Prof. Stéphane Ravera of the Lycée Chateaubriand announces the winners of the short story contest

On Monday, June, 14, 2010, the Lycée Chateaubriand of Rome announced the winners of the schools's annual creative writing contest. Fifty-five junior-high aged students participated in the ecologically-themed science fiction contest organized by the Lycée Chateaubriand and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The stories were juried by an impartial group including Dr. Carlos Dews, Chair of the John Cabot University Department of English Language and Literature, Professor Elizabeth Geoghegan, adjunct professor of Creative Writing, and Mr. Mohamed Manssouri of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Dews and Geoghegan reviewed the works for their literary and creative merit and agreed unanimously with Mr. Manssouri who examined the stories for their scientific merit.

Student Henry Farmer won first prize for his story "Battling on the Bay." Second prize was awarded to Alessandro Riches for his tale "Project EP2" and third prize went to Cyril Glerum for "Answers." The award of Honorable Mention was received by Martina Policastro for her story "The Final Countdown."

An informal awards ceremony took place in the garden of the Lycee. Professor Stéphane Ravera, head of the school's English department, welcomed JCU's Francesca Gleason, Coordinator of the Academic Success program, Professor Elizabeth Geoghegan, and the FAO's Ms. Katia Meloni a consultant for the World Food Day project along with students, parents, and Lycée faculty. Ravera opened the event by explaining how the project came into being and the significant way the contest helped build bridges between international, academic, and environmental organizations here in Rome.

On behalf of her fellow jurors, Dr. Carlos Dews and Mr. Manssouri, Geoghegan congratulated the students and briefly discussed the literary and creative merits of each of the prize-winning stories before awarding the certificates to the writers. Ms. Gleason then said a few words about JCU's upcoming Italy Reads project and presented Ravera with three copies of the upcoming selection Our Town.

Ms. Meloni then took the floor and mentioned the FAO's appreciation for the Lycée students, encouraging them to participate in the FAO's "One Billion Signature" drive to help as many starving people in the world as possible. At the end of the event, the four students each read an excerpt from their prize-winning stories.