The first “English isn’t Dead” Festival was held last Wednesday by the WSC Writing Club. The evening was filled with activities, games and contests all pertaining to the language and literature department.

“For this being the first attempt, I think it went really well,” freshman Stephanie Hempel, event coordinator, said. “People came out and really enjoyed themselves.”

Patrons first enjoyed munching on cookies and sipping on lemonade as they discovered the language and literature classes that are offered next fall.

Students could participate in a short-fiction writing contest hosted by Stephanie Marcellus’ Fiction Writing class. Attendees of the festival chose slips of paper containing a one-sentence prompt written by the class and were then sent off to write one page of a flash-fiction story. The top three stories were chosen by the class and will be published in full on The Wayne Stater Online.

The winners of the contest were first place Sean Garner, second place Mike Grove and third place went to Haley Koeppe and Jamie Held.

All the pictures taken during the evening and winners of the writing contest will be posted on the WSC Writing Club’s Facebook page.

Students could also compete in a Gothic Literature-themed trivia game, take pictures in the photo-booth and add to the quote wall.

“It was an opportunity to have a mini-experience of all the classes,” Stephanie Marcellus, assistant professor of English and advisor of the WSC Writing Club, said.

Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, and the WSC Press were also exhibited for attendees to learn about.

“The festival was nice because it wasn’t just for English majors,” Cailyn Johnson, an English education major, said. “It was open for all to pass through and check out.”

After an hour of milling around the informational tables, everyone was given a chance to read their fiction or poetry pieces during the “open-mic” session.

“I think it’s an important to have opportunities like open-mic for students to feel comfortable and express themselves,” Hempel said. “Everyone came together to participate and gave their support to the readers and performers.

“The freedom and possibilities for students to take action on this campus are endless.”

To read the full edition of each students’s work from the fiction-writing contest, visit www.thewaynestater.com.