John Estey Student Writing Competition
6th Annual Student Writing Competition
2025 Elementary Winners
- Ada Bartlett (Falk Laboratory School, PA) – Read Ada’s full submission here
- Sienna Wong (Dilworth Elementary, CA) – Read Sienna’s full submission here
- Shira Kerchner (Beverly Farms Elementary School, MD) – Read Shira’s full submission here
2025 Middle School Winners
- Aarna Desai (Timberlane Middle School, NJ) – Read Aarna’s full submission here
- Faith Ducksworth (Krimmel Intermediate School, TX) – Read Faith’s full submission here
- Samarth Agrawal (Thomas G. Scullen Middle School, IL) – Read Samarth’s full submission here
2025 High School Winners
- Alicia Fischi (Fayetteville-Manlius High School, NY)Â
- Asmi Tyagi (Delhi Public School, Sector 30, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India) – Read Asmi’s full submission here
- Edward Lee (Bergen County Academies, NJ) – Read Edward’s full submission here
- Lexie Lin (Sydney Girls High School, New South Wales, Australia) – Read Lexie’s full submission here
2025 Competition Prompt
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is a trailblazing science fiction novel published in 1969. It’s the story of a human ambassador sent to a planet whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. While his mission is to broker a deal that will usher the planet into an intergalactic collective, he cannot reconcile his personal beliefs with their culture. The Left Hand of Darkness is recommended for ages 14-18.
This prompt is a quote from Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and can be used as a first line, a last line, a jumping-off point, an inspiration for your students’ work. They can use the entire quote or portions of it to write a fiction or nonfiction story, poem, song, scene, short monologue or other form of writing. Submissions should be 1,000 words or less regardless of format.Â
The deadline to enter the 2025 John Estey Student Writing Competition has now passed. Please subscribe to our emails to be notified when the contest begins next year. Thank you.
- The 3 winners of the Elementary Grade category will receive $500
- The 3 winners of the Middle School category will receive $1,000
- The 3 winners of the High School category will receive $2,000
Category Selection
- Elementary Grade Level (Grades 3-5)
- Middle School Grade Level (Grades 6-8)
- High School Grade Level (Grades 9-12)
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
- Only 3 entries per category from one school.
- Teachers will be allowed to submit entries for multiple categories.
- A school with K-8 students can submit 6 entries (3 for Elementary and 3 for Middle School).
- A school that is a stand alone middle school or a high school can submit only 3.
- If multiple teachers in a school have their students compete, the school needs to pick the top 3 for the school.
- Homeschoolers are welcome to participate in the competition. Please indicate the school name as ‘Homeschool’ while filling out the form.
- International schools can participate in the competition. Please indicate your school’s city and country clearly in the school name field when filling out the form. Be advised, the AWM requires a teacher email and name to participate.
- International Homeschools are not eligible to participate.
- Not eligible to participate: Past winners of the competition, relatives of museum staff or board.
- Winners agree to be filmed reading their work and to be featured in a press release and on the American Writers Museum website.
- Fill out the Intent to Participate Form below. Please note: the intent to participate form DOES NOT have the submission link information. You must fill out this form to receive the submission link.
- Submission links will be sent out by the education staff to you directly starting Monday, March 10, 2025. Submissions will be accepted only via our submission link.
- Once you submit your written piece, you will receive an automated email confirming your submission.
- Winners will be contacted by August 4, 2025 before the names are announced to the public.
- March 10: Submission link and information is sent to participants, and continues as we receive more participant entries.
- May 23: Intent to Participate Form closes.
- June 6: Submission Deadline. Portal closes at 11:59 pm CDT. Reminders will be sent to participating teachers leading up to the deadline.
- August 4: Winners are notified via email.
- September 9: Winners are announced at the AWM’s annual benefit OnWord 2025.
Contact education@americanwritersmuseum.org with any questions
The deadline to enter was May 23, 2025. The Intent to Participate form is now closed. Thank you.
*To submit your student’s work, please fill out the intent to participate form and you will receive a submission link from the education team at a later date. Submissions will ONLY be accepted through the submission link.
Previous Winners
2024
- Charlotte Brunner – Fairview South School, IL
- Yueyi Wang – Rehoboth Elementary School, DE
- Annabelle Zhao – Hudson Way Immersion School, NJ
2023
- Siaansh Singh Bhadauria – Deerfield Elementary School, CA
- Aydin Soner – Homeschool, SC
- Aiza Liya Vattoth – Forest Park Elementary, AR
2022
- Olivia Bakal – Oakwood School, CA
- Evelyn Basken – Alcott College Prep Elementary School, IL
2021
- Catherine Huang – Collegewood Elementary School , CA
- Chloe Truong – Norwood Park School, IL
2020
- Sophiya Subba – Whittier Elementary School, IL
2024
- Anessa Brown – Ridgedale Junior-Senior High School, OH
- Makayla Gholar – Ashburn Community Elementary School, IL
- Sofia Ou – Eastern Middle School, MD
2023
- Raymond Cai – Keystone School, TX
- Audriana Giudice – Lazar Middle School, NJ
- Taylor Haase – The Rhoades School, CA
- Chloe Lind – Ashley Hall School, SC
2022
- Alessandra Giordano – Lazar Middle School, NJ
- Alisha Walker – Lincoln Middle School, IL
2021
- Taskin Arisha – Castle Hill Middle School, NY
- Aisling Panjwani – Skinner North Classical School, IL
2024
- Ruth Anderson – Homeschool, IL
- Ember Bahe – Navajo Preparatory School, AZ
- Svara Carmel Narasiah – Mont’Kiara International School, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
2023
- Brooke Elwell – Eastern Camden County Regional High School, NJ
- Anita Raj – Eastern Camden County Regional High School, NJ
- Charity White – Carlisle School, VA
2022
- Elizabeth Boguslavsky – Glenbard South High School, IL
- Lana Olarte – Durham School of the Arts, NC
2021
- Katie Liske – Marian High School, NE
- Adina Tanner – Yeshiva University High School for Girls, NY
2020
- Nina Artwell – Niles North High School, IL
- Ysa Quiballo – Niles North High School, IL