Award-winning articles and art this year represent a diverse cross section of youth, with contributors from Maryland, Maine, California, Texas, Massachusetts, India and Pakistan. Winning pieces include a feature written by a Muslim-American about why she wears the hijab; an essay about whether gender is central to sense of self, uniquely co-authored by both a boy and girl; a California teen’s memoir about a service trip to Kenya; and a trio of essays from KidSpirit’s Interfaith Connections department in which a Quaker, a Catholic, and a Pakistani Muslim explore the question of whether searching for truth is an important part of their spiritual tradition. The PerSpectives award, the only recognition for an adult writer, goes to five-time New York Times bestselling author and renowned speaker Caroline Myss for her essay “Why We Need Heroes,” an original piece penned for KidSpirit’s youth readers about silent acts of everyday heroism.

The awards are chosen by over 50 KidSpirit editors in a unique voting process. Each of KidSpirit’s Satellite Editorial Boards, hailing from California to Karachi, along with the home Ed Board in New York, choose the winners. Individual editors select their favorite pieces in KidSpirit’s magazine departments: Features, Media, The Big Question, Awesome Moments, Poetry, Interfaith Connections, PerSpectives, and Art. Just as in KidSpirit’s empowering editorial process, the awards selection is youth-led; winners know that their pieces were chosen by their peers around the country and abroad.

The winners will be honored at KidSpirit’s Annual Awards Celebration in New York City on November 9th, and their pieces published in a full-color Best of KidSpirit Online double compilation volume this September. For a complete list of winners, go to: www.kidspiritonline.com/press.