Two Grand Strand high school students win spot in book with Pat Conroy

Two Grand Strand students have had their writings published in a book by the University of South Carolina Press.

Alicia Davenport of Little River and Emily Moore of Murrells Inlet, along with 21 other students from across the state, present their literary talent and problem-solving skills in “Writing South Carolina: Selections from the First High School Writing Contest.”

Pat Conroy, New York Times best-selling author, wrote the foreword for the book and was grand judge of the contest. Steven Lynn, dean of the S.C. Honors College, created the contest that inspired the book and wrote the introduction. The annual contest, sponsored by the Honors College and USC Press, is open to all high school juniors and seniors in the state.

Davenport, a graduate of North Myrtle Beach High School, is the daughter of Rebecca and Gregory Davenport. Moore, a senior at Horry County Schools’ Scholars Academy, is the daughter of Paula and Timothy Moore. They submitted essays written in response to the contest’s topic, “How can we improve the state of South Carolina?” Their second pieces of writing, impromptu essays, were written during the competition’s second round at the USC campus in Columbia.

“Writing South Carolina” is available through local libraries, booksellers, online bookstores and directly from the publisher, 800-768-2500 or www.uscpress.com. The cost is $14.95.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Two Grand Strand high school students win spot in book with Pat Conroy."