A few Colorado Academy freshmen were selected through a writing competition to attend this year’s ceremonies for the Neustadt Prize, which are taking place this week at the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. Commonly known as “America’s Nobel,” the prestigious Neustadt Prize is considered one of the most important American awards for literature.

 

The winner of this year’s NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature is Meshack Asare of Ghana and Germany, who will be honored at the event. Asare, an author of folk tales, is considered one of the most important children’s authors and illustrators in the African region.

 

After studying Asare’s work, freshmen students wrote their own folk tales. Their pieces were then judged by the English Department, and the winners were selected to attend the ceremony and meet Asare, where they will also participate in writing workshops.

 

Several CA students attend the Neustadt awards ceremony each year, thanks to a generous gift by CA parent Kathy Neustadt, mother of Tess Hankin, class of 2016, and Josh Hankin, class of 2019.