A local high school senior spent a recent weekend in New York City, after having an essay she wrote selected from more than a thousand entries by a national young writers group.
Kayden Davis, a senior at the Basilica High School, traveled to New York City in mid-April to attend Writopia’s youth essay conference and symposium, called “‘Topia Talks!”
The symposium theme this year was “Process & Voice,” and featured Davis’ essay, entitled “A Perfect Mess,” which was selected to be discussed by a panel that included Davis herself.
“I had taken a Writopia creative writing class online last year,” Davis told the Keys Weekly. “It was once a day for a week, online. I really liked it, and wanted to pursue additional classes with Writopia. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started leaning more into nonfiction writing, so I decided to enter a nonfiction essay that ended up being selected for its symposium last month. I submitted it in February and it was chosen for the April symposium and conference.”
The one-page essay outlines her own writing process and style.
Writopia Lab is a national nonprofit organization that provides creative writing workshops for children and teens ages 4 to 18. Founded in 2007, it offers in-person and online workshops led by published authors or produced playwrights, providing a student-centered environment to cultivate and improve writing and critical thinking skills.
