National Writing Project at WVU Writing Excellence Award

The National Writing Project at WVU is excited to present our second annual award for a West Virginia teacher writer. This year, our award goes to a teacher who is actively and regularly amplifying her teacherly perspective for an audience of West Virginian educators on the West Virginia Council of Teachers of English Best Practices Blog. The 2020 National Writing Project at WVU Writing Excellence Award goes to Adrin Fisher for her collection of posts in 2019. She will receive a plaque and $100 Barnes and Noble gift card. 

Our judges placed value on Ms. Fisher’s authenticity and attention to audience, expressing that “there’s a real person with a real voice writing these blog posts—they fulfill the tricky twin purposes of a blog of being informal while also informative and well written,” full of “actionable and topical” ideas. Ms. Fisher’s writing shows relevant range, from “the pragmatic to the more abstract or philosophical” and are “a joy to read.” Adrin Fisher’s work professionalizes teacher voice, publicizes the complex practice of being in the classroom, and provides a model for the readers in her care. 

For many years, we have focused professional development opportunities that include time for teachers  to engage in their own writing. We all know how important it is for a teacher to model writing and to write beside their students, but making our writing public, submitting our work for peer review, and receiving editorial critique, are all elements of publishing that are significant experiences in a writer’s life. We celebrate the courage and dedication to honing one’s craft, and we want to publicly acknowledge teacher success in doing so. We are happy to recognize Ms. Fisher’s work. 

We hope to recognize more teacher-writers in the future, s0 please remember to nominate your friends, your colleagues, and yourselves as you practice your own writing, regardless of genre, for next year’s award.