THANK YOU, LINDSEY!
The winners of the 2023 KidsWrite! program were announced in June at an event at the Coronado Public Library. A special thanks to KidsWrite! Director and SDWEG member Lindsey Salatka for managing the contest again this year. Without Lindsey, this year of SDWF KidsWrite! would not have happened! Lindsey is tireless and dedicated and works for hours on end to make the whole contest for San Diego Youth a reality.
AND CONGRATULATIONS to OTTO LANA and all of the KidsWrite! Winners!
A Message from Otto Lana, a Treasured Member of Our KidsWrite Community
"I want to thank Lindsey Salatka, Jen Laffler, and everyone involved with KidsWrite! San Diego. Thank you for keeping the IDEA of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility alive and well and shining bright. Four years ago, I submitted a poem to the poetry contest, as a high school student, despite the adults in my life encouraging me to enter my work in the special education category. I wanted my poem to be judged as a creative work, not a work segregated from the rest of the poets. This distinction is important to me. It represents inclusion at its core. Congratulations to everyone to was acknowledged with an award on Saturday and to everyone who was brave enough to write something and share it. Thank you for sharing something from your heart. Keep writing. Keep dreaming. And thank you for honoring me with a perpetual award called the 'Otto Lana Award'! If you make movies, you can win an Oscar. If you write plays, you can win a Tony. If you write poetry in San Diego, you can win an Otto! Good luck, everyone!"
About Otto
I have autism, apraxia, and anxiety. These labels describe me but do not define me. I am a self-proclaimed math nerd, so I say it’s A to the third power (A^3). I was introduced to typing as a form of communication at age nine. Let me back up; apraxia prevents me from speaking with my mouth, hence typing.
CLICK HERE to read more about Otto - http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-otto-lana-of-la-jolla/
Starting in 2024, SDWF KidsWrite! will offer the Otto Award for young writers who exhibit talent, resilience, grit, and passion.
SDWEG has sponsored KidsWrite! each year since its beginning.
The Guild's sponsorship of youth programs such as KidsWriter! is possible because of the growth in SDWEG membership over the past years as well as to the success and sales of our annual anthology, The Guilded Pen. Thanks to all SDWEG members for support over the years. We are proud to be able to share our resources to encourage growth of programs and efforts outside of the Guild as well as within it.
