Congratulations to Cameron P. Busby of Whitmore Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona, first place winner of the 2008 Creative Writing Contest. Congratulations are also in order for 2nd place winner, Ananda Boyd-Ewing of Elsie Whitlow Stokes Public Charter School in Washington D.C., 3rd place winner Kasey Bruce of Sheridan Elementary School in San Francisco, CA and honorable mention winner Noah Dearth of Our Lady of the Ridge School in St. Worth, Illinois. And a special thank you to all the participating coordinators, students and teachers who made this contest possible. View the finalists' winning entries.

Q&A with Fifth Grader Cameron P. Busby

What was your inspiration for this poem?

I started thinking of all the reasons people come to this country. I thought of my friends who came here and my ancestors as inspiration for this poem.

Do you have any friends who are immigrants?

I have one friend who is an immigrant and another friend whose parents are immigrants.

Do you have a favorite writer?

Stephen King. I love scary books.

You use a lot of heavy imagery in your poem. Why?

My teacher always says, "Show, don't tell." I could have just said 'war is war,' but I wanted to show it, like when I mentioned the torn sock.

You wrote about America being a refuge? How is America a "refuge" and how do you feel about immigration?

I think a lot of immigrants are coming to this country. Some are not being treated as well as people who are citizens, but I think that for the most part it's a safe place for them. Our country is a little safer than other countries and lots of people come here for a better life. And I think that they do find it.

2008 National Judges Biographies:

AILF also extends a special thank you to the national contest judges who took time out their busy schedules to judge this important contest. Teachers, contest finalists and their family members feel especially privileged to have such esteemed authors, activists and contributors to the immigration dialogue judge the contest.

Dave Eggers

Acclaimed author and activist, Dave Eggers writes for change. Author of the memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000), the novel You Shall Know Our Velocity! (2002), the story collection How We Are Hungry (2004), and most recently the novel What Is the What (2006) which chronicles "Lost Boy of Sudan" Valentino Achak Deng. Eggers is also co-founder of 826 Valencia, a network of nonprofit writing and tutoring centers for young people, founder of McSweeney's, a magazine and book-publishing company and was the inspiration for the Voice of Witness book series which follows contemporary human rights issues through oral history. He also edits a collection of fiction, essays, and journalism called The Best American Non-Required Reading. Eggers lives in San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and daughter.

Gish Jen

Gish Jen is the celebrated author of Typical American (1991), Mona in the Promise Land (1996), Who's Irish (1999), The Love Wife (2004) and a slew of short stories featured in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Jen's illuminating novels explore the theme of adolescence and the search for self within the larger search for cultural identity. The theme of immigration, assimilation and the never ending quest for the "American Dream" also resonate throughout her notable work. Jen is a second generation Chinese American who currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and children.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Senator Edward M. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for forty-three years and is now the second most senior member of the Senate. Elected in 1962 to finish the final two years of the Senate term of his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy, Senator Kennedy has championed innumerous causes that benefit the citizens of Massachusetts and the nation at large. Among these important issues, Kennedy has fought tirelessly for education and immigration reform, defending the rights of workers and their families, strengthening civil rights and assisting individuals with disabilities. Kennedy is the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and is a graduate of Harvard University. He currently resides in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy.

Mary Williams

Author of award-winning children's book, Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan (2005), Mary Williams has lived throughout the United States and Africa. She has held positions with several humanitarian organizations, including the International Rescue Committee and UNESCO. In 2000, Williams met some of the Lost Boys of Sudan who had relocated to the United States. She was so moved by their story that she created The Lost Boys Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about these young men and organizing resources to help them. An activist and friend of AILF's Curriculum Center, Williams spoke at our last Teachers' Symposium in Washington, D.C. focusing on African Migration and Immigration. Williams lives in Arizona.