2022 Creative Writing Contest

More entries than we've seen since the contest began 55 years ago!

With 292 submissions, the 2022 CWC has the largest number of submissions since the contest began back in 1967. Congratulations to all those writers who placed. To those who submitted and didn't win: creative writing is something that is within you--winning is always nice, but it shouldn't be the ultimate goal. Keep on writing!

Winning writers are featured in an annual publication. You can read this year's winning writers creative work -- as well as all the winners since 1967. The Contest Publication is a permanent part of the Bemis Library's collection and can be found in the Children’s Department for in-library reading enjoyment.

A big THANK YOU to all the parents, educational professionals, and others who encourage children to use their imaginations and let their creative stories, essays, and poems flow.

The 2022 Creative Writing Contest Winners are:

First Grade

1st Fiction Leah Riegel

1st Poetry Eloise Kelly-Williams

2nd Fiction Annabelle Wolfe

2nd Poetry Jackson Echter

3rd Fiction Abigail Merritt

Second Grade

1st Fiction Zina Sabey

1st Poetry Anna Fann

2nd Fiction Maria Lindsey

2nd Poetry Violet Kaufman

3rd Fiction Lilah Dillard

3rd Poetry Callum Lush

Third Grade

1st Fiction Dylan Ray

1st Poetry Charis Wright

2nd Fiction Mackenzie Politis

2nd Poetry Aria Eaby

3rd Fiction Charis Wright

Honorable Mention: Vivian Moon, Stella Smith

Fourth Grade

1st Fiction Amelia Abel

1st Nonfiction Cristian Nevarez

1st Poetry Mateo Zeiger

2nd Fiction Kahleah Weinhold

2nd Nonfiction Jada Wright

2nd Poetry Lucy Boroughf

3rd Fiction Sawyer Bennett Battaglia

3rd Poetry Lochlan Houseal

Honorable Mention: Elliot Hodorff

Fifth Grade

1st Fiction Hadley Bents

1st Nonfiction Miles McMullen

1st Poetry Lila Hopkins

2nd Fiction Bailee Johnson

2nd Nonfiction Laney Morais

2nd Poetry Kiara Larsen

3rd Fiction Katie Craig

3rd Nonfiction Genevieve Murphy

3rd Poetry Maddie Leuenberger

Honorable Mention: Ava Wiser, Katherine Dunn

Sixth Grade

1st Fiction Miriam Cuthbert

1st Poetry Brynn Smith

2nd Fiction Isabella Usagani

2nd Poetry Penelope Grewell

3rd Fiction Zerah Smith

3rd Poetry Kate Miller

Honorable Mention: Emily Woller, Lucas Greer, Anna Rowe, Colin Stead

Seventh Grade

1st Fiction Soren Pollock

1st Nonfiction Tariq Jordan

1st Poetry Kathryn Shipman

2nd Fiction Madelynn Eicherly

2nd Nonfiction Carson Pike

2nd Poetry Lily Stalilonis

3rd Fiction Grace Peters

3rd Poetry Alie Rodina

Eighth Grade

1st Fiction Georgia Jewell

1st Poetry Ellery Sparks

2nd Fiction Julia Pennington

2nd Poetry Remington Wozniak

3rd Fiction Lucy Sanders

3rd Poetry Brianna Murray-Matos

Ninth-Tenth Grades

1st Fiction Ella Miller

1st Poetry Maylin Brown

2nd Fiction Isabela Mendoza

2nd Poetry Ella Miller

3rd Fiction Luc Lessard

3rd Poetry Elsa Romano Klein

Honorable Mention: Jaelyn Chase

Eleventh-Twelfth Grades

1st Fiction Amelie Pue

1st Poetry Kate Rutledge

2nd Fiction Medhaa Lakshman

2nd Poetry Izzabele Kukula

3rd Poetry Megan Garkow

Honorable Mention: Ella Shoener

Collaborative

Grades 1-3 1st Eleanor Court and Sophie Perez

Grades 1-3 2nd Charis and Jada Wright

Grades 1-3 3rd Lucas Brion, Orion Echert, and Rhys Wolff

Grades 4-5 1st Amelia and Keira Denison

Grades 4-5 2nd Evan Chiang, Owen Lush, and Matt Grover

Grades 4-5 3rd Emma Brouillette and Kasi Behrmann

Grades 6-8 1st Julia Draus and Lorelei Fisher

Grades 6-8 2nd Elizabeth Gillman and Grace Gaeke

Grades 6-8 3rd Marli Brock and Anelise Chertoff

Littleton Schools Promote Creativity!

There were 31 traditional and home schools in the Littleton LPS boundaries that submitted this year with approximately 150 teachers who had students who submitted entries. We acknowledge and appreciate all teachers and educational professionals who encourage their students to enter the contest. It not only takes imagination and good writing skills, but it takes courage to enter contests and have your work judged.

Top submitting schools

65 Littleton Academy

25 Powell Middle School

18 Littleton Prep Charter School

18 Mackintosh Academy

17 Ralph Moody Elementary

17 St Mary's Catholic School

14 Euclid Middle School

14 Lois Lenski Elementary

12 Wilder Elementary

9 Littleton High School

8 East Elementary

8 Hopkins Elementary

8 Runyon Elementary

Creative Writing Contest Judges

For the second year, we are honored that creative writing professionals from Arapahoe Community College served as our judges. Their level of knowledge of writing genres and in-depth constructive critiques help our writers to continue to learn and grow in their abilities.

Thank you to the following ACC faculty:

Monica Fuglei, Chair, Department of Composition, Creative Writing, and Journalism

Andrea Mason

Caroline Laganas

Jamey Trotter

Jason Schlueter

Lara Beckwith

Nikkin Rader

Rachel Newlon

Shannon Wolf

Stephanie Lindberg

Questions about the Creative Writing Contest?

Why do some grades have different numbers of prizes for categories? In order to be fair to the quantity of entries, if there are more submissions in a given grade or category, we separate grades and categories when certain levels are reached. For instance, when 10 entries were reached in 5th grade Fiction, it was divided into a separate group from Nonfiction and Poetry. At 10 submissions, the awards available to be given were: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 1 Honorable Mention. Fewer submissions mean fewer awards.

What does Honorable Mention mean? We acknowledge that every writer does his or her best, but all can’t win a prize. However, we also respect our judges and some felt that a few writers displayed abilities that stood out as work worthy of special recognition.

When does the 2023 Creative Writing Contest start? February 1 is the open day for submission; the deadline will be midnight March 31, 2023.

Email inquiries to FriendsCreativeWritingContest@gmail.com