PHOTO COURTESY SCI-FEST LA
Each May, the Pasadena Playhouse District transforms into a literary mecca. Its streets, alleyways, the playhouse itself and surrounding buildings teem with novelists, memoirists, journalists, food writers, political columnists and actors who cross the brick-laden streets to attend LitFest Pasadena.
This year, L.A. Parent was a proud sponsor of a Litfest Pasadena event called The Tomorrow Prize, a sci-fi writing contest and reading event that brings together L.A. County high school writers, actors and live performance.
At the Tomorrow Prize Awards and Reading ceremony held May 19 inside the Playhouse, professional actors and producers whose credits include “Star Wars: Clone Wars,” “Orbital Redux,” “Fringe” and “Scandal” performed the finalists’ stories, bringing the young writers’ words to life before a packed audience. I was excited to co-present the first-place award with YA novelist Lilliam Rivera to Megan Vidovich, a junior at Port of Los Angeles High School. Actress Anna Graves sent chills up our spines as she read Vidovich’s vivid and suspenseful story “Night,” which we are excited to share. Click here to read it.
The Tomorrow Prize is presented by the Light Bringer Project and Sci-Fest LA, and the presenting sponsor is vfxNova. Other sponsors include LitFest Pasadena, the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and Los Angeles Audubon (which sponsors the Green Feather Award for stories centering on environmental issues).
Vidovich’s award includes a $250 check from vfxNOVA, a free online course with the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and the publication of her story in L.A. Parent. “This is my first time writing sci-fi,” Vidovich said. “I think I’ll do it again.”
Yes, yes. Please do.
For more information, visit the Lightbringer Project.
PHOTO COURTESY SCI-FEST LA.
