Friday, May 22, 2009

Westlake Academy students win National Book Award

By Pegasus News wire

Twenty-nine current and former student journalists at Westlake Academy have co-authored a book that has won a national book award.

The Black Cow staff

Their book — The Best of The Black Cow: Great Writing by Great Kids — is the winner in the “Education/Academic” category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards contest, held each year to honor the best independently-published books in the nation.

Their paperback book was published this year as a fundraiser for The Black Cow student newspaper, where their stories originally appeared.

In the contest, the students’ book won against other education-themed books written by adults.

The Black Cow, up to 40 pages, is distributed each month during the school year to all the residents of Westlake, Texas. The small town owns and operates the public charter school that offers an International Baccalaureate education for students in grades K-12.

In the past two years, The Black Cow newspaper has won 102 individual journalism awards in the Texas state journalism competition — more than any other student newspaper in the state.

“This national book award won by students not yet old enough to drive shows that the work of these young writers is exceptional,” says Fort Worth Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber, a parent in the school who serves as volunteer adviser. “They care about the craft of writing and match it with a passion for their school, their community, their state and their nation. Their wonderful book reflects that.”

Source: Westlake Academy

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