Local Student Places Third in National Writing Contest

Elliott Feldman

Door County can certainly boast its share of heralded authors. From Norb Blei, writer of 17 books of non-fiction, fiction, poetry and essays, to Richard E. Carter, winner of the Ellis/Henderson Outdoor Writing Award for Through the Cabin Door, the list of published poets and writers who call Door County home is impressive.

The newest member of this elite club may also be the youngest. After winning first place at the state level with his poem, “The Lake,” nine-year-old Sturgeon Bay resident, Elliott Feldman’s winning entry went on to the National Level, sponsored by PBS Kids.

Winners at the national level were selected by a prestigious judging panel including Grammy Award nominated singer-songwriter Jewel, acclaimed children’s author and illustrator Mo Willems, and two-time Children’s Book Award author and illustrator, Jarrett Krosoczka.

Feldman’s poem placed third in the third grade level from over thousands of submissions from 63 participating stations across the country.

“As his parents, of course we were very proud of Elliott’s book,” explained his mom, Holly Feldman. “It wasn’t until we were showing it to friends and family that we knew he had done something special.”

A page from Feldman’s poem, “The Lake.”

Elliott wrote the poem about observing nature after visiting his uncle’s cabin in Eagle River in the summer of 2011, when he was just eight. The Feldmans saw the advertisement for the PBS contest one day when Elliott was home sick from school last winter. Holly encouraged him to add some illustrations to his poem and submit it for the contest just to “keep him busy.”

“When Elliott came to me with his first illustration of the Great Egret, I remember telling him that he wasn’t allowed to trace the image…the detail was that good,” said his dad, Jason Feldman. “It ended up that he had simply researched the birds he wanted to draw and was drawing them freehand, adding details from memory.”

Though his parents have toyed with the idea of publishing his work, they haven’t made any definite plans as of yet.

“It might be cool to check my book out of the library some day,” said Elliott. “But right now, I’ll just keep writing and drawing…and playing soccer.”

Elliott lives in Sturgeon Bay with his parents and two sisters, Georgia and Scout.

For more information about the contest, visit http://www.pbskids.org/writerscontest.