Shine

Shine's an anthology of 87 compositions by 58 grade 7-12 Arizona teens who received Silver or Gold Key recognition from the 2016 Scholastic Writing Awards: personal narratives, poetry, flash fiction, short story, journalism, critical essay, humor, dramatic script, and science fiction-fantasy. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the country's largest, longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for teen artists and writers. This book was not only written by young authors; it was co-designed and co-edited by them in collaboration with Young Authors of Arizona (YAA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and Arizona's affiliate for the Awards. This book is for personal and educational use: a student-synthesized "mentor text" anthology with exemplary works to learn from, teach with, and to inspire grade 7-12 Arizona student participation in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards by December 15, 2016. Thank you for supporting YAA, go to YAArizona.org to learn about us, and enjoy the following description by the authors. The desert sun illuminates with the same radiance that these young authors from across Arizona have harnessed and displayed in this collection. Within these pages, between black ink and negative space, lie the defining values of our generation. We come from high and low places, we speak in different tongues, and we tirelessly work to find our places in the world. We take what is uniquely "us" and we spill it forth, casting a light on ourselves and throwing the world into bright. We cry, we create, we feel, and most of all, we shine.