Mary Hannah McPhail-Edwards, a senior at Calera High School, is a 2021 Scholastic Awards National Medalist.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards were established in 1923. Past winners include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Ken Burns, and Andy Warhol. 

Following the National Awards Ceremony on June 9, McPhail-Edwards winning works will be published on Scholastic Arts & Writing’s Online Gallery, and also in the Best Teen Writing anthologies which features selected works by National Medalists.  Her works will also be featured online after a regional ceremony at Troy University in June.

McPhail-Edwards submitted ten works of writing at the Regional Level, which receives 230,000 works of art and writing from more than 80,000 students every year. Her works were awarded the following 2021 Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards for the state of Alabama:

• “Waves” (Short Story), Gold Key, American Voices Nominee
• “Casey Candle” (Short Story), Gold Key
• “Ghost Girl” (Short Story), Gold Key
• “On The Raft” (Short Story), Gold Key
• “Poems” (Poetry), Gold Key
• “Making Monsters” (Short Story), Silver Key
• “Portfolio 2020” (Writing Portfolio), Silver Key
• “The Fountainhead:  The Morality of Selfishness” (Critical Essay), Silver Key
• “Lady Susan:  Jane Austen’s First Antiheroine” (Critical Essay), Honorable Mention
• “Man As Monster:  Heathcliff and His Legacy (Critical Essay), Honorable Mention
• “Burnover District” (Short Story), Honorable Mention

McPhail-Edwards’ five Regional Gold Medals automatically advanced to the National Level of adjudication in New York City, where only 2,000 works receive awards, comprising the top 1% of submissions. National Medalists were announced on March 17.  Mary Hannah received the following National Medals in the 2021 Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards:

• “Waves” (Short Story), Gold Medal
• “Waves” (Short Story), American Voices Medal
• “Poems” (Poetry), Silver Medal