After judging 400 or so submissions from Lower Shore student writers, the Eastern Shore Literacy Association (ESLA) on Monday, March 10 awarded placement plaques to the 2025 Young Authors’ Contest finalists, including 15 students from Wicomico County Public Schools.
This annual ESLA-run contest continues to be the premiere writing opportunity for young writers in the Shore’s lower three counties, with entries from public, private and homeschooled students. Area students in grades 1-12 were invited to submit an original writing artifact – poem or short story, or both – to be judged using a blind scoring method to determine several finalists for each grade level and category. It was an extremely competitive year, with a couple of categories picking just a few finalists from as many as 75 submissions. Finalists were authors who finished in the top three (or more, in the case of ties) in their respective grade level and category of Poetry or Short Story. Placements were announced at the ESLA’s Young Authors’ Award Ceremony on March 10, in a packed Wicomico Room at Salisbury University.
Wicomico students who placed 1st locally, including two who are finalists at the state level, will also be recognized at the May 21 Awards & Recognitions Night by the Wicomico County Board of Education and Wicomico County Public Schools. State finalists will attend an event on April 2.
Placing 1st in their categories in the 2025 ESLA Young Authors’ Contest were:
Siraj Yasir, North Salisbury Elementary (Grade 3 Poetry), 1st Place locally and state finalist
Gabriel Luppens, North Salisbury Elementary (Grade 3 Short Story), 1st Place
Angela Quan, James M. Bennett High (Grade 9 Short Story), 1st Place locally and state finalist
Congratulations to all of the 2025 Young Authors’ Contest award-winners!
Young Authors’ 2025 Winners from Wicomico County Public Schools
Elementary:
Grade 3, Poetry: Siraj Yasir, North Salisbury Elementary, 1st Place
Grade 3, Short Story: Gabriel Luppens, North Salisbury Elementary, 1st Place; Milton Moreno Jimenez, North Salisbury Elementary, 2nd Place
Grade 4, Poetry: Savannah Green, North Salisbury Elementary, 3rd Place
Grade 4, Short Story: Quinn Kershner, North Salisbury Elementary, 3rd Place
Grade 5, Poetry: Asher Herard-Martin, East Salisbury Elementary, 3rd Place
Grade 5, Short Story: Lucy McCarty, North Salisbury Elementary, 2nd-Place tie; Natalie Garcia, Fruitland Intermediate, 2nd-Place tie
Middle School:
Grade 8, Poetry: Elizabeth Kim, Bennett Middle, 2nd Place
Grade 8, Short Story: Ryleigh Cunningham-Hewitt, Pittsville Elementary & Middle, 3rd-Place tie
High School:
Grade 9, Short Story: Angela Quan, James M. Bennett High, 1st Place; Abigail Tan, Parkside High, 2nd Place; Allison McIsaac, Mardela Middle & High, 3rd Place
Grade 10, Poetry: Peter Jin, James M. Bennett High, 3rd-Place tie
Grade 12, Short Story: Ava Baer, Mardela Middle & High, 3rd PLace
About the Eastern Shore Literacy Association: Eastern Shore Literacy Association is a nonprofit organization with the mission to improve the level of literacy in the lower three counties of the Eastern Shore. It promotes quality literacy instruction by supporting the mission of the State of Maryland Literacy Association and International Literacy Association, disseminating best literacy practices to educators and parents, advocating for literacy issues through legislation, and collaborating with educational institutions, professional organizations and businesses. The group is active in the Lower Eastern Shore communities supporting literacy initiatives and individuals who have sparked a passion for reading. The group is made up primarily of K-12 educators (both current and retired) from public and private schools across Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore as well as individuals active in the higher education community.