A teen's voice
Local writer published in compilation
by Beth Beer, Staff Writer
The Citizen, Auburn, NY
Sasha Dwyer remembers the day she learned her cousin Jaime
died in a drunken driving accident. She was freshman at Auburn High School and it
was close to New Year's Eve. She was making a bowl of soup when she heard the
news in December l995. Dwyer wrote her memories into a story during her senior
year for an English class.
"It just stood out in my mind," Dwyer
said.
Now her story has the chance to stand out in the minds of many
readers. Her story, "A Life Still to Lead," was chosen for a
compilation, published by the editors of Teen Ink Magazine, a monthly magazine
for teens written by teens.
Dwyer, now a sophomore at Cayuga Community
College, found out about the book the end of last year.
"I was so
excited," Dwyer said. "I didn't know it was going to be put into a
book."
Dwyer attended a book signing at Borders Books & Music at
Carousel Center in November.
Dwyer's story is one of 101 written by teens
found in "Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions," published this year.
Editors and creators Stephanie and John Meyer looked at more than 300,000
articles that were submitted to the magazine during the past 11
years.
"That was really hard," Stephanie said. "It was like
choosing between your children. We chose pieces we felt were really speaking from
the heart -- not only creative, but truly insightful into many of the issues that
teens and adults are really concerned about."
Stephanie felt
Dwyer's work reflected sensitivity, she said. Dwyer tackled a difficult issue and
also reflected the way her parents cared about her, Stephanie said.
The
Meyers began the magazine in 1989 so teenagers could have their own
forum.
"The underlying philosophy is we really feel that kids don't
have enough opportunities to express themselves," Stephanie said. "The
kids really deserve a voice."
Stephanie started out as an English
major, but her chief concern was staying involved in the lives of young people.
John had the business background. They combined their skills to put together a
magazine solely for teens.
"(The magazine) can be used as a tool for
parents to talk about tough issues," Stephanie said.
Once the Meyers
combed through the hundreds of thousands of submissions, they handed the reins to
more than 3,400 teenagers in 44 states for their evaluation of the selections.
They also solicited advice from teachers. Preston Wilson, an English teacher at
Auburn High School, is on their advisory board. Wilson submitted Dwyer's work and
the work of other students to the magazine.
"My theory on writing is
it's most meaningful when it's functional, when it does something beyond just
earning a grade," Wilson said.
The Meyers have a second book in the
works due for release in 2001.
All royalties from the book are donated to
the Young Authors foundation, which publishes the magazine and provides free
copies to schools and teachers.
The Foundation also supports a poetry
journal, which includes more than 1,000 poems written by teens; Educator of the
Year Award contests, which honors teachers with cash prizes; book awards, which
recognize student improvement in English; interview contests, which encourage
teenagers to interview families and friends then win the chance to interview
celebrities like John Glenn and Hillary Clinton; and the Teen Ink Web
site.
Teen Ink PO Box 30 Newton, MA 02461 (617) 964-6800 editor@teenink.com
Copyright 2008 by Teen Ink, The 21st Century and The Young Authors Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written
permission of the publisher: The Young Authors Foundation, Inc.
Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book and website featuring
teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues and more. All
articles are written by teen authors who are students at schools. The monthly
print magazine is appropriate for any teenager -- teenagers age 13 to 19
attending secondary school: junior high school, middle school and high school.
This publication is used by professional people including English teachers,
writing teachers, language arts instructors, journalism teachers, school
newspaper advisors, librarians, guidance counselors, K-12 principals in addition
to the PTA or PTO. Each issue of Teen Ink magazine contains a wide variety of
student work: we publish nonfiction, fiction, poems, community service, sports,
heroes, interviews, college essays, college reviews, book reviews, concert
reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, video reviews, video game reviews, the
environment, opinion, sports, pets, cars, automobiles, travel and culture, jobs
and money, health issues, artwork, photographs, cartoons, short stories, essays,
writing contests, a college directory and the website also has a bulletin board
and resources for teens and educators. Subjects include racism,
eating disorders, depression, death, suicide, family, relationships, jobs,
grandparents, violence, the college process, college information, colleges,
driving, self esteem, the arts, movies and more. Teen Ink is also a book series
published by HCI Teens. Subjects covered in the book include Friends, Fitting In,
Love, Challenges, Family, Heroes, Loss and Memories. Teen Ink was established in
1989 as The 21st Century magazine by The Young Authors Foundation, a nonprofit
organization. More than 25,000 teens have been published in the magazine and its
companion Poetry Journal. Teen Ink runs a London Summer Program for teenage writers.
