Dr. Howard F. Beckley was a part-time college instructor who served on the Denver Branch Board. He was concerned about the quality of writing from his students and wanted the Branch to add a program to help high school students improve their writing skills. After his sudden death, other Board members took the initiative to develop a Writing Competition to honor Dr. Beckley’s memory.
We launched the competition in 2010, when the Denver Branch hosted the ESU National Conference. The topic was our conference theme: Westward Ho! The Continental Expansion of the English Language. Every year since its inception, we have expanded our reach to involve more schools, teachers and students. The Covid-19 pandemic presented new challenges but the program continues.
Each year, one or two teachers coordinate the Writing Competition. They choose a topic and advertise it with a standard rubric so students know how they will be judged. We advertise the competition in the fall, with a deadline around Thanksgiving. A committee of Board members and interested Branch members reads the submissions, discusses and ranks them, choosing the top five. We give cash prizes: first place $500, second place $250, third place $100; some years we award $50 honorable mention prizes for fourth and fifth places. We present awards for the competition at our December holiday party, where winning students read their submissions.
2010-2011 Westward Ho! The Continental Expansion of the English Language
2011-2012 The Language of Freedom: How the Written Word Advances the Struggle for Freedom
2012-2013 American Authors of Excellence: Saluting American Masters of English Composition
2013-2014 Focus on Fiction: Compose a short story on a topic/theme of your choice
2014-2015 Fiction with a Twist: Narrative prose with a clear plot twist
2015-2016 What is Genius?
2016-2017 How is Shakespeare Relevant Today?
2017-2018 How does the language of protest incite action?
2018-2019 What are the implications of technology on the English language?
2019-2020 Symbols: how they unite or divide us, marginalize or include us, motivate or demoralize us
2020-2021 What is your opinion on the effectiveness of “virtual” schooling versus “in-person” schooling?
2021-2022 What author or social influencer should be required reading/viewing in high school and why?
2022-2023 Discuss the impact of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story”
2023-2024 Analyze Native American author Leslie Marmon Silko’s prediction in The Turquoise Lodge