Students, teachers, and parents gathered in the PMHS Info Center on May 21 for the Storytellers’ Celebration, an event hosted by English teachers Ms. Strachan and Ms. Wasnetsky, which honored the outstanding writing of 30 commended student authors. Each Pelican had an original literary piece published in the local newspaper.

Ms. Wasnetsky described the components of the event. “From the publication of student work in the Storytellers’ Book and the News of Pelham to showcasing excerpts of student work and our extracurricular writing activities at the Storytellers’ Celebration, we have provided a larger audience for students with regard to the work they do for English class and beyond,” she said.

Attendees were able to browse through a pop-up book fair, courtesy of Anderson’s Book Shop, and stop by informational tables representing The Pel Mel, DOOR magazine, Young Playwrights Festival, and the English Honor Society.

The event began with a speech given by guest author and PMHS alumnus Emma Otheguy, who reminisced about how writing in English class helped develop her skill as a published author. She recalled asking her English teacher, Ms. Wasnetsky, “Do authors really hide all that symbolism in their work, or do English teachers just make that up?” Twenty years later she answered her own question from the perspective of an author: “Yes, they do!” She recalled having late night conversations with her publisher about the placement of a single piece of punctuation. She also spoke about the special importance of diversity in writing.

The student writers were then honored in a ceremony in which they received a certificate, a pin, a booklet with all of the winning writing pieces, and a $10 gift certificate to the book fair. Later in the evening, they were also given the opportunity to read their writing at an open mic.

Ms. Wasnetsky said, “I was thrilled to see so many of our young writers go up to the mic and share excerpts from their writing. The event was a testament to the fact that we have really talented writers in our midst and that is a cause for celebration!”