Common Reader Recommendations for 2022-2023
The NEHS Advisory Council seeks recommendations for the Common Reader for the 2022-2023 school year. The texts, fiction or non-fiction, should be of sufficient challenge to engage rising seniors in critical thinking and to prompt excellent analysis. Due to cost implications, texts already published in paperback form are considered first. Send recommendations to NEHS Director Dave Wendelin no later than January 31, 2022. A survey of the compiled suggestions will be sent to all chapters in February 2022 to further guide the selection.
Membership
NEHS is open to high school students and select faculty who have demonstrated exceptional ability in such areas as literary analysis, media studies, composition, linguistic study, and creative writing, and who meet the requirements of membership.
NEHS Members Inducted
2020-2021
Active Chapters
Chapters
Each chapter plans and directs a program of activities in order to develop the community of people who are interested in English. Participation in chapter activities is one of the most valuable benefits of NEHS membership; the kinds of appropriate activities are limited only by the members' imaginations.
The Common Reader
The Advisory Council has selected The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri as the Common Reader for the 2022 scholarship competition. Lefteri’s stunning text of the journey of refugees from war-torn Syria to England won the 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize. Lefteri herself worked in a refugee camp in Athens, seeing firsthand the trauma of travelers forced to flee their homeland. Time magazine reporter Naina Bajekal writes that “by creating characters with such rich, complex inner lives, Lefteri shows that in order to stretch compassion to millions of people, it helps to begin with one.” (Time, September 2, 2019).
Applicants for the NEHS Scholarships are to select this text as the basis of their application submissions, which will be due January 10, 2022.
Scholarships
Annually, NEHS offers a variety of scholarships valued at up to $5,000 for active NEHS members planning on enrolling full time in two-year and four-year colleges.
$5,000 Scholarship
Berklee College of Music, MA
Saxon Kennedy
The Sagemont School, FL
$1,000 Scholarship
Spelman College, GA
Samiyah Kelly
Allentown High School, NJ
$2,000 Scholarship
University of Notre Dame, IN
Adrian Noy
Christopher Columbus High School, FL
$4,000 Scholarship
University of California San Diego, CA
Chloe Anne Borja
West Covina High School, CA
2021-2022 Writing Contest
