Book Fest: Silver Spring Student Named Poetry Contest Finalist

SILVER SPRING, MD — A high school student from Silver Spring has been named as a finalist in the Gaithersburg Book Festival's high school poetry contest. The first-, second-, and third-place winners will be announced on the Festival's website on Friday, May 13.

Anastasia Matveev, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, is a finalist in the contest.

"It is an honor to be able to read these fine poems and it will be very difficult to choose just three," said 2022 judge Gregory Luce in a news release. "The DMV can be proud that it is an incubator for the next generation of poets."

There will be a fan favorite vote that is open until May 13 at 11 p.m. — winners of the fan vote will be announced at the festival on May 21 in Bohrer Park.

"Once again, I am blown away by the talented young writers and poets in our region,” said Jud Ashman, founder of the Festival and Mayor of the City of Gaithersburg in the release. “They have taken the themes of freedom, community and escape, and crafted phenomenal poetry. We are so proud to spotlight all of these budding artists at the Gaithersburg Book Festival.”

Here is the full list of high school poetry contest finalists:

● Lucy Collins – Archbishop Spalding High School (Columbia, MD; grade 11)

● Clara Goldberg – Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, MD; grade 12)

● Mischa Green – Annapolis High School (Glen Burnie, MD; grade 11)

● Naomi Kaul – Northwest High School (Germantown, MD; grade 12)

● Joy Kim – Oakton High School (Oakton, VA; grade 11)

● Anastasia Matveev – Montgomery Blair High School (Silver Spring, MD; grade 12)

● Lilly Rogers – The Bryn Mawr School (Baltimore, MD; grade 9)

● Sarah Siskind – Annapolis High School (Annapolis, MD; grade 12)

● Eugene Tibbs – Landon School (Arlington, VA; grade 11)

● Sophia Toth-Fejel – Archbishop Spalding High School (Millersville, MD; grade 11)

● Jasmin Wu – Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda, MD; grade 10)

● Allison Xu – Walter Johnson High School (Rockville, MD; grade 10)

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is back in person after two years of virtual events. It brings in authors to "foster an interest in reading, writing, and literary conversation" in Gaithersburg, according to the festival's website.

See more about the participating authors here.