2026 Edina Reads Creative Writing Contest Winners

Student leaders Karissa Cheng (12), Carter Griskevicius (10), Saanvi Kalola (10), and Ava Liston (10) hosted the sixth annual Edina Reads Creative Writing Contest in collaboration with the EHS Media Center and the Friends of the Edina Library.

There were categories for poetry and prose, and ages were grouped by grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, and adults.

Winners

K-2 Poetry

1st: “How to Buy an Axolotl” by Rosemarie Flint Thomas

K-2 Prose

1st: “The Art Quest” by Millie Bishop

1st: “The Island” by Nat McDonnell

2nd: “The Race of Pizza and Meatball” by Soren McShane

2nd: “Puppycorn” by Eleanor Reubendale

Honorable mention: “Poor Plant” by Blakey Stole

Honorable mention: “A Rich Life” by Kelly Lilja

3-5 Poetry

1st: “Death to the Mockingbird” by Rebecca Dorfman

2nd: “There’s No One as Slow as Tilly” by Aveline Boucher

Honorable mention: “Hope” by Sonja Gruner

Honorable mention: “Threads of One Fabric” by Aadvik Dubey

3-5 Prose

1st: “If I Found a Fairy” by Rosie Cohen

2nd: “Sinking” by Charlotte Gift

Honorable mention: “The Day the Moonstone Diamond Was Stolen” by Alma Peterson

Honorable mention: “The Cursed Coin” by Jiwoon Park

6-8 Poetry

1st: “Bare Hands” by Mira Solmeyer

2nd: “Depends Upon” by Madelyne Yurecko

Honorable mention: “Soccer Sonnet” by William Gift

Honorable mention: “Uprooted” by Jocee Dow

Honorable mention: “Wings of Night” by Lucille Kohlstedt

6-8 Prose

1st: “A Study in Time” by Dietrich Werling-Draeger

2nd: “We Are People” by Siana Nenov

Honorable mention: “Alone” by Amelie Nasr

Honorable mention: “Hidden Between the Pages” by Clara Thornton

9-12 Poetry

1st: “Topography” by Gabriella Sofia Olson

2nd: “Paper Cut Boys” by Sena Braun

Honorable mention: “Earrings” by Zeina Al-Ramahi

Honorable mention: “In Between the Lines” by Alix Ayers

Honorable mention: “Pencil Dreams in Graphite” by Ronan Jennings

Honorable mention: “Tiger Lily Season” by Maya Matelski

9-12 Prose

1st: “New Jersey’s Glowing Girls” by Evie Schmidt

2nd: “Book of Dreams” by Leily Kebriaei

Honorable mention: “Plenty and More” by Vincent Ronhovde

Honorable mention: “The Mages and the Mirror” by Mila Schlissel

Adult Poetry

1st: “Reeling” by Ellen Hunter Gans

2nd: “Endangered” by Lara Wark

Honorable mention: “Lost Daughter” by Wyndemere Coffey

Honorable mention: “Too Much” by Ingrid Konieczny

Honorable mention: “The Rotten Crew” by Katrina Stern

Honorable mention: “Wise Women” by Wyndemere Coffey

Adult Prose

1st: “Confusion” by Aaron Bellas

2nd: “Gig Economy” by Emma C. Murphy

Honorable mention: “Millions of Muffins” by Katrina Stern