Writes of Springs winners announced

The Lafayette Public Library recognized winners of the Writes of Spring writing contest last week: high school winners on May 5 at the Main Library and elementary through middle school winners on May 7 at the South Regional Library. The high school ceremony also featured a talk by young adult author Alys Arden. Winners received a certificate and a printed anthology of the winning pieces. The Writes of Spring is an annual writing contest that encourages students in grades K-12 from Acadiana to submit original works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry in English and French. For more information, call the Lafayette Public Library at 261-5787. A full list of winners is available at LafayettePublicLibrary.org.

Photo: Some of the high school winners of the Writes of Spring contest, with YA author Alys Arden. Front Row, left to right: Taylor Babineaux, Jules Ann Abadie, Alexandra Malcombe, Gabrielle Hoffpauir, Mary Broussard; Second row: Claire Koke, Payton Pippin, Grace Parker, Tessa Schorr, Emily Bryson, Emma Young, Lilly Perron, Author Alys Arden; Back row: Brynne Tynes, Brianna Frey, Nicholas Buford, Joseph Benton, Madison Price, Caden Foreman, Andrew Ferguson.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.