CULLMAN, Ala. – The winners of the Tales of Your Tails Writing Competition were announced at Cullman County Public Library on Wednesday. This competition took place over the summer and was hosted by The Friends of the Public Library. The deadline for submissions was July 15, and the young writers have been waiting patiently for the announcement of the winners.
President of the Friends of the Public Library Tanya Alcorn shared with The Tribune, “Tales of your Tails is a new summer youth writing competition that the Friends of the Library sponsored this year. Renee Welsh, a member of the Friends group, has been instrumental in promoting this great program for our county’s youth. Participants were instructed to write a unique animal story for submission. We had some wonderful entries and amazing winners. This is a program that our Friends group will continue to support the library for years to come. We want this program to inspire our young people to continue to make reading and writing a priority throughout their lifetime.”
With four separate age categories, this ultimately encouraged more submissions. The winners from each category are:
- K – 2nd grade – Kden Malone with “The Unique Zoo,”
- 3rd – 6th grade – Alexandria Spicer with “Polly the Pink Armadillo,”
- 3rd – 6th grade – Titus Smothers with “Energized Max” and
- 7th – 9th grade – Gabrielle Hallmark with “The Walk.”
Renee Welsh, essential to the construction of this program, shared a few words at the winners’ announcement, saying, “Putting your thoughts on the paper is a spectacular way to message who you are. – So, the fact that you were courageous and brave enough to put in words what your dreams were, even if they were made up, because it made so many people happy.”
Cullman County Public Library Director Sharon Townsend spoke with The Tribune, saying, “I am just excited we had so many participants and we will definitely plan to have it next year during the summer. That is when they are out of school, and this really encouraged them to keep writing. Some even illustrated their own. It was precious.”
Each of the winners received a ‘Youth Writing Contest 2021’ medal, an Award of Excellence Certificate and a $50 gift certificate. Townsend gave the writers much to look forward to as she spoke, “We were thrilled with participation, and we fully plan to do it again next year.”
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