The winner of the Candice Coghill Memorial Award for Youth is N.M. Collett, an overachieving twelve-year-old who loves to dance and quilt. In addition to being the Candice Coghill recipient for 2021, her poem “Ode to Rain” was awarded the Royal Palm Literary Award Gold Medal for Poetry in the twelve-to-fifteen age group.
RPLA Showcase contacted N.M. to share with us her reactions to winning, what she loves most about writing, and advice for other young writers.
What did it feel like to hear you won the Candice Coghill Memorial Award for Youth at the virtual RPLA ceremony?
It felt wonderful, I worked hard on my poem, so I am happy it paid off. I received support and encouragement from my mom, dad, and teacher.
Can you tell us what interests you the most about writing?
My favorite part of writing would have to be being able to create my own literary world and sharing it with my family and friends. Writing provides me with a lot of opportunity for creative freedom which is another reason that I enjoy it as much as I do.
What writing advice would you give to other young writers?
Some writing advice that I would give to young writers is that amazing writing comes from stream of consciousness writing. Stream of consciousness writing means that ideas for writing and the writing piece itself just comes to you, instead of thinking about what you should write. My poem was a stream of consciousness writing piece.
When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite hobby or activity?
Other than writing I love dancing, art, and quilting. I take dance classes in tap, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. I have been dancing for four years. As far as art and quilting I sell my artwork and quilts in business fairs and make some extra spending money. People really enjoy my “inks on foil” art pieces. All three of these activities are really fulfilling and provide me with creative freedom.
N.M Collett’s poem, “Ode to Rain,” was published in the December 2021 issue of The Florida Writer magazine.
