Staples students have the reputation of excelling academically; creative writing is just another pastime that they shine in. In order to recognize the creative writers within the student body, The Soundings Literary Magazine coordinates The Resounding Memories Contest.

The 2009-10 school year marks the beginning of this contest. Yet, according to Jenna Pan ’10, the Soundings Student Advisor, the committee “hopes that it will become an annual event.” The contest has already received several admissions, yet aspires to accumulate more entries before the final submission date ends.

The Soundings staff and members from the Westport Public Library will condense into a panel in order to evaluate the entries. Also, local published writers will take the place as guest judges to read over the writing pieces. Several methods will be used to assess the literature. “The major points we will be looking at are language, the creativity of the piece, as well as the piece’s technical and grammatical aspects,” said Pan.

Not only does this contest have the purpose of encouraging creative writing through Staples, but for a few other reasons. Soundings hopes to benefit from The Resounding Memories Contest by attaining new members to the club itself. They are always looking for aspiring authors who would like their work to be published. Moreover, this contest provides a great way for Staples to establish stronger relations with the Westport Public Library.

This contest does not allow its winners to walk away empty handed. Soundings acknowledges the determination and effort that each author put into his or her writing piece, and plans to award prizes to the judges’ favorites. Winners will receive not only a certificate naming their achievement, but their works will also be featured in Soundings’ magazine, as well as in the library. In addition, in March 2010, the winners will be invited to the library for an awards ceremony and a public reading of their winning piece.