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Congratulations to our 2026 Authors
In 2026, we received nearly 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 8th, 2026 in the Chappaqua Library Theater. Please see below for the complete list of winners and to read their work!
Winners of the 46th Annual Young Writers Contest
High School Nonfiction
First Place: Olivia Chang, 12th Grade, Borrowed
Second Place: Hadley Robertson, 12th Grade, Painter's Gloves
Third Place: Arjun Jangi, 10th Grade, The Price of a More Perfect Union
High School Fiction
First Place: Violet Clinton, 10th Grade, The Moth House
Second Place: Hadley Robertson, 12th Grade, The Huntman's Guide to Siren Anatomy
Third Place: Mario Valadez, 9th Grade, The Tale of Alexander
High School Poetry
First Place: Gigi Wheeler, 11th Grade, Tomato Red
Second Place: Hadley Robertson, 12th Grade, 8 Ways of Looking Through a Window
Third Place: Mario Valadez, 9th Grade, Apricitas
Middle School Nonfiction
First Place: Mia Long, 8th Grade, Social-Emotional Education
Second Place: Harper Zhang, 6th Grade, A Little More Each Day
Third Place: Rishaan Kishore, 7th Grade, Schindler's List: When Art Touches Humanity
Middle School Fiction
First Place: Kaitlyn Pan, 7th Grade, The Only Exception
Second Place: Jacob Zhang, 7th Grade, The Things We Carry
Third Place: Lena Yoon, 8th Grade, When the Lights Went Out
Middle School Poetry
First Place: Josie Bookin, 6th Grade, 2023
Second Place: Kaitlyn Pan, 7th Grade, Rabbit
Third Place (tie): Ayla Dinenberg, 6th Grade, Mother
Third Place (tie): Willa Falzone, 7th Grade, To Death's Dying Blow
Third Place (tie): Mia Long, 8th Grade, On Growing Up
The 2026 Linda J. Zhang Award for Writing Achievement
This year's recipient of the Linda J. Zhang Award is Hadley Robertson. Hadley is a senior at Horace Greeley who first emerged on the YWC scene with an Honorable Mention for her Middle School Fiction piece in 2022. Since then she has entered the contest each year of High School, a finalist for awards in 2023 and 2025 for her fiction entries. As a senior, Hadley remained devoted to her writing and garnered 2nd place in all three categories for her work in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry.
Hadley is an exceptional student and a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. She has volunteered at the library while in high school and currently teaches classes at the Katonah Art Center. Her commitment to her craft, her community engagement, and the quality of her work made her a terrific candidate for this year's award. Congratulations, Hadley!
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 on the cover of 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 more of our 2025 and 2026 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.
2025 Young Writers Contest Winners
2024 Young Writers Contest Winners
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