"It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest
The Ann Arbor District Library is excited to host its 26th annual “It’s All Write!” Teen Writing Contest in Spring 2018! Young Adult authors take part as judges each year, who then read and select the winning stories. Stories are judged in three different categories: Grades 6-8, Grades 9 & 10, and Grades 11 & 12. The top three writers in each age group receive fabulous prizes. This is an ever-growing, international contest.
2018 "It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest
Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners of this year's It's All Write contest! The winners were announced at the Teen Writing Festival on June 10 and are also listed below. Stories will be published on the library website this summer! All winners and finalists will receive their certificates in the mail if they did not attend the Teen Writing Festival, and winners will receive their award and prize money in the mail within 3 weeks. Thanks to all who participated in this year's contest! The 2019 It's All Write contest will begin in January of next year.
2018 Winners in Flash Fiction:
Grades 6-8:
1st place: Turner Touliuszis "The Wyvern"
2nd place: Tiffany Li "Probably Just Teenager Crap"
3rd place: Felicity Rosa-Davies "My Father's Favorite Star"
Grades 9-10:
1st place: Elyse Thomas "Tale of Black Culture"
2nd place: Claire Robinson "Camera Roll"
3rd place: Lexie Burns "Colors of the Dead"
Grades 11-12:
1st place: Tanvi Jaikamal "I Didn't Mean To"
2nd place: Deeya Chaturvedi "Stage Fright"
3rd place: Ronia Cabansag "Dinner"
2018 Winners in Short Story:
Grades 6-8:
1st place: Charlotte Sovka "Diaspora"
2nd place: Anonymous "Level Nine"
3rd place: Aubrey Pierson "Mr. Linden's Library"
Grades 9-10:
1st place: Kira Brehob "What's Your Name?"
2nd place: Annilee Hampton "Crossed-off Dates and Missed Events"
3rd place: Noah Wilson "Almost Home"
Grades 11-12:
1st place: Anonymous "To Us, He is Eliah"
2nd place: Mary Collins "Clockwork"
3rd place: Karen Liu "Sunscreen for Survival"
2017 "It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest
"It's All Write!" Awards Ceremony 2017
569 writers sent their stories to the 2017 "It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest! Below is a list of the 2017 winners and finalists.
2017 Winners in Flash Fiction:
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Lily Patterson | "25 Pills" |
| 2nd | Madeline Gupta | "The Color Blue" |
| 3rd | Jeremy Klooster | "The Cycle" |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Julianna Eng | "A Hymn from a Mother" |
| 2nd | Seun Ajepe | "They Came for My Tusks" |
| 3rd | Jessica Xu | "The Orange Tree" |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Darby Baird | "Unseen" |
| 2nd | Mackenzie Konschuh | "The Monsters in Us" |
| 3rd | Miranda McCarthy | "Open New File" |
2017 Winners in Short Story:
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Billie Hoffmann | "Dans le Trou de Lapin (Down the Rabbit Hole)" |
| 2nd | Delaney Christy | "5 Million 270 Thousand Seconds" |
| 3rd | Amber Yu | "Why I Loved You" |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Adam Whitbeck | "The Sky and the Land" |
| 2nd | Sophie Nadel | "The Traveling Hat" |
| 3rd | Julia Somma | "His & Hers" |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Anya Svintsitski | "Watchman" |
| 2nd | Sara Roza | "Leave the Doors Open" |
| 3rd | Kaleigh Perkins | "California" |
View 2017 Finalist Stories
View All 2017 Submissions
2016 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Around 496 writers sent their stories to the 2016 "It's All Write!" Teen Short Story Contest! Below is a list of the 2016 winners.
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Chioma Ilozor | "Where We Belong" |
| 2nd | Deniz Kirca | "My Father's Memories" |
| 3rd | Elizabeth Plotner | "The Cage" |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Samantha Pyo | "Unprecedented" |
| 2nd | Zoe Lubetkin | "To Desire the Sky" |
| 3rd | Tiffany Vembenil | "Dear Dawn" |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Devin Quinn | "Lock's Wasteland" |
| 2nd | Samuel Giedzinski | "The Painter's Foe" |
| 3rd | Katherine Horning | "Coming Out" |
View 2016 Finalist Stories
View All 2016 Submissions
Enjoy the stories and happy writing!
2015 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Around 571 writers sent their stories to the 2015 "It's All Write!" Teen Short Story Contest! Below is a list of the 2015 winners.
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Madilynn O’Hara | "Why Walter Adams Cheated at Bingo" |
| 2nd | Laura Edwards | "Sea Smiles" |
| 3rd | Anonymous | "Living Among the Dead" |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Felicia Danu | "Tethered" |
| 2nd | Ella Staats | "Jessie" |
| 3rd | Michelle Glans | "Alive (على قيد الحياة)" |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Tiffany Wang | "A Girl, in Seven Parts" |
| 2nd | Devin Quinn | "Night-Birds" |
| 3rd | Hannah McSorley | "Amongst the Stars" |
View 2015 Finalist Stories
View All 2015 Submissions
2014 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Around 358 teen writers turned in stories for the 2014 "It's All Write!" teen short story contest. Below is a list of the 2014 winners (and past winners) from the It's All Write! contest, including a list of the 2014 finalists. You can also read the compiled 2014 "It's All Write!" Book as well as a full list of submissions.
Middle School Winners
| 1st | Zoe Lubetkin | "Jumping for the Young and Rash" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Elena Bernier | "The Elevator" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Mary Collins | "The Gryphon Trainer" | Text-Only Version |
9th-10th Grade Winners
| 1st | Avis Zane | "Saint Simone Against the Fear" | ||
| 2nd | Kelsey Towne | "Aspartame" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Jackson Hassell | "The Daedalus Network" | Text-Only Version |
11-12th Grade Winners
| 1st | Eveline Liu | "a lonely hunter" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Annie Gao | "The Baby Maker" | ||
| 3rd | Nina Shallman | "At the Pond" |
2014 Finalists in three grade categories:
6-8th Grade:
| Elena Bernier "The Elevator" Henry Branch "The Immigrant Kid" Text-Only Version Mary Collins "The Gryphon Trainer" Text-Only Version Heidi Hepler "Why the Opposum has a Pouch" Text-Only Version Mallery A. Bee "Love and Loss: The Way the World Turns" Text-Only Version Hannah Kathryn Cohen "Girls Don't Wear Dog Tags" Text-Only Version Celia Kessler "Paper" Text-Only Version Ryan Klooster "Ice" Text-Only Version |
Emily Lancaster "Nukasāna" Text-Only Version Zoe Lubetkin "Jumping For the Young and Rash" Text-Only Version Celeste Pan "Perfekte Fehl" Text-Only Version Bridget Roberts "Snowman for Sam" Text-Only Version Emma Roth "Jailbird" Text-Only Version Lydia Stevens "Just a Few Folds" Text-Only Version Christopher Zou"Gentlemen Love Money" Text-Only Version |
9-10th Grade:
|
Aleyah Austin "Lonely Landscapes" Text-Only Version Kate Cohee "Can I Climb Them?" Text-Only Version Sarah DeMont "With Clouds Above Me" Text-Only Version Catherine Garton "When I Fall" Text-Only Version Jackson Hassell "The Daedalus Network" Text-Only Version |
Maariya Mahmood "A Sightless World" Text-Only Version Emerald Norman "Lumina" Text-Only Version Mya Torres "The House of Horrors" Text-Only Version Kelsey Towne "Aspartame" Text-Only Version Avis Zane "Saint Simone Against the Fear" |
11-12th Grade:
|
Hanel Baveja "Kelani" Annie Gao "The Baby Maker" Katherine Hernandez "Ammunition" Text-Only Version Katheryne Johnston "The Last Piece" Lydia Kibler Evans "The Bird Girl" Text-Only Version |
Eveline Liu "a lonely hunter" Text-Only Version Jacqueline Ose "Under the City" Text-Only Version Ben Ratner "A Different Woman" Text-Only Version Ellen Sauer "Recapitulation" Text-Only Version Nina Shallman "At the Pond" |
2013 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Around 335 teen writers turned in stories for the 2013 "It's All Write!" short story writing contest. Click on the titles below to read the stories. You can also read the entire 2013 "It's All Write!" Book. Below is a list of the 2013 winners (and past winners) from the It's All Write! contest, including a list of the 2013 finalists. Read all other submissions that the AADL received here.
Middle School Winners:
| 1st | Cynthia Jia | "The Soles of Our Shoes" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Sofia Kwok | "Beach Glass" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Mary Collins | "The Invasion of Lizzy Burnell" | Text-Only Version |
High School 9th/10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Marie Martelli | "The Gourd Tree" | ||
| 2nd | Milo Davidson | "The Prisoner's Dilemma" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Steven Schulte | "Sunstep" | Text-Only Version |
High School 11th/12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Allison Light | "Going Once" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Josie Benson | "Buoyancy" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Leah Awkward-Rich | "Breach" | Text-Only Version |
2013 Finalists in three grade categories:
Middle School:
| Amy Daley "Summers at Lily Manor" Text-Only Version Ian Gates "Collage of the Mask" Text-Only Version Catherine Garton "Glazed Over" Text-Only Version Julia Graham "A Dark Cloud Around the Moon" Text-Only Version Elise Hoffman "Freedom" Text-Only Version Ellie Howell "Breaking Ice" Text-Only Version Tanvi Jaikamal "Friends" Text-Only Version Delace Jia "The Contest" Text-Only Version Zane Jones ”Misled” Text-Only Version |
Nicole Knauer ”Bittersweet Notes” Text-Only Version Miranda McCarthy ”Philosophy of Stars” Text-Only Version James Read ”Terrible Top” Text-Only Version Erika Smith ”The Assassin” Text-Only Version Carson Snyder ”Unknown Love” Text-Only Version Zoe Stephan ”Letters to Julia” Text-Only Version Mary Xu ”Fairy Tale” Text-Only Version Hannah Zonnevylle ”The Rapid Escalation of Tragedy” Text-Only Version |
High School 9th/10th Grade:
| Elise Blaauw ”An Empty Hanger” Text-Only Version Cody Caplette ”The Feeling” Text-Only Version Woojung Jo ”Choose Your Own Fortune" Text-Only Version Sarah Elizabeth Kimsey ”With Possible Side Effects" Text-Only Version Sharon Lee "Citizen Lydia Harrow" Tashi Stewart ”The Dead Sisterhood" Text-Only Version Waleed Vaid ”With Every Hardship Comes Ease" Text-Only Version Catherine Valdez ”Colony Collapse Syndrome" Text-Only Version Katherine Weber ”The Little Things" Text-Only Version |
High School 11th/12th Grade:
| Hanel Baveja "Ambassadors of Nostalgia" Matt Chervin ”Amidst the Lilies" Text-Only Version Rishindra Chinta ”Shrimposium" Mari Cohen ”Ringtones and Reasons" Text-Only Version Alexa Derman ”On Atticus" Text-Only Version Megan Estey”One Million Realities" Text-Only Version Maeher Grewal ”Where the Moon Does Not Rise in Argentina" Text-Only Version Yoojin Hahn ”But Howard is Not a Character" Text-Only Version Christian Koch ”Different World, Same Story" Text-Only Version Kate Lipman ”Eden's Forest" Text-Only Version Thomas Morin ”Chalk" Text-Only Version Madeline Woods ”The Great Appliance Rebellion" Text-Only Version |
2012 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Around 350 teen writers turned in stories for the 2012 "It's All Write!" short story writing contest. Click on the titles below to read the stories or get the entire [2012 "It's All Write!" Book].
Middle School Winners:
| 1st | Elise Blaauw | "Expressionless" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 2nd | Sarah Kopacz | "Like Summer Rain" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 3rd | Kristen Hayden | "Shades" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
High School 9th/10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Hannah Blaaux | "The Glass Cage" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 2nd | Leon Pescador | "When the Sky Falls" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 3rd | Madeline Woods | "The Rapid Evolution from Dumpee to Dumper" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
High School 11th/12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Madeleine Bradford | "Everything but Wings" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 2nd | Josie Benson | "Black Walnut" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
| 3rd | Vanessa Decker | "Sadie's Eyes" | [PDF] | [Text-Only Version] |
2012 finalists in the three grade categories:
Middle School:
High School 9th/10th Grade:
| Rebekah Barfield ["Justice Among the Pines"] [Text-Only Version] Helen Blaauw ["The Glass Cage"] [Text-Only Version] Emily Clark ["The Color Red"] [Text-Only Version] Rebekah E. Cline ["Secrets of the Greatest Age"] [Text-Only Version] Meaghan Haling ["Lucky Archer" ] [Text-Only Version] Mary Hasty ["Thesus"] [Text-Only Version] Maria Meier ["Stolen by the Wind"] [Text-Only Version] |
Leon Pescador ["When the Sky Falls"] [Text-Only Version] Dana Shin ["Bits and Pieces" ] [Text-Only Version] Wendy Weston ["Beloved"] [Text-Only Version] Madeline Woods ["The Rapid Evolution from Dumpee to Dumper"] [Text-Only Version] Vincent Zahm [“Invincible”] [Text-Only Version] Sherry Zhang ["Ensnared Within the Binding Phantasm"] [Text-Only Version] |
High School 11th/12th Grade:
2011 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Over 340 teen writers turned in stories for the 2011 "It's All Write!" short story writing contest. Click on the titles below to read the stories or get the entire 2011 "It's All Write!" Book.
Middle School Winners:
| 1st | Samantha Puckorius | "Clark and Davidson" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Carissa Skye | "Nexus" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Dani Smotrich-Barr | "Raindrop" | Text-Only Version |
High School 9th/10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Madeleine Bradford | "I Will Not Forget to Speak" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Emily Xiao | "Importance of Being Intact" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Erin Baughn | "To Fix the World" | Text-Only Version |
High School 11th/12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Alexia Antoniou | "TAPS" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Ben DeVries | "Running" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Logan Kilpela | "Herra's Nation" | Text-Only Version |
2011 finalists in the three grade categories:
Middle School:
| Matthew Boone “Fading Angel” Elena Chambers “Conquering Samantha Hudson” Connor Dehring "Baseball and Bullies" Genera Fields "The Girl That Hated Fairy Tales” Hannah Foster "Finding the Light” Emma Gillies "Arala's Tale” Ross Grogan-Kaylor "Raid on Seafort” Cynthia Jia "Feathers" Alban Jimenez "You Can Go Home on the Moving Train--I Will Build the Tracks" Sarah Beth Kimsey "Maurice's Departure" |
Eli Kirshner "Theft of No Value" Sarah Kopacz "Where We Belong" Kate Lukomski "Bella" Erica Noble "Mark's Story" Sloan Olsen "Never Thought I Was” Paloma Paez-Coombe "The Glass Bottle” Madi Rhea "Rain in the Forecast” Nate Simon "Fifty Feet” Alma Thompson "Fort Independence” |
High School 9th/10th Grade:
| Rebecca Amidei "Flawless" Stephanie Boyd "The Freshie" Iona Grosu "Passing Trains" Aglaia Ho "The Song of the Butterfly" Quinn Johns "Bread and Circuses" Piper Kachman "The Beginning of the End" Kate Lipman "Mammoth Games" |
Lydia Munz "Ropeburns and Cigarette Scars" Kaitlin Ruiz "Taking the Leap" Abby Shotwell "Perfection as a Science" Gabrielle Vuylsteke "The Blind Girl and the Protegee" Wendy Wiland "Wings" Sid Wilder "The Visit" |
High School 11th/12th Grade:
| Jing Chai "My America" Mark Cortes "Unsatisfied Customer" Michelle Grifka "Surprises" Alyssa Holmes "Photo Album" Hannah Kagan "The Sound of Silence" Logan LeDuc "Brittle" |
Brianna Matava "Window Washer" Andrea Nicholson "Selfish" Victoria Parr "Outside of God's Shadow" Emmeline Ringquist "Greetings" Kim Tran "Minotaur in the Darkness" Margaret Whittier-Ferguson "Stop Bath" |
2010 "It's All Write!" Short Story Contest
Over 250 teen writers turned in stories for the 2010 "It's All Write!" short story writing contest. Click on the titles below to read the stories or get the entire 2010 "It's All Write!" Book.
Middle School Winners:
| 1st | Ifeoma Irobunda | "The Garden Gnome" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Jessica Liu | "Hana" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Hanel Baveja | "My Brother, Isaac" | Text-Only Version |
High School 9th/10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | A. Bishel | "The Bird Syndrome" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Rose Condon | "Canon In D" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Erin Baughn | "Switched" | Text-Only Version |
High School 11th/12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Allison Burg | "Cappuccino Girl" | Text-Only Version | |
| 2nd | Kayla Stoler | "It's Like a Sanctuary" | Text-Only Version | |
| 3rd | Jasmine An | "I Care" | Text-Only Version |
2010 finalists in the three grade categories:
Middle School:
| Emily Austin “Mrs. Mugglewump” Caitlin Bowen “Monster” Christy Choi “Reading Beauty" Erika Dunkelberger “The Ride” Claire Fishman “Found and Lost” Quinn Johns “The Siege of Alesia” Noah W. Luntzlara “Arcade” |
Marissa Martzolff “Following Moss and Stars" Grace McGibbon “Death, Divorce, Doughnuts & Red Ferraris” Rishika Ramireddy “A Second Chance” Andrea Scheffler “Death in Her Eyes” Tanner Smart “Rogues Revealed: A Tale of Traitors & Heroes” Jacqueline Way “Getting Up” |
High School 9th/10th Grade:
| Maggie Bonar “Revolution’s End” Jing Chai “The Sailor Moon Card” Maxwell Klausner “A Step into Manhood" Christa Kuck “Bailey” Susan LaMoreaux “Swimsuit Situation” Kristen Lee “At the End” |
Jessica MacDonald “Heaven Isn’t a Place” Summer Moore “Hyperactive Hyperbole” Aminah Muhammad “Mommy’s Girl” Brittany Newell “The Tuckers” Yunhan Wei “Karma” Belinda Zoller “The Number” |
High School 11th/12th Grade:
| Gabrielle Cohen “In a Line” Nasha deBryun “Nadia” Kelly Falkowski “Card Tricks” Michelle Grifka “Fresh Start” Zubin Zhan “Ephemeral” Katie Knoll “Pieces” |
Nathan Lannan “Damaged” Alyssa Liljequest “Imposter Navigator” Ian Macdonald “My Hero” Jennifer Pampreen “Weightless” Megan Shiplett “Razzmatazz” Rachel Stokes “Descent”" |