Claudia Ann Seaman Award
for Young Writers

My memories of my sister Claudia remain sharp and clear, as does my grief, many years after her death. I hope those of you born long after I began missing Claudia find inspiration in the fact that even though I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of submissions to the award that carries my sister’s name, every year’s entries are fresh, surprising, and deeply gratifying. That is what art does. It transcends everyday life and time. Art reaches far beneath the surface, and illuminates what is unchanging and universal in the human experience. Those of us who love literature have found a soul-sustaining passion and wellspring of knowledge and inspiration, pleasure, wit, and beauty.

The Seaman family established the award in memory of my sister, a young poet, with the generous support of the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, in our hometown, Poughkeepsie, New York. We are thrilled to partner in this exciting endeavor with Polyphony Lit, this innovative, student-run, global literary magazine for and by high school writers and editors. 

Members of Polyphony Lit's editorial staff read and comment on submissions to the Seaman Award for Young Writers with the goal of nurturing the writing community, connecting young writers and editors, and enabling young writers to reach a wider audience. Our hope is that participants will better understand the impact their writing has on readers, and that the close scrutiny of editors will help writers perceive greater possibility in their work. We are so fortunate in having three prominent writers serve as judges each year, selecting the winners and runners-up from the poems and works of fiction and creative nonfiction accepted for publication in each volume of Polyphony Lit.

​

Donna Seaman | Senior Editor, Booklist