We’re thrilled to announce the top three winners of this year’s Young Authors Writing Competition! Our judges selected the following winners from the hundreds of submissions we receive. This year brought us an especially talented group of writers, and we’re excited for the chance to honor some of our favorites.

If you didn’t make the top three, know that your work was appreciated, and that we hope you’ll submit again. All of the genre judges noted that there were many submissions that earned their admiration, and that selecting the winners was a difficult task. (And if you were selected, don’t forget to check your email for more information.)

Come back soon to see some of the winning works, and happy writing!

Nonfiction

First place: Aidan Forster – Instructions for Suburban Boy Love

Second place: Arushi Avachat – of honey and spice

Third place: Ingrid Ren – Talk to Me

Fiction

First place: Kaya Dierks – My Goddamn Pink House

Second place: Kaylee Jeong – To Let out the Sun

Third place: Abigail Coulter – Zelda

Poetry

First place: Aidan Forster – Self Portrait as Carolina

Second place: Savannah Bradley – sunlight through the honey jar

Third place: Linda Ye – 5 a.m. by the railroad tracks

Special note: Our judges have decided to award prizes to a single author in two categories this year. In addition, we found out that one of our prize-winners in poetry needed to withdraw from the contest. The finalists in poetry have been amended accordingly, as listed above. Thanks again!