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Congratulations to our 2025 Authors
In 2025, we received more than 160 submissions from middle and high school writers throughout the Chappaqua Central School District. We celebrated all of our contest participants and announced the winning nonfiction, fiction, and poetry works at an award reception on April 9th, 2025 in the Chappaqua Library Theater. Please see below for the complete list of winners and to read their work!
Winners of the 45th Annual Young Writers Contest
High School Nonfiction
First Place: Lasya Hota, 10th Grade, The Healing Balm of Literature
Second Place: Luísa Vieira, 11th Grade, In the Space Between
Third Place: Cole Rothenberg, 10th Grade, A Soul Worth Forgiving
High School Fiction
First Place: Lasya Hota, 10th Grade, Of Soirees and Rose-Tinted Glasses
Second Place: Arielle Bortz, 10th Grade, The Bonnet's Secret
Third Place (tie): Hadley Robertson, 11th Grade, Lantern Boy
Third Place (tie): Violet Clinton, 9th Grade, Mariana's Story
Third Place (tie): Luísa Vieira, 11th Grade, Brigadeiro
High School Poetry
First Place: Rory Frasch, 12th Grade, Patriot
Second Place: Caroline Sunwoo, 9th Grade, The Green-Eyed Monster
Third Place: Cinzia Mazzini-Chin, 9th Grade, The F Train
Middle School Nonfiction
First Place: Mia Long, 7th Grade, Rewriting School Math
Second Place: Richelle Cong, 8th Grade, Is It Just Us?
Third Place (tie): Rishaan Kishore, 6th Grade, Partition of India
Third Place (tie): Elliott Whang, 8th Grade, Artificial Intelligence
Middle School Fiction
First Place: Jacob Zhang, 6th Grade, Heroshima
Second Place: Isabella Wright, 6th Grade, Bluejay
Third Place: Natalia Peschiera, 6th Grade, Stressed in the Spotlight
Middle School Poetry
First Place: Lena Yoon, 7th Grade, Echoes of Solitude
Second Place: Le My Tran, 8th Grade, Dear Alice
Third Place: Ella Zhu, 7th Grade, i know that, i do
The 2025 Linda J. Zhang Award for Writing Achievement
This year's recipient of the Linda J. Zhang Award is Eliza Fink. Eliza is a junior at Horace Greeley who has been a consistent finalist for YWC awards, having received awards in all three categories over her years in the competition. Her years of service as a volunteer and page at the library, her dedication to the library garden, and her excellent written work made her a standout candidate for this year's award. Congratulations, Eliza!
The Friends of the Chappaqua Library Linda J. Zhang Award for Writing Achievement
The Linda J. Zhang Award for Writing Achievement is co-sponsored by the Linda J. Zhang Foundation, in remembrance of Linda.
This award is given to a Chappaqua student that has consistently shown dedication to and achievement in writing, showcased in submissions to the Young Writers Contest throughout their middle and high school years.
Past recipients of the Linda J. Zhang Award are commemorated on a plaque which hangs in the Chappaqua Library Teen Zone.
Stroll Chappaqua Features Young Writers Contest Winners!
Winners of of the 2023 and 2024 Young Writers Contests had the opportunity to be featured in Stroll Chappaqua! The magazine is all about bringing our community together by hearing the voices and stories of our neighbors. We couldn't be more proud to celebrate and share the works of talented young writers in our community, and we are grateful to partner with Stroll Chappaqua to bring their work to mailboxes in New Castle.
The July 2024 issue featured excerpts of winning works, along with links to this site to read each piece in its entirety. You can find a digital version of the July 2023 magazine cover featuring several YWC awardees along with their winning work here. Additional stories, poems, and essays from 2023 winners were featured in subsequent issues of Stroll throughout that year.
We look forward to seeing some of our 2025 winners in print in upcoming issues!
Past Winners of the Young Writers Contest
The Young Writers Contest attracts talented writers who live in the Chappaqua Central School District each year. Click below to see lists of past winning authors.
2024 Young Writers Contest Winners
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