The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Dexter teen author's work recognized nationally
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 10, 2008
One of Dexter's teen authors recently earned a major honor as a writer and artist.
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Alice Thomsen, 18, received an honorable mention in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) youngARTS program.
Thomsen was one of more than 8,000 17- and 18-year-old applicants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories who submitted their work for consideration.
She was chose from the top 5 percent of applicants to receive the honor for her short stories "Bending Spoons" and "Sunrise."
The Interlochen Arts Academy student, who resides in Dexter when she isn't living on campus, said that she would like to join the likes of Tom Grace as a successful, renowned author.
She was a Dexter High School student for three years before transferring.
"I would love to be a wildly successful novelist living in the Bahamas," Thomsen said, but she isn't betting the farm on it.
"Realistically, I'm planning on going to college and studying creative writing and getting a second degree in something that would provide me with marketable skills."
Thomsen typically shoots for novel-length works, so her entry package of short pieces was a change of pace, she said.
Her second passion is music. She played the bassoon in school and continues to practice.
Thomsen plans on going to the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University or Knox College in Illinois. She also has choices in Boston or California.
Ultimately, she would like to end up in an urban area for a time.
"My writing is focused on setting as well as characters, which has been sort of inconvenient for me because I prefer urban settings, but live in Dexter," she said.
"I don't have a lot of experience with city life. I feel like a writer should be exposed to as many different settings as possible, so I want to see more of the world."
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