LIMA — The first round of northwest region seventh and eighth grade creative writing tournaments organized by North Canton educational nonprofit Power of the Pen will begin on Saturday, Jan. 20, with a district tournament hosted by The Ohio State University at Lima. The tournament is sponsored by the Rotary Club of St. Marys.
This spring the 2023-2024 season tournaments will begin. It is the second year back on location since the pandemic, and the students are looking forward to competing in person once again. This is the second time that Ohio State Lima has hosted the event since the in-person return, as they hosted last spring with much success.
Approximately 107 students from 11 area schools will compete in the Ohio State Lima tournament. The top students from the district tournament will be invited to the regional tournament on March 2, hosted by Lourdes University.
The 11 schools competing are St. Marys, New Bremen, Wapakoneta, Coldwater, Kenton, Spencerville, Anna, Upper Scioto, Russia, West Side Montessori, and Houston.
Power of the Pen, one of Ohio’s largest educational enhancement programs, seeks to positively impact the state’s middle schoolers by helping young people find and develop their own unique creative voice.
Founded by Lorraine B. Merrill in 1986, Power of the Pen gives middle school students a platform to share their stories, build confidence in their writing, and develop leadership abilities. She thought of Power of the Pen as a way to, “whisper in the ear of a child, ‘Go ahead, all you have to do is imagine.’” The skills and abilities that students gain from this program serve them well throughout school and in their careers.
Qualifying writers from 18 district tournaments held across Ohio (approximately 50%) advance to the nine regional events. Around 20 percent of students participating in the regional tournaments move on to the state tournament. Competitions consist of three timed, extemporaneous rounds of creative writing tasks per grade level, each in response to an open-ended prompt. Judges evaluate the students’ work to identify the winners who will be recognized in an awards ceremony.
By the time the tournaments begin, these young writers have spent months polishing their creative writing skills under the guidance of a Power of the Pen coach, and the competition is their chance to shine.
The northwest region of Power of the Pen includes Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hardin, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby, Williams, Wood, Wyandot, and Van Wert counties.
For more information, visit www.powerofthepen.org.
