Congratulations to the winners of our annual Writing Contest, co-hosted by the Community Writing Center & East Lansing Public Library! You can learn more about the authors and read their winning selections below:
Youth Fiction:
Vivienne Halford is the first-place winner for youth fiction with her piece "The New Recruit." Vivienne is a rising 7th grader at Lowell Middle School. You can read the winning piece here: The New Recruit
Teen Fiction:
Alia Djomehri is the first-place winner for teen fiction with her piece "Dead Weight." Alia recently graduated from East Lansing High School and is now an incoming freshman at Michigan State University, where she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in Mathematics. At sixteen, she took on pivotal roles in her school’s Science Olympiad team, Fiber Arts Club, and Students for Females in STEM. She was also a proud member of the National Honor Society, where she found fulfillment in community service, whether it was tutoring younger students or assisting with local events like the East Lansing Art Festival. She hopes to continue equivalent clubs at her university. You can read the winning piece here: Dead Weight
Adult Fiction:
Kaye Weatherly is the first-place winner for adult fiction with her piece, "Mango Rinds." Kaye is a 24-year-old artist and writer from East Lansing, Michigan. In May 2024, she graduated from the Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. She has a BA in Art & Design with a Global Media Studies Minor. You can read the winning piece here: Mango Rinds
Adult Non-Fiction: Sheryll Bonilla is the first-place winner for adult non-fiction with her piece, "Three Things I Don't Do." She is age 64, and mom of two MSU Spartans.
She says of her piece: "This story was originally written for the 2024 Roethke poetry retreat that my daughter attended. My daughter, the baby in the story, is our family poet. I was only there as her driver and I enjoyed listening to other people's poetry. The two teachers encouraged me to try to write a poem. It came out as a narrative, but the retreat was for poetry, so I formatted it into stanzas. This was my first poem, so I tried to be brave enough to read it at the very last read aloud session. So many participants had already left for home by that time, that the last session was canceled and I didn't get to read it. When this contest was announced, I thought it would be good to fill out the original prose with remembered details and attach the dramatic poem at the end because the story works both ways.
My miracle children were born late in my life. They are now MSU Spartans. I had briefly been a trial lawyer, then a legal manager for a health care company that was a Department of Defense subcontractor. Before giving birth, I taught healthcare law in the master's program for Central Michigan University's Hawaii campus. (No MSU satellite campus in Hawaii!) After my daughter was born, the baby in the story, I gladly traded my suits, courtrooms, and window offices for play clothes, playgrounds, fresh air and sunshine, and happily enjoyed watching my two children growing up." You can read the winning piece here: Three Things I Don't Do
Add a comment to: Congrats to the 2025 Writing Contest Winners!