The first annual Rocket City Literary Festival filled the South Hall of the Von Braun Center. Over 30 vendors set up booths, authors read and signed their books, and there were panels running both Saturday and Sunday from the very beginning of the festival to the end. There was a costume contest and a writing contest.

The writing contest was a big success–127 entries were submitted, competing for only eighteen slots in an anthology of winning works. The proceeds from the sale of the anthology will go to the schools of the two overall winners.

7th and 8th Grade Winners:

Joseph Zybura, First Place, Poetry; Maddie Murphy, Second Place, Poetry; Victoria Finklea, Third Place, Poetry; Kelly Ann Parris, First Place, Short Story; Molly Moore, Second Place, Short Story; and Kimberly Mai, Third Place, Short Story.

9th and 10th Grade Winners:

Emma Kirkland, First Place, Poetry; Emma Richards, Second Place, Poetry; Sydney Goggans, Third Place, Poetry; Jonathan Hampton, First Place, Short Story; Noelle Hendrickson, Second Place, Short Story; and Claire Dieselburg, Third Place, Short Story.

11th and 112th Grade Winners:

Kaitlyn McClung, First Place, Poetry; Cecil Coffey, Second Place, Poetry; Jessica Wylie, Third Place, Poetry; Lauren Rathbun, First Place, Short Story; Joanna Zhang, Second Place, Short Story; and Maxent Wilks, Third Place, Short Story.

The overall winners were Joseph Zybura and Lauren Rathbun, who goes to Bob Jones. Congratulations!