Students published through contest

Sparta — Eight seventh graders from Sparta Middle School will be honored by The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration with publication or honorable mention of their stories in the sixth annual Grannie Annie anthologies, to be released in May. Authors from Sparta Middle School whose stories will be published in Grannie Annie, Vol. 6, are Alexander Baszczij, “A Courageous Soldier” Madeleine Cuan, “A New Land, A New Life” Michelle Favichia, “A Lucky Save” and Matthew Leigh, “Karma.” Students from Sparta Middle School receiving honorable mention are Thomas De Gasperis for “The Mass Migration,” Kaitlyn Lagasca for “Milk Duds,” Madison Purvey for “The Rat Pack,” and Victoria Vatter for “Surprise Endings.” The Grannie Annie, created in 2005, was inspired by and named for longtime Sparta resident Ann Guirreri Cutler, who was passionate about saving family stories. Participating students interview an older relative and write a story about an event from their family’s history. After stories have been selected for publication, some are sent to art teachers for their students to illustrate. The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, founded by authors and publishers Connie McIntyre and Fran Hamilton, is a nonprofit corporation based in St. Louis. In addition to its traditional paperback anthology, this year The Grannie Annie will publish a PDF book, altogether publishing work by 74 students from 15 U.S. states and Moldova. The young published authors and artists will be further honored at an author reading, art show, and book signing at Left Bank Books in St. Louis on June 4. Visit www.TheGrannieAnnie.org to learn more.