Over the years of her teaching career, Nancie Atwell’s students at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in Edgecomb have received numerous state and national awards for writing excellence.

For the first time ever, one of CTL’s students has captured the “biggest” prize of all. Helena Solorzano, daughter of Ken and Jane Solorzano of Alna, was notified that she is the recipient of the Best in Grade (BIG) Award from the Scholastic Alliance for Young Writers and Artists.

The award, sponsored by Bloomberg, recognizes the best American writer in each grade level, 7-12. Winners are selected from among work that received Scholastic’s coveted Gold Key.

Out of tens of thousands of submissions from eighth-grade writers, a panel of jurors recognized Solorzano’s writing for “originality, technical skill and emergence of a personal vision.”

Her prize-winning personal essay titled “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is about her father who currently stationed with the U.S. Army’s 488th Company in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The BIG award includes a $500 scholarship to support Solorzano’s education and creative development. In addition, her teacher received a $250 cash award, which she has donated to CTL’s library fund.

Solorzano will be honored at Carnegie Hall in New York City on May 31, along with Maine’s two other Gold Key winning writers, Parker Elkins and Morganne Elkins of Edgecomb.