2025 Teen Writing Contest Winners

TEEN WRITING

Congratulations to our 2025 Teen Writing Contest Winners!

The Morristown Festival of Books is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Teen Writing Contest. The writing contest was open to all New Jersey high school students entering grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 during the 2025-26 school year. This year, MFOB received over 135 entries from students at 52 different schools in 14 counties throughout New Jersey.

You can read the winning stories in the Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry categories by clicking each author’s name in the list below.

Fiction Winners

 First Place 

Jin Quon

“Chicken Blood”

Second Place

Akira S. Mura

“Fujiwhara”

Third Place 

Kripa Ramesh

“red is a lie”

Honorable Mention

Katarina Bogojevic

“The Red Canvas”

Honorable Mention

Raihanna Shamsudin

“The Hand That Feeds You”

Nonfiction Winners

 First Place

Allyson Herrera

“La Piranga Roja”

Second Place

Sara Carvalheiro-Santos

“The Girl with the Bangs”

Third Place

Sean Lee

“The Red Exit Sign”

Honorable Mention

Ava Tabaranza

“Ang Sakit Sa Loob Ko”

Poetry Winners

First Place

Jhanvi Wong

“Red Tastes Like Want”

Second Place

Libby Peckman

“Predator”

Third Place

Isabella Haddock

“Forget-Me-Not”

Honorable Mention

Ana Reis

“Shades of Red”

Honorable Mention

Daniel J. Raimer

“Beyond These Walls”

The Morristown Festival of Books congratulates all the winners as well as every student who submitted writing to this year’s contest. All the entries testify to the incredible talent among New Jersey’s young writers.  

The 2025 Teen Writing Contest has been made possible
by the generous sponsorship of the Gunzler Family Memorial. 

The nonfiction category is sponsored by Justice Stewart G. Pollock (retired).