Celebrating the 2025 Summer Young Authors Contest Winners
Altrusa International of Tucson is thrilled to announce the winners of our 2025 Summer Young Authors Contest! This year’s entries came from a variety of Southern Arizona communities, with wonderful support from local libraries and promotion through Bear Essential News. We are grateful for everyone who helped encourage young writers to share their creativity.
Each of our summer winners received a certificate recognizing their achievement and a Dairy Queen gift card, mailed to them by Altrusa President Elda Lopez. These winning entries are also the very first submissions entered into the regular Tucson Festival of Books Young Authors Contest, which will be judged in early 2026.
Story Winners
-
Jack Montez – Huachuca City (Sierra Vista Library) – Down to Size
-
Marharyta Smahliuk – Green Valley – The Fairy Who Lost Things
-
Jahleel Tynes – Willcox (Elsie S. Hogan Community Library) – Peaches
-
Grace William – Tucson (Quincy Douglas Library) – Trek Through Time
-
Aliana Vargas – Tucson (Wheeler-Taft-Abbett Library) – The Yellow Box
-
Bibi Khadija Saboor – Tucson (Amphi High School Library) – Quando Luna Solem Osculate Est (When the Moon Kissed the Sun)
Poetry Winners
-
Rori Divijak – Tucson (Wheeler-Taft-Abbett Library) – To Play with Heart
-
Josie Koltunovich-Gray – Tucson (Woods Library) – His Shadows
-
Dylan Pan – Tucson (Oro Valley Library) – Why Can’t Time Go at the Perfect Speed
What’s Next?
The 2026 Young Authors Contest is now open! Students in grades K–12 may enter a typed story and/or poem by January 9, 2026, following the rules on the entry form on the Young Authors Contest page.
After another round of judging by Altrusa members, 20 final winners will be notified in February. These winners will be honored at the Tucson Festival of Books on Saturday, March 15, 2026, at the University of Arizona Main Tent. Before the awards are presented, one of the festival’s featured authors will speak to the Young Authors and Young Artists.
The 2026 winners will have their work published in an anthology and receive a $100 University of Arizona Bookstore gift certificate, along with other special gifts.
We can’t wait to see the creativity that Southern Arizona’s young writers will bring to the next contest!