Bookshop Santa Cruz celebrates the talents of young writers in our community with an annual contest designed for writers ages 6–17. We are now accepting submissions to our 2021 contest, through September 19th.
Entries may be on any subject and in any genre—including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, humor, mystery, science fiction or fantasy. Word count limit is 2100. Each entry must be an original work, submitted in the appropriate age group: 6–9, 10–13, and 14–17. First, second, and third place winners from each age group receive Bookshop Santa Cruz gift certificates. Plus, the winning entries are published together in a collection each November.
Pick up an entry form to this year's contest in the store, download one HERE, or submit online HERE.
Congratulations to all of the winners and honorees of previous years!
Purchase the 2020 Young Writers Contest Honorees collection:
2020 Winners and Honorees
Ages 6-9
First Place: Morgan Schromm, 7, Happy Valley, I Wonder How the World Spins
Second Place: Meher Nagi, 9, Old Orchard School, Farraige
Third Place: Naomi Salhov, 8, Mountain Elementary School, The Eight O'Clock Howl
Honorable Mention: Athena Grey, 9, Old Orchard School, The Sun and the Moon
Honorable Mention: Megan McFadden, 9, Good Shepherd Catholic School, My PartyAges 10-13
First Place: Emmie Wolf-Dubin, 12, Meigs Middle School, Countdown
Second Place: Alma Mendez, 11, Ocean Grove, The Stone Wolves
Third Place: Charlie Lowe, 10, Main Street Elementary, The Blue Boy
Honorable Mention: Abigail Joanides, 10, Westlake, Braces
Honorable Mention: Elianne Giles, 13, Mission Hill Middle, Furry MenaceAges 14-17
First Place: Charlie Perkins, 17, Kirby, Name Tag
Second Place: Tallia Harper, 16, Santa Cruz High School, Vultures
Third Place: Kaleigh Pennington, 16, Scotts Valley High School, Broken Glass
Honorable Mention: Adrian Ilyas Jonker, 14, Twin Lakes Christian School, Creature's Best Friend
Honorable Mention: Dolsey Lin, 15, Valley Christian High School, Worthy of Virtue2019 Winners and Honorees
Ages 6-9
First Place: Medline Gibson, 9, Westlake Elementary, Cousin Animal Patrol
Second Place: Mayalia Thom, 9, Monarch Elementary, A Story About Truth, Friendship, and Macaroons
Third Place: Quinn Schrom, 9, Happy Valley Elementary, Dogs
Honorable mention: Zella Robertson, 8, Pacific Elementary, Get Your Creeps On
Honorable mention: Evelyn Rugama, 9, Westlake Elementary, A Play Date Disaster
Ages 10-13First Place: Keelin Duffy, 10, Miraloma Elementary, Wings
Second Place: Julianne Ma, 13, Kings Academy, Caroline and the Space Travel Machine
Third Place: Zoe Wardrip-Fruin, 10, Monarch Elementary, Before the Dragon Kids
Honorable mention: Milo Ramos, 12, New Brighton Middle School, The Start of the End
Honorable mention: Hadzy Cohen, 11, B-40 Middle School, A Painful Way of Life
Ages 14-17First Place: Holden Barker, 17, Aptos High School, Extra-Ordinary
Second Place: Angel, Juvenile Hall, 17, Taking Off My Mask: My Life in Juvenile Hall
Third Place: Isaac Ludington, 17, Alternative Family Education, The Guns Are Getting Closer
Honorable mention: Erik Hernandez, 15, Aptos High School, Getting Arrested for Doing Nothing
Honorable mention: Grace Anne Jones, 14, Ripples
2018 HONOREES
Ages 6-9
First Place: Keelin Duffy & Aisha McCollough, 9, Miraloma Elementary, Leia and Mayla and the Revenge of Darkness
Second Place: Xander Faer Nass, 7, I Caught a Huge One!
Third Place: Daphne Roberson, 9, Mount Madonna, Gila Monsters Come to Arizona
Honorable mention: Jacob Stone, 9, Westlake Elementary, The Wave
Honorable mention: Zoe Laudenslager, 9, Old Orchard School, The Battle for Survival
Ages 10-13First Place: Cassandra Lopez, 13, Seaside Middle School, Could Flowers Bloom Again?
Second Place: Julia Meow, 11, Egan School, Untitled
Third Place: Violet Wolfers, 10, Westlake Elementary, The Adoption Diary
Honorable mention: Ciel Duffy, 11, James Denman Middle, Without Coco
Honorable mention: Jade Haskins, 11, Santa Cruz Montessori, Nightfall
Ages 14-17First Place: Lily Sonnenblick, 14, Soquel High School, Birlity Lane
Second Place: Claire Chandler, Oasis High School, 15, Death, the Boy and the Clockwork Hall, In which a Boy Loses His Mother, Travels the World, and Befriends Death
Third Place: Jesse Chamberlain, 15, Aptos High School, The Hospital Window
Honorable mention: Kyleigh Cawaling, 15, Aptos High School, Press to Start
Honorable mention: Amrita Bhasin, 17, Menlo-Atherton High, The Lost Key
2016 Honorees
Ages 6–9
First Place: Sage Preud'homme Silver, 9, A Life of a Sled Dog
Second Place: Zenobia Russi Barrett, 9, The Curious Owl and Athletic Monkey
Third Place: Adria Grace Mikolyski-Coulson, 9, It Was a Time of War
Honorable Mention: Ezekiel Tapia, 8, The President of Fish
Ruben Marcus, 9, The Stolen BookAges 10-13
First Place: Zara Minra Brandt, 13, The Wild
Second Place: Mikaela Simpkinson, 13, Finally Facing Fates Finest
Third Place: David Hill, 13, Hoot
Honorable Mention: Grace Anne Jones, 10, One Moment Kanaea Bonn, 12, Seeing Red
Ages 14+
First Place: Riley Rozario, 14, Her Peaceful Silence
Second Place: Odessa de Boer, 17, Stars
Third Place: Margaret O’Hara, 16, The Fifth Visitor
Honorable Mention: Julia Pearson, 14, Chasing the Sunset, Isaac Ludington, 14, So Real
2015 Honorees
Ages 6-9First Place: Raina Sawyer, 9, Whose Life is Harder?
Second Place: Bryce Holden, 8, The Big Trip
Third Place: Siena Liddicoat, 7, How the Snake Got Its Scales
Honorable mention: Hadley Graydon, 7, Mango and Jinetta
Honorable mention: Clara Weaver, 8, The Stone WitchAges 10-13
First Place: Sage Liem, 12, In the Dark
Second Place: Brooklynn Winters, 12, Howl
Third Place: Mira Wichelmann, 13, Epitaph of the Once Alive
Honorable mention: Olivia Knapp, 13, The Perfect Truth
Honorable mention: Caeli Tani, 12, I Am FromAges 14-17:
First Place: Meiya Sparks, 15, A Short Eulogy for God
Second Place: Brittany Marshall, 17, The Drought
Third Place: Virginia Ontiveros, 15, Dear Anna
Honorable mention: Julia Pearson, 14, Colors of the Music
Honorable mention: Zachary Parrish, 15, The Fall of White
2014 Honorees
Ages 6 - 9
First Place: Jennifer Leishman, 9, Ann Frank's Friend: The Story of a Time Traveling Girl
Second Place: Montgomery Samuel Thomas, 7, Plants
Third Place: Rebecca Fuller, 8, A Horse Named Sunset
Honorable mention: Makenzie Lashley, 7, A Monster Named Stanly
Honorable mention: Ari Braslavsky, 9, The Fights of 1943Ages 10 - 13
First Place: Kumali Schoen, 13, Final Bond
Second Place: Julia Pearson, 13, The Finch, the Sparrow, and the Falcon
Third Place: Melia Van Hecke, 12, Ice on the Windows
Honorable mention: Rina Rossi, 12, Far, Far, Away
Honorable mention: Ciara Patel, 13, AlienAges 14 - 17:
First Place: Rachel Surgalski, 16, Lilac Boy
Second Place: Emily Gordis, 17, Soul Food
Third Place: Isabella Ainsworth, 15, Castle Reyes
Honorable mention: Garrett David Moore, 15, Accidental President
2013 HONOREES
Ages 6-9
First Place: Cara Burgess, 9, The Enchanted Forest
Second Place: Riley Austin, 8, The Adventures of Joshua
Third Place: Ryan Hannah, 9, The Fishing Day
Honorable mention: Liliane Finn Newberry, 9, The Secret of Lakeside Inn
Honorable mention: Cassidy Flanagan, 6, The Farm That People Loved
Honorable mention: June Parvis, 6, AphroditeAges 10-13
First Place: Julia Pearson, 12, You are as You Act
Second Place: Anika Lindley, 13, The Brightest Light
Third Place: Jaida Johnson, 13, Ruby
Honorable mention: Sophie Wright, 10, The Journey
Honorable mention:Sydney Pelz, 11, & Ella Rintoul, 10, Thrist vs. LifeAges 14-17
First Place: Malakai Wade, 15, 307 Walnut and Wimpole St
Second Place: Allegra Cohen, 17, Shrewsbury Station
Third Place: Abe Karplus, 17, Discrete-Cities
Honorable mention: Nate Stephens, 15, Loss of a Dog
Honorable mention: Victoria M. Mazariegos, 15, You Said You'd Never Leave
Honorable mention: Jasper T. Barnes, 14, Triceratops vs T. rex
2011 HONOREES:
Ages 6–9
First Place:
Ada Firth, 9, The Bird Feather Series, Book1:Tertiary
Second Place:
Kirah Mitchel, 9, Celeste’s Adventure in the Future
Third Place:
Johann Brooks, 7, The Gold Shield
Honorable Mention:
Isabella Hernández Lara, 8, Thunder the Chocolate Lab Learns How to Fly
Honorable Mention:
Zara Brandt, 9, The World of AhleahAges 10–13
First Place:
Leif Daniel Frazer, 11, The Great Gold Rush
Second Place:
Laura Warfield, 13, Skywarrior
Third Place:
Kelly Buckler, 13, The Last Train to Dog Town
Honorable Mention:
Amrita Bhasin, 10, The Shreiks in the Night
Honorable Mention:
Mira Huang, 13, The BargainAges 14+
First Place:
Max Lopez, 17, Shooting the Tiger
Second Place:
Tess Dunn, 16, My Mom, the Cook
Third Place:
Alice Koltchev, 13, The Town With No Internet
Honorable Mention:
Zach Bamberger, 15, If the Walls Could Talk
Honorable Mention:
Melissa Dittrich, 17, The Pink Dress
