BAR HARBOR, Maine — A Caribou High School student is one of six winners of “100 Words for Acadia,” a writing contest celebrating Acadia National Park’s 100th birthday.
Writers of all ages were invited to submit up to 100 words in any genre — flash fiction, micro essay, poetry, etc. The winners were announced last week by Friends of Acadia, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and Down East Magazine, organizers of the effort.
Thomas R. Moore, of Belfast, won first place in the adult category (18 and older) for his poem “Acadian Wild.” First runner-up was Weslea Sidon (“Coffee Break,” micro-essay), a Mount Desert Island resident, and the second was David Sloan (“A Rising,” poem), who teaches in New Gloucester.
Top youth prize (17 and younger at time of submission) went to New Hampshire resident Sarah Lyon, 12, for her poem “Acadia Awakening.” First runner-up was Devin P. Quinn, now 18 (“Listen,” micro-essay), who has “been travelling full-time for six years in a 35-foot RV” with his parents and three siblings. Caribou High School student Ciara Richards, 17, took second runner-up honors for the poem “Acadia National Park.”
“Prizes include $300 for first place in each category, and publication in Down East Magazine for all winners,” said Kathleen Fleury, editor in chief at Down East. “Their work will appear in our February 2017 issue.”
“We were very pleased ‘100 Words for Acadia’ drew nearly 250 submissions from Maine and beyond, split nearly equally between adult and youth entries,” said Joshua Bodwell, executive director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
Fleury, Bodwell and Ken Olson, former president and CEO of Friends of Acadia, juried the competition. Entries were judged on literary merit.
