The Atlanta Public Schools Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition honors student creativity and storytelling by inviting young authors in grades 3–12 to write, illustrate and publish their own books. This year, three Midtown students won recognition in the competition’s 39th year: senior Meredith Bell and juniors Reed Lancaster and Ayden Gresham.

For Bell, the creative process began with a mix of imagination and personal experience.

“I started by thinking up a storyline that would be interesting for kids to read, and I also wanted to pull from my personal experiences,” Bell said. “I decided to make the main character a cat, and I drew out a rough sketch of how the book would go. Since I read a lot of children’s books when I babysit, I’m pretty familiar with the general structure of them, so I used repetition in the book in order to set a pattern and break it once the conflict was resolved.”

The inspiration behind Bell’s book stemmed from a desire to make a meaningful impact through storytelling.

“My book is called, ‘I Am Here,’ and I originally had the idea to make a book for kids about anxiety before I even found out about the competition,” Bell said. “I wanted to use the storyline and illustrations to portray my personal experiences as a child, and how difficult I found it to stay present in a world that is so focused on the future. I wanted to make it fun, accessible and interesting for kids and adults, alike.”

Bell’s personal connection to her book’s theme runs deep, rooted in her own childhood experiences.

“As a kid, I lived with the feeling of anxiety before I could put a name to it,” Bell said. “I remember thinking that time could not pass quickly enough, and I was always looking forward to the next exciting thing; I feel lots of adults live that way, too. Now that I’m older, and I can identify that feeling, I’m able to step back and remind myself that this is now, and I think that’s a message that anyone can benefit from, which is why I decided to make it the topic of my book.”

Media specialist Brian Montero believes this competition served as a reminder to students of the importance of books.

Junior Reed Lancaster’s award-winning book was deeply personal, rooted in both her heritage and a desire to bring history to life.

“I wrote my story based on my family loosely,” Lancaster said. “I am descended from small farmers in Louisiana, and in school, I learned about reconstruction and about how industry took over the world, but a lot of people, like members of my family and other people, were still on the farms and still doing the work that people didn’t want to do. The illustrations and the writing were meant to be Broad and almost whimsical to give an illusion of the past talking to you rather than me explaining.”

Lancaster believes that the experience not only brought recognition but also rekindled a passion.

“I learned how much I miss writing and how the process of writing really made me feel connected to my past and just the past in general,” Lancaster said. “I learned that I love writing and that even though I haven’t written much since I was in elementary school, I still enjoy it, and I do hope to have it as part of my career and my life moving forward.”

Looking ahead, Lancaster hopes to continue blending her interests in history and storytelling.

“I plan to do something in history, and my book was related to history, so I do plan on doing some sort of writing in the future,” Lancaster said. “This book was meant to feel like a children’s book while dealing with Concepts that were more difficult to digest. I hope to write historical novels or at least pieces of research in the future, and maybe I’ll put them into pictures as well as  writing like I did in ‘The Forgotten Few’.”

“I promoted the event through Schoology and give guidelines specified by EJK organization,” Montero said. “It gets them excited about books and ownership over their own personal narratives/writing ideas.”

As Bell looks toward college, she has plans to major in English and said the competition gave her a unique opportunity to merge her love of literature with her passion for visual art.

“As someone who is majoring in English this fall, I love to write, and this project gave me the opportunity to combine my passion for writing with my interest in art,” Bell said. “I’ve always enjoyed creating and coming up with projects to do with my hands, so making a children’s book was this really cool experience where I got to see the intersection between my interests. I learned that this might not be the only time I make a children’s book, and I’m excited to explore that possibility in the future.”

*Meredith Bell is an editor on The Southerner