As the school year comes to a close, some students are putting their pens to paper and writing stories.
The Young Authors’ Faire is a longstanding Fresno County tradition that’s been held for more than 40 years. The annual event is a place where the Valley’s youth showcase their storytelling skills by writing their own original works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and illustrations.
This year’s event happened May 6 at The Big Fresno Fair.
Multilingual students are also encouraged to submit stories in their home languages, as a significant portion of Fresno County students speak another language other than English.
The Fresno County Office of Education sends out the call for submissions across all districts in September – early in the school year so students can have as much time as possible to dream up their ideas.
When the submissions deadline closes in the spring, stories are then reviewed and judged by English Language Arts and Library Services staff at the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. Awarded authors receive a gold embossed seal to recognize their achievement.
This year, the fair received over 250 submissions by 917 students across 44 schools, according to Maria Petropulos of FCSS.
But no matter who wins, FCSS emphasizes the fair is meant to raise Fresno student voices and support their creative endeavors.
“You are not just students, you are authors. Your words have the power to tell stories, to inspire others, and to make people think and feel and understand each other a little bit better,” county Superintendent of Schools Michelle Cantwell-Copher said during the ceremony.
Multilingual stories of culture, identity among top honors
Central Unified swept the exemplary categories, taking home five awards and nine honorable mentions.
The district has a diverse student body, with a high percentage of students with Latino and Punjabi roots. Nearly 15% of the student population is also composed of English learners, according to the California School Dashboard.
Awarded submissions titled “Dear Punjabi Girl,” “Roots of My Soul,” “We are Not Inferior,” and “Smart” explored themes of heritage, identity and racism – and how these all can shape a person’s worldview.
Another submission titled “The Chicago Bears” by Elliot Shafer of Central Unified won in the exemplary non-fiction category for its usage of braille, a tactical writing system that utilizes raised dots to communicate writing to blind and visually impaired individuals.
Sixth-graders Brenda Portillo and Briana Rivas of Mendota Unified were awarded an honorable mention in the exemplary fiction category for their Spanish piece “Lagrimas de Dinero,” which translates to “Tears of Money” in English.
The story follows a young girl who can cry tears of gold, and uses it to help her family financially. The narrative is solely in Spanish, reflecting the authors’ Latin heritage and real life experiences.
“Being able to write this in Spanish…I hope it shows more students that anything is possible and to keep going no matter what,” Portillo said.
The top award, the FCOE Accolades Book Selection, goes on to be printed as a hardcover book. This year, Peyton Jensen of Sunset Elementary at Coalinga-Huron Unified took home the award with her novel “All About Space Dinosaurs.”
Jensen’s book will be recognized at FCOE’s Honors Gala later this year, and hardcover copies of her book will be distributed to county educational partners and other honorees. Jensen’s teacher and school library will also be gifted copies of the book.