Chris Colfer, Lena Dunham, and Jennifer Garner Headline Virtual Ceremony to Honor the Nation's Most Talented Teen Artists and Writers

NEW YORK, May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the winners of the 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is reimagining its national celebration—normally held at world-famous Carnegie Hall—for a virtual stage. Golden Globe®-winning actor and New York Times bestselling author Chris Colfer (Glee, The Land of Stories series), Golden-Globe winning writer, producer, director, actress, New York Times bestselling author—and Scholastic Art & Writing Awards alumna—Lena Dunham (Girls), and Golden Globe-winning actress Jennifer Garner (Alias, Love, Simon) are all coming together to applaud the creative accomplishments of the country's most talented teens. The event will also include additional surprise guests, poetry readings from this year's National Student Poets, a chance to see selections and hear excerpts from award-winning pieces of art and writing, and a special 100^th Anniversary tribute to the title sponsor, Scholastic Inc., with beloved New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Dav Pilkey (Dog Man, Captain Underpants) and New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games).

The 60-minute virtual celebration will begin at 6:00pm ET on June 4, 2020, and can be viewed here: https://www.artandwriting.org/celebrate/

For the first time, the national celebration for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards will take place exclusively online. With this virtual shift, Gold and Silver medalists can share this experience in real time with their communities, friends, families, educators and supporters. Additionally, anyone supportive of young artists and writers, regardless of where they are in the world or what connection they have to the recognized students, will now have access to enjoy the ceremony and congratulate these remarkable teens. All are encouraged to tune in and join in the celebration.

"The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have a strong tradition of honoring innovation and creativity among student artists and writers," said Christopher Wisniewski, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. "These young people have produced works that take risks, speak truth to power, find beauty in the mundane, and start crucial conversations about our society. Their accomplishments remind us that no matter what's going on in the world, the future looks bright. We are proud to honor them with this recognition, hoping that by opening up the ceremony on a virtual stage, the world can share in our congratulations as well."

Nearly 3,000 works of art and writing received national medals in the 2020 Awards, selected from approximately 320,000 submissions from students in every state in the nation. Teens in grades 7–12, ages 13 and up, from the U.S., Canada, and American schools abroad were eligible for national honors. Past recipients of the Awards include Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, John Updike, Kay WalkingStick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, Zac Posen, and Andy Warhol. The Alliance annually provides more than $300,000 in scholarships to top Awards recipients and continually partners with esteemed colleges and universities to make scholarships available for college-bound National Medalists.

About the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, and are made possible through the generosity of Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, New York Life Foundation, Command Companies, The New York Times, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, The Herb Block Foundation, the Salamander Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and numerous other individual, foundation, and corporate funders; and, for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Wunderkinder Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, and Academy of American Poets.

For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, visit artandwriting.org. Additional details about the Awards can be found in the Scholastic media room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.

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SOURCE Alliance for Young Artists & Writers