The Ann Arbor District Library is excited to host its 33rd annual “It’s All Write!” Teen Writing Contest in Winter 2025! 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, state-wide contest.
Kids in grades 3-5 can also enter AADL's Write On! short story writing contest.
How to Enter the Contest:
The 2025 It's All Write Teen Writing Contest accepted submissions January 6 - March 2, 2025.
Congratulations to this year's finalists! Click here to see a list of the finalists in all categories.
Winners were announced at our virtual awards ceremony, streamed here, on May 17 at 2pm. Watch the video below to hear the winners announced.
Congratulations to our 2025 contest winners!
2025 Winners in Flash Fiction:
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Medha Pamudurthi | The Key |
| 2nd | Alice Zhu | From a Bittersweet Best Friend |
| 3rd | Anna Wang | Mirror Mirror on the Wall |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Willow Rosenfeld | Passes |
| 2nd | Kira Tribou | Guilt |
| 3rd | Anonymous | Hydrogen |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Rebecca Berry | Shadows Crept |
| 2nd | Crystal Duan | Brothersaurus |
| 3rd | Nathan VanSteenkiste | Maturity |
2025 Winners in Short Story:
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Annabelle Chen | Forgotten |
| 2nd | Anonymous | Best Friends |
| 3rd | Medha Pamudurthi | The Whispers of Willow Creek |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Irene Kim | The Interview |
| 2nd | Amarachi Emole | Variables of Change |
| 3rd | Andrew Buss | The Mouse Mage |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Breanna Swiech | Nonna and I |
| 2nd | Malayna Brink | Invisible World |
| 3rd | Luke Ankeney | The Cosmos Cafe |
2025 Winners in Poetry:
6th-8th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Medha Pamudurthi | I Try |
| 2nd | Elena Franzese | Silly, Little Girl |
| 3rd | Gwen Good | The Sky's Symphony |
9th-10th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Anonymous | Ember |
| 2nd | Benjamin George | Jean Diot & Bruno Lenoir |
| 3rd | Alucard Bruce-Watson | Dreaming That I Was Anything Else |
11th-12th Grade Winners:
| 1st | Ishan Patel | On the Right Side |
| 2nd | Naledge Frierson | Asleep Among Spider Lillies |
| 3rd | Kashifah Hossein | a blind eye, that is |
You can read all of the 2025 submissions from writers who gave AADL permission to publish their work here!
Questions about the contest may be directed to allwrite@aadl.org.
For more information about the contest, including prizes, rules and where to direct questions, see the guidelines below.
1. Take a look at the Poetry Guidelines, Flash Fiction Guidelines and the Short Story Guidelines
2. Write your story! Need some help? Check out this Writing Resource Guide.
3. Send us your work using either the Short Story Submission Form, Poetry Submission Form, and/or the Flash Fiction Submission Form
Questions about the contest may be directed to allwrite@aadl.org.