Four Catasauqua High School students recently had their works published in the book “Twisted Tales.”

“Twisted Tales” is a collection of stories from Young Writers. Young Writers holds a number of contests challenging young writers to explore different scenarios and themes.

“Twisted Tales” asks writers to compose a 100-word work about “a classic villainous character, or think outside the box and consider the baddies in the world around them, from natural disasters and the animal kingdom to hackers and corruption,” according to the Young Writers website. Students are asked to “explore characterization and the effect of the narrator and perspective on a story” and are encouraged to “put a twist on the classic narrative of good vs. evil to show us the other side of the story.”

CHS English teacher Andrew Gruver said CHS Principal Adam Schnug brought the contest to his attention in October or November 2022.

“I thought it was a unique contest because the students could only use 100 words to compose their piece,” Gruver said.

Since he had gifted writers in his honors class, he pitched the idea to them first and had two students opt to participate. He also shared the information with his T.A. at the time, whom he taught when she was a freshman, and her brother.

All four of the CHS students - Brianna, Kayla, Alivia and Zach - were chosen to have their works published. Young Writers reportedly received more the 16,000 entries for the latest edition of “Twisted Tales.” Each student received a copy of the book with their published works.

“I was really excited for the students who made it into the book,” Gruver said. “It has to be a great feeling for them seeing their names published.”

Gruver noted he asked each of the students to sign their works in his copy of the book.

This may be the start of something wonderful for CHS students, as Gruver noted he received information about another Young Writers contest, and he is continuing to offer these opportunities to his students.

“In today’s world of education, it seems like there are less and less moments when you’re reminded why you wanted to be a teacher in the first place,” Gruver reported. “This was one of those moments for me. I could tell that the students were excited.”