“The Telltale Heart,” “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

While many world-renowned authors like Edgar Allan Poe, W. W. Jacobs and Charlotte Perkins Gilman didn’t write their most notable short stories in high school, National English Honor Society and National Art Honor Society are providing passionate student writers an opportunity to showcase their skills.

Senior and NAHS President Grace Perry brought the idea to host a school-wide short story contest to senior and NEHS President Caroline Kaminsky in an effort to publicize the new honor societies.

“[Because] both NEHS and NAHS are relatively new clubs, I thought it would be cool to do something jointly,” Perry said. “The easiest way to combine art with writing is through illustrations.”

After presenting the idea to the rest of NEHS, Kaminsky and Perry connected with seniors Erin Morrisey, Nara Markowitz and Riley Kloostra to create a committee. According to Kloostra, she, Morrisey, Markowitz and Perry met and planned all aspects of the contest such as when it would happen, how long the entries could be and how to choose the prizes.

“I was a bit nervous [to lead a committee] at first because I haven’t been in charge of many academic things,” Kloostra said. “But it has been fun and I think [the competition] will be a success.”

The contest began in mid-December and continues through Jan. 28. Writers can compete in fantasy/science fiction, horror, realistic fiction and miscellaneous with stories ranging from 1500 to 3000 words.

To take a break from writing her novel, junior Emma Lazerson accepted the challenge of creating a short story.

“I hope to improve my writing and write with a new voice and through new eyes,” Lazerson said. ‘I think it’s really great that NEHS and NAHS are branching out to initiate student interest in writing.”

When the contest and story judging is complete, NAHS members will host a competition of their own. NAHS members will be encouraged to design a cover to pair with the winning story and a small committee of judges will decide which artists to feature through full-story illustrations. The winning stories, covers and illustrations will be published online.

“We encourage everyone to submit a story,” Kaminsky said. “Even if you don’t consider yourself an excellent writer, we are excited to see what stories EHS has to tell.”