me in a Crown
by Leah Johnson
What it's about: Despite being a gifted musician and dedicated friend, Liz Lighty is considered too poor, too Black, and too awkward to become prom queen at her snobbish high school. But with a crucial scholarship on the line, she has no choice but to enter the race for the crown.
Read it for: a smart and endearing heroine; her adorkable romance with fellow prom queen competitor Mack; and a pitch-perfect mix of drama and feel-good vibes.
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The Fire Never Goes Out : A Memoir in Pictures
by Noelle Stevenson
The National Book Award finalist and creator of Nimona presents a collection of personal essays and mini-comics spanning eight years of the author’s young-adult life to reveal the experiences and embarrassments that shaped her career.
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Displacement
by Kiku Hughes
What it is: a graphic novel in which modern-day teen Kiku time-travels to World War II-era America, where she and her then-young grandmother, Ernestina, are forced into Japanese-American internment camps.
Art alert: Muted colors and crisp lines help to highlight the stark pain of displacement, as well as the vital importance of family and community.
Try this next: George Takei's They Called Us Enemy, which also draws parallels between the camps and more recent racial injustice in the U.S.
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Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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Dear Martin
by Nic Stone
Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
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Dear Justyce
by Nic Stone
A sequel to the best-selling Dear Martin finds incarcerated teen Quan writing letters to his neighbor, Justyce, about the former’s experiences in the American juvenile justice system while the latter attends Yale University.
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March
by John Lewis
A multi-volume graphic account of the author's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights covers his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and his involvement in the Freedom rides and the Selma to Montgomery march
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