Literature’s Rising Stars

This year’s Creative Writing Award recipients celebrated their achievements with a special event during the Montclair Literary Festival. During the event, “Literature’s Rising Stars,” Montclair State students read their poems, short stories, or works of creative nonfiction to members of the campus community and public. View a full list of the 2022 English Department Scholarships and Award winners.

In addition to the Rising Stars event, Montclair State also hosted “Voices of Tomorrow: Creative Writing Readings by Montclair High School and Montclair Kimberley Academy,” an event moderated by Mark Rotella. High school students read their short works of creative writing, as chosen by each school’s review committee.

“Our hope is that this event will continue to be a part of the annual Montclair Literary Festival, and that the relationships will grow and that the students will have the year to work on their collections of creative writing and submit them for this event. Who knows, perhaps down the line it will grow to include other local high schools,” said Rotella.

The Montclair Literary Festival, launched by Succeed2gether in 2017, is a community-wide event that aims to exchange ideas, inspire future literary works and engage with different points of view. Working closely with the Montclair Public Library, Watchung Booksellers and a team of local volunteers, the festival will also generate lasting connections between arts institutions, the schools and the community, benefiting a broad cross-section of participants and attendees.