Burgeoning young writers were the focus of this year’s SLUDTERA Literary Arts Awards.
Held to commemorate the efforts of youth storytellers, the event took place on Wednesday and honoured 11 writers from multiple secondary schools, who received both Songtry and Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition national awards.
Denney Estava, a student of the Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School (LHCSS), took home the overall 2025 Songtry Youth of the Year award.
“It feels good, I didn’t expect to get this award,” Estava said during his acceptance speech. “I just try to participate in everything that’s going on, like the commonwealth essay and songtry competitions, because these things can open many doors for us as young people.”
The Songtry Literary Excellence Awards recognise outstanding achievement across multiple creative disciplines. Estava also received Songtry awards in the Visual Arts, Global Crisis and Poetry categories.
“I’m very proud of Denney, and I pray that whatever’s happening here today, it will inspire other young people to write,” said Estava’s mother during a celebratory speech.
Songtry Literary Excellence Award winners also included Entrepot Secondary School’s Katalia Felix and St Joseph’s Convent’s Amalia Victor in the Global Crisis category, which recognises visual art pieces illustrating youth responses to crisis.
Merkisha Justin, Samuella Bertrand, Latoya Jadel Murray and Iyana Aaliyah Paul received awards in the Literary Arts category, which recognises strong creative writing.
Nathaniel Charles received the award in the Visual Arts category, which recognises young people who demonstrate exceptional creativity and originality in the visual arts.
Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025 national awardees included St Joseph’s Convent’s Melanie Alcee and LHCSS’ Denney Estava, in the under-14 category. Iyana Aaliyah Paul of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) and Phaedra Auguste of LHCSS received awards for participating in the 14-18 category.
Merkisha Justin of the Sir Ira Simmons Secondary School and Malachai Bondiemaitre of the Vieux Fort Secondary School were both awarded bronze medals for their pieces, while Samuella Bertrand of the Babonneau Secondary School emerged as the gold medallist.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025 national awards ceremony is overseen by SLUDTERA, which also organises the Literary Arts Awards. The event aims to encourage young people to continue the art and practice of writing. Overall winners of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition were announced on November 6, 2025.
