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Student Writing Contest
One of FOCH’s goal is to promote literacy. We have endeavored to focus on this goal by mentoring and encouraging high school students to develop their writing skills by introducing them to the mystery genre.
In recent years, the FOCH authors have assisted with the writing contest by holding writing workshops at the participating schools and by providing valuable feedback and criticism through one-on-one e-mail communication with the students. During the past nine years, student participation has increased thanks to supportive faculty members of the Oakland Unified School District, namely Emily Filloy and Tim Jollymore.
The stories are read blind by a panel of volunteer readers who rate the stories on four categories: writing style, plot, character development and point of view. The top three winning students are given a certificate and cash awards ranging from $50 to $200. All of the students are invited to read their stories at the conference and network with published authors.
The student writing contest has grown each year with more and more schools participating including students from local middle schools and TOEFL students.
Participating schools:
- Castlemont High School
- Dewey High School
- Far West High School
- Fremont High School
- McClymonds High School
- Oakland High School
- Oakland Technical High School
- School of Social Justice and Community Development
- Skyline High School
