Gaithersburg Book Festival Announces High School Poetry Contest Finalists

By Gail Norris | Published April 7, 2020

Voting for Fan Favorite Entry Closes May 8

Winners to be Announced May 20 by Video on Festival Website

Gaithersburg, Md. – April 7, 2020 – The Gaithersburg Book Festival has selected the finalists for its second annual poetry contest for high school students. Although the Festival at Bohrer Park has been cancelled due to the public health crisis, we still want to celebrate the literary talents of our local high school students. The first-, second-, and third-place poetry contest winners and the fan favorite will be announced in an online video that features 2020 judge, poetry critic Elizabeth Lund, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order with the school they attend and city in which they reside, are:

Gabriellla Allen – Quince Orchard High School (Germantown, Md.)
Solange Campos – Poolesville High School (Poolesville, Md.)
Rina Fishman – Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (Rockville, Md.)
Darshini Babu Ganesh – Poolesville High School (Poolesville, Md.)
Kiran Krishnan – Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Md.)
Sabrina Mei – Richard Montgomery High School (Rockville, Md.)
Sarah Patch – Poolesville High School (Poolesville, Md.)
Lucas Reynolds – The Nora School (Silver Spring, Md.)
Lucy Shen – Richard Montgomery High School (Rockville, Md.)
Trishelle Weed – Old Mill High School (Glen Burnie, Md.)

“During difficult times, many people turn to poetry for insight and inspiration,” said Lund, who will select the top three entries. “The finalists for this year’s high school poetry contest provide that, and much more. Their poems are bold, surprising and honest, sometimes heartbreakingly so. The talent and adroitness of these young writers give me hope for the future.”

“This is another terrific opportunity for our future bards,” said Jud Ashman, founder of the Festival and mayor of the City of Gaithersburg. “There are some genuinely talented young writers and poets in our region, and it makes us all proud to give them a big spotlight through the Gaithersburg Book Festival.”

The 10 finalist poems have been posted to the Gaithersburg Book Festival website so visitors can read the entries and vote for their favorite. Fan favorite voting will close on Friday, May 8, at 11 p.m. ET.

Prizes for first-, second- and third-place winners, provided courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County, are $250, $100 and $50, respectively. The fan favorite winner will receive $25.

Contest winners will be announced by poetry critic Elizabeth Lund in a video posted on the Gaithersburg Book Festival website on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

To be eligible for the poetry contest, students had to be enrolled in grades 9-12 at a public or private school, or be in a homeschool program, for the 2019-20 school year. Additionally, entrants had to reside in Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia.

Some elements of 2020 Gaithersburg Book Festival programming may move to a virtual platform. Planning is still in process. Details will be posted on the Festival website at www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org. You also can subscribe to the GBF newsletter and follow the Festival on Facebook and Twitter @GburgBookFest.

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