CARROLLTON, GA – Thirteen Carrollton City Schools students have been named district-level winners in the Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition and now advance to the regional contest.

At Carrollton Elementary School, kindergartner Lydia Lingrell won her grade level with a story titled “My American Girl Doll.” Ria Aggarwal’s work, “Secret Superhero,” earned her first-grade honors. Campbell Butler, who wrote “The Magical Necklace,” will represent second grade and Seleny Bonilla-Jimerez third grade with “The Girl Who Got Bullied.”

Carrollton Upper Elementary School fourth grader Kamryn Broussard won with “The Mysterious Day,” and Madeline Henderson will represent fifth grade with “My Family’s War Story.” Giancarlo Padilla’s work, “Dragon Mythology vs. West Writing,” won the sixth grade honor.

Marie Fujita-Block took seventh grade honors with “One Day in the Life of Female 195.” Eighth grader Addison Lloyd, a region winner last year, is again representing the district with “Ripple.”

At Carrollton High School, Autumn Martin will represent the freshman class with her work, “The Grievances of Delilah Parks.” Sophomore Karley Hagan’s “Daddy, I’m Scared,” earned her top honors, “The Ghost of a Troubled Land” by Ryana Maddie Rogers will represent 11th grade and Estefanny Perez-Martinez won the senior honor with “To The American Dream.”

The 13 writers will now compete in the West Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency regional competition with other school district winners from Carroll, Coweta, Harris, Heard, Meriwether, and Troup counties. The RESA-level winners will then advance to state competition this spring.

According to the state Department of Education, the purpose of the Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics.

The competition has been engaging Georgia students for more than two decades and is open to any student currently enrolled in Georgia public schools, grades K-12. It is sponsored by the Georgia Language Arts Supervisors (GLAS) and the Georgia RESA Network with support from the Georgia DOE.