Meet Our 2025 Writers Contest Winners

Open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, stories were judged on originality, creative expression, storytelling and integration of illustrations.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the writing contest.

Watch the full awards ceremony below.

KINDERGARTEN

FIRST PLACE
Kathryn Diefenderfer
“A Bird Who Found the Perfect Home”
Larchmont Elementary School, Norfolk

SECOND PLACE
Georgia Ames
“Poppy Meets Poppy”
Larchmont Elementary School, Norfolk

FIRST GRADE

FIRST PLACE
Olive Thompson
“Oliver and The Magic Ink”
Thalia Elementary, Virginia Beach

SECOND PLACE
Nathaniel Mason
“The Strays in Our Neighborhood”
Virginia Virtual Academy, Hampton

SECOND GRADE

FIRST PLACE
Alex Kaloydis
“The Hunter and The Tapir”
North Landing Elementary, Virginia Beach

SECOND PLACE
Eleanor Groff
“Spot and the Little Brown Bat”
Groff Homeschool, Hampton

THIRD GRADE

FIRST PLACE
Journey Hinton
“Clara The Curious Kid”
St. Helena Elementary, Norfolk

SECOND PLACE
Daisy Sletten
“Fairies Rock”
Larchmont Elementary School, Norfolk

FOURTH GRADE

FIRST PLACE
Ryleigh Farmer
“Flightless Feathers”
Magruder Elementary School, Williamsburg
(York County Schools)

SECOND PLACE
Izzy Drake
“Toasty the Marshmallow”
Magruder Elementary School, Williamsburg
(York County Schools)

FIFTH GRADE

FIRST PLACE
Azalea Davis
“The Magical Sketchbook”
Hunter B. Andrews Elementary, Hampton

SECOND PLACE
Zenaida Impat
“Cherry Blossom Ghost”
St. Pius X Catholic School, Norfolk

OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL WINNERS

GRADES K-1
Ethan Zhang - K
“Save The Turtle”
Stratford School, Virginia Beach

GRADES 2-3
Annie Havener- 2nd grade
“Milkweed Elementary”
Larchmont Elementary, Norfolk

GRADES 4-5
Julia Santos - 5th grade
“A Dive into Hope”
Glenwood Elementary, Virginia Beach

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Rosamor Hauris - Kindergarten, Ocean Lakes Elementary, Virginia Beach
"Unicorn Loves Earth!"

Jane Wilda - First Grade, Suffolk
"The Lucky Dog"

Grant Brown -Third Grade, Hampton Roads Academy, Newport News
"The Boy with Two Faces"

Victoria White - Third Grade, Woodstock Elementary, Virginia Beach
"Jackson and His New Friend"

Grace Dierberger – Fourth Grade, First Baptist School, Fredericksburg
"Kindness Helps"

Brooklynn Mariani – Fourth Grade, Trantwood Elementary School, Virginia Beach
"The Midnight Library"

Lilly Roblero - Fourth Grade, Simonsdale Elementary School, Portsmouth
"Little Star Boy"

The PBS KIDS Writers Contest is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers and is funded in part by a Ready To Learn grant, in a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The contents of these contest rules were developed under a grant, #PRU295B050003, from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.