Courant veteran Andy Thibault, now a prime mover for the Connecticut Young Writers Trust, sends this announcement:

BLOCKBUSTER SPRING PROGRAM  FOR YOUNG WRITERS COMPETITION

For more information, contact Trust Chairman Ravi Shankar, 860-938-2139 or emailravishankar2011@gmail.com

The Connecticut Young Writers Trust – the state’s longest-running literary competition for teens, now in its 15^th year – announces an extraordinary program for Spring 2012. The Trust will host FREE workshops for young poets and writers and their teachers from around the state on Saturday, March 10 at the renowned Jumoke Academy http://jumokeacademy.org/ in Hartford.

Continuing education units will be granted for teachers. In addition, The Trust will host a workshop for students at Rockville High School on March 13. The presenter is Irish poet and novelist Geraldine Mills.

On Friday, April 13, Connecticut’s arguably finest duo of poet Marilyn Nelson and novelist Wally Lamb will perform — at The Hartford Club at 7 p.m. – in a fundraising event. Suggested donation: $10 or more.

The Trust will climax the current cycle with its annual celebration on June 2 as part of Connecticut Young Poets Day at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. Connecticut Young Poets Day, a new feature of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, will take place during the festival’s 20^th anniversary inaugural weekend http://www.hillstead.org/activities/poetry_performseries.html.

Since 1998, the Trust has affirmed the work of more than 7,000 young poets and writers,  awarding more than $200,000 in prize money. The March 10 events begin at 3 p.m. with a reception at Jumoke Academy featuring the Jen Allen Jazz Combo, with vocalists led by DominiQue. Workshops on performance poetry and sports writing will follow. Presenters include the poet and playwright Iyaba Mandingo, fresh off a New York run of his play UNFRAMED; and Hartford Courant sportswriter Paul Doyle.

The annual celebration at Hill-Stead June 2 will feature the winners of Connecticut’s eight state writing competitions, a workshop and performance by 21-year-old award-winning slam poet and international hip hop star B. Yung, concerts by Chorus Angelicus and gospel legend Theresa Thomason, plus MetaFour with guitar virtuoso Jeff Howard and Andy Wrba of Barefoot Truth. The event culminates in a special featured performance by former U.S. Poet Laurate  and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Wilbur. The CT Young Writers Trust will collaborate with the Hill-Stead Museum and the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival for an extraordinary day devoted to the literary arts.

This year’s workshops are sponsored by a development grant from First Niagara Bank. Scientists and sociologists have long linked an increase in literacy and creative expression with a decrease in many self-destructive behaviors, and the CT Young Writers Trust is dedicated to helping affirm the next generation of young poets and writers who will grow to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at http://www.ctyoungwriterstrust.org/donate. It is the support of teachers, parents, older writers, and our generous business and professional donors that has kept this program alive for 15 years. You could also send a check to CT Young Writers Trust, 50 Brewery Street, #8898, New Haven,  CT  06532 We’re counting on you, especially in a moment when we have lost our major funding sources, to help us move forward into our next decade. Please spread the word about the competition to any high school age writers and teachers you know and join us on March 10th to celebrate the arts. You’ll hear the Jen Allen band perform Baby Come Back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AcigKiu_Gk, our theme for the coming season.

Baby, come back to support young writers. We need you now more than ever.

The Connecticut Young Writers Trust is a non-profit 501 C (3). Contributions are tax deductible. Federal tax ID: 31-1635811.