Einstein Student Selected As Finalist in Short Story Contest

A Kensington teen is a finalist in a short story contest hosted by the Gaithersburg Book Festival.

Halcyon Ruskin, of , was selected out of a pool of 141 applicants to be one of the 13 finalists for the festival's second annual high school contest.

The first, second and third place winners will be announced on May 19 at the festival, where they will get the chance to read their short stories in front of an audience.

Award-winning mystery author of The Girl Next Door: A Mystery Brad Parks and novelist Jennifer Miller, who wrote The Year of the Gadfly, will choose the winners. 

“To see our entry pool grow by more than 20 percent is exciting,” Jud Ashman, festival chair and City of Gaithersburg councilmember, said. “Even better, our round one judges, two of whom are repeats from last year’s contest, said this year’s judging was even more challenging.”

Read Ruskin's story Twine on the book festival's website.