The Hudson Valley Writers Center is proud to announce the winners of the Writers Express Youth Environmental Creative Writing Contest. Open to students in Westchester County, the contest challenges Westchester students to think critically about the state of our world while giving a platform to share their discoveries.
The 2026 contest winners are:
MIDDLE SCHOOL
- Nefeli Antonogiannakis and Celeste Pawlowski, Rescue on the Beach, 7th Graders, Dobbs Ferry Middle School
- Colin Mui, A World Full of Tears and Heat, Grade 6, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School
- Defne Akinci, Changes, 7th grade, Eastchester Middle School
HIGH SCHOOL
- Sienna Cambria, Untitled , 12th grade, Hastings High School
- Gabby Shore, Eleven, 12th grade, Hastings High School
- Rosalie Dunn, “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” Grade 11, Hastings High School
Winners are invited to read at a celebratory reading at the Center on September 10 at 6:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public. Their work will be available to read on the Center’s website.
These young writers put careful consideration into the ways in which environmental issues will impact their futures. “While writing this poem, I wanted everyone to see and feel the way I was feeling about climate change. I have done so many projects about climate change in my lifetime, and I find it to be a very serious matter that should be taken much more seriously than it is being taken at the moment.” says middle school winner Defne Akinci.For more information on the contest, contact: misty@writerscenter.org
