
Winners of Write Here. Write Now. Contest Announced
It’s no secret we have a wealth of writing talent in Burlington. Our community is brimming with creativity and loves to celebrate it with others.
That’s why we are excited to share with you a few slices of local talent. This year we modified our annual writing contest to include all ages ten and up. The contest also included poetry and comics categories in addition to short stories.
Celebrating Burlington and BPL
This year, Burlington Public Library is celebrating its 150th birthday. We asked contestants to add a nod to this important milestone to their entries by including either the word Burlington or the number 150 in their work.
We received nearly 100 entries across all categories and enjoyed reading each and every one of them. A panel of BPL staff reviewed all submissions. Our poetry category was judged in-house. Author Sylvia McNicoll judged the finalists in our short story category, and cartoonist Joe Ollmann judged our comics finalists. We were blow away by the talent in every category!
Announcing our Winners!
Short Story Category
Age 10-12: The Masala-Dani by Dave Kaul
Age 13-17: Amy by Evangeline Lyon
Age 18+: Children Are Easy To Lie To by Connor Legg
Poetry Category
Age 10-12: If I Had $150 by Bedia Celik
Age 13-17: Diaspora Makes Us Clay by Ishmeet Johal
Age 18+: Forgiveness by Arlette Mamo
Comics Category
Age 10-12: Moose And The Exterminator by Michaella Alfano and Paula Romero
Age 13-17: Bewitched by Arushi Phadte
Age 18+: Short Stack by Jordan Kurpita
Thank You, Burlington!
Thank you so much to everyone who entered Write Here. Write Now. Sharing your creative work requires bravery and we are proud of all of you. Another big thank you to our judges for helping us make some very difficult decisions.
We highly recommend you take the time to read some of these fantastic entries. The time and talent that went into these submissions is admirable. And stay tuned! As part of Burlington Literary Festival this November, we are planning a Coffee House showcase where contest winners and other community members will read their work aloud. We can’t wait!