We’ve known that John Updike won awards as a young man for his creativity, but it’s nice to actually see tangible proof.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards celebrate 90 years of creativity this year as the nation’s longest-running opportunity for students to be recognized for their creative talents.

As their website says, alumni winners include Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates, Ken Burns, and Robert Redford. Now they can add the name of John Updike, whom archivist Haley Richardson (of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, a non-profit associated with Scholastic) discovered in a yellowed publication announcing the 1948 winners. As you can see from the entry below, young Updike won $25 for a gag cartoon he submitted as a sophomore under the direction of his teacher, Carlton Boyer (whose name is misspelled).