Launched in 1923, these awards — the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S. — celebrate the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth. Dwight students with artistic sparks join a long list of illustrious winners, which includes Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Richard Avedon, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Red Grooms, Ken Burns, Amanda Gorman — and Truman Capote, 1943 Franklin alumnus — to name just a few.

Each year, previous winners join leaders in the visual and literary arts to judge submissions by students in grades 7-12 in 28 different categories, “looking for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.” 

Ten Dwight students who participated in the ultra-competitive program, which included over 10,000 submissions this year, are on the roster of winners; two of them — Annabel Lieblich ’22 and Jake Silber ’22 — received awards for the second year in a row. 

Congratulations to all awardees!

 Writing Award Recipients

• Anoushna Bardhan ’22: Silver Key, Personal Essay/Memoir and Honorable Mention, Science Fiction/Fantasy
• Ava Goldfarb ’21: Honorable Mention, Novel Writing
• Annabel Lieblich ’22: Silver Key, Personal Essay/Memoir
• Sarp Sevil ’23: Gold Key, Personal Essay/Memoir
• Samantha Strauss ’22: Honorable Mention, Science Fiction/Fantasy

To read some of the winning pieces, click here.

Art Award Recipients

• Leia Immanuel ’22: Honorable Mention, Painting
• William Lu ’21: Gold Key, Drawing and Illustration
• Jake Silber ’22: Gold Key, Photography; Silver Key, Digital Art; and Two Honorable Mentions, Photography
• Samantha Strauss ’22: Honorable Mention, Printmaking
• Elizabeth Tatishev ’21: Silver Key, Sculpture

Please see our students' outstanding artworks below. 

We wish our Gold Key recipients — William, Jake, and Sarp — the best of luck, as they advance to the national level of this competition!