The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature is pleased to announce the semi-finalists (Top 20) in our first ever best of the best writing competition with Olivia Germann-McClain’s students in the writing program at Woodside Arts and Communications Magnet School in Newport News, Virginia, USA. Mrs. Germann-McClain (AKA Mrs. GMC) inspired 64, yes you read that correctly, sixty-four, freshmen through senior class members to write for the Mule. Heck, ya’ll, I figured maybe 20 entries, on a good day, 25.
Every single one of these essays shines brightly. The talent these students show, the honesty, emotional maturity, and the exceptional quality of their essays really blew us away. So we narrowed the 64 down to 20. The top 10 will be published here on May 20, 2025. Reading the essays gives me such hope for the future, seriously. If these teenagers can produce quality writing as freshmen, let alone seniors, this country is in good hands. We need to be proud of each and every one of these students.
Semi-Finalists in no particular order:
Luciel Warner
Matt Cook
Tayshawn Campbell
Talasha Daniels
Lena Seller
Casey Sanchez
Iysis Ray
Myasia Morris
Salma Zanaty
Hannelore Hollingsworth
Chloe Aquino
Thuong Trinh
Sarah Parkinson
Amiyah Simms
Kaiya Parkinson
Carlos Ibarra
Cameron Brown
Anastasia Davis
Ghelka Ibarra
Elijah Cherry
Imagine, if you will, having to read 64 truly well-written essays and then trying to choose 20 semi-finalists, let alone the 10 to be published. You’re going to enjoy their work. I promise.
Kudos to Olivia Germann-McClain. She is such an inspiration to her students. She is the Lead Creative Writing Program Director in the Fine Arts Department
at Woodside Arts and Communications Magnet School in Newport News, Virginia, USA.
