| Anoka graduate wins national essay competition |
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| Thursday, 27 September 2007 | ||
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Union Editor A 2007 graduate of Anoka High School has received national honors for an essay she penned for a scholarship writing contest. The essay contest took submissions from students across the United States and Canada, inviting them to write analytical essays based on the book, “Xen: Ancient English Edition” by D.J. Solomon. The novel is published by Avar Press. The 19-year-old thought the announcements for the winners had already come and gone. But then she got a call from her parents on Sunday, Sept. 9, telling her she had won the national competition. “I was speechless at first, then I started screaming,” said Olson, who was rewarded with $500 for her labor. Olson’s essay, titled “Feminine Charms,” describes how femininity prevailed in the end over masculinity in the book’s version of utopian world. “Xen” is the story of a misanthropic scientist who rids the world of evil, putting an end to hate and prejudice. It is a science fiction fantasy account of a classic tale of good vs. evil. She said getting through the book was more of a challenge than writing the three-page essay. Along with the national recognition and money to help pay for her studies, Olson said the win was important – it showed her she can make money from her writing. “I was starting to doubt that, and so were my parents,” she said. Olson is in her freshman year at Ripon College in Ripon, Wis. where she is an English major. She discovered the Avar Press competition while surfing the Web for scholarship opportunities. She said sites like fastweb.com list different essay competitions where students can win scholarships through their writing. Capitalizing on her writing talents, Olson has submitted an entry to the Ayn Rand Anthem essay competition. She has also had first and second place finishes in the Voice of Democracy essay contest. While attending high school in Anoka, she was a contributing writer to both the Anoka High newspaper as well as the school’s literary magazine, the Novus Scriptor. But her love for writing began at a much earlier age. Olson has been working on a fantasy novel for the last 11 years, proving she had high hopes for a writing career even at eight years old. “I would say it’s about one-third to one-half finished,” she said, describing her book as a classic fantasy tale of heros and villains, with plenty of battle scenes mixed in. With her sights set firmly on a career as a fantasy genre novelist, Olson has posted some of her fledgling novel on line to get feedback from a larger writing community. “I wanted to find out what other people think about it, other than my friends,” she said. “Someday I would love to send it to a publisher.” Mandy Moran Froemming is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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