Missoula Writes
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 writing contest! Thank you to all of our contestants.
2024 Writing Contest Winners
| Category | Place | Winner | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8-10 Fiction | 1st | Natlie Wu | The Big Misunderstanding | |
| 2nd | Imogen Graham | Learning How to Deal | ||
| 3rd | Nina Giavasis | Larry the Turkey | ||
| 8-10 Nonfiction | 1st | Tula Mae Droughton | Life Brings Destruction but Leave Beautiful Shells | |
| 2nd | Imogen Graham | Airdale Care | ||
| 3rd | Linnea Cameron | Mrs. Oceanflare | ||
| 8-10 Poetry | 1st | Katie Smalley | Resilience Unveiled | |
| 2nd | Myka McCullin | Emerald | ||
| 3rd | Imogen Graham | Summer Camp | ||
| 11-14 Fiction | 1st | Alaia DiDomenico | A Song Only I Can Hear | |
| 2nd | Nina Rohd | Dear Sister | ||
| 3rd | Maysa Dadmun | Dog Chase | ||
| 11-14 Nonfiction | 1st | Nina Rohd | Fears Grow Up Too | |
| 2nd | Ruby Cline | It's Been a Long Time Coming | ||
| 3rd | Eamon Graham | Dior | ||
| 11-14 Poetry | 1st | Rex Rhodes | Resilient Hues | |
| 2nd | Robbie Gibbons | Echoes of Our Ecosystem | ||
| 3rd | Landyn Cherry | It's the Whisper | ||
| 15-18 Fiction | 1st | Samantha Roberts | Exposure | |
| 2nd | Flynn Kier | House of Glass | ||
| 3rd | Eliana Aquilio | The Sea Maiden | ||
| 15-18 Non-fiction | 1st | Faith You | Tangerines | |
| 2nd | Clara Kyrouac | Why I'm Taking a Gap Year | ||
| 3rd | Anara Kyrouac | Two Spirited | ||
| 15-18 Poetry | 1st | Judy Hirshberg | The Aesthetic of Jazz | |
| 2nd | Gray Lawrence | Grenadine Kisses | ||
| 3rd | Ryanne Hutchinson | To Soar | ||
| 19+ Fiction | 1st | Carol Daus | Left to Do | |
| 2nd | Michael Wade | Forget Me Not | ||
| 3rd | David Francis Curran | Once Upon a Time in a MISSOULA Café | ||
| 19+ Non-fiction | 1st | Kassondre Ripley | Seeing the Stars | |
| 2nd | Melissa Paulsen | NFL: No Females Likely | ||
| 3rd | Eliza Lindley | Bird World | ||
| 19+ Poetry | 1st | Zuir Moreno | Unknown | |
| 2nd | Sophia Reichelt | a refusal of shame | ||
| 3rd | Julia (JJ) Daniell | Poem 1. |
Eligibility
- Open to all full-year and part-year residents of Montana
- One entry per category per age group. Categories are fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Age groups are 8-10, 11-14, 15-18, and 19+
- Must be an original work not previously published; no pseudonyms; plagiarism results in disqualification
- Author’s name must not appear anywhere on the entry or in the file name
Deadlines
- Review Deadline: All entries submitted by 5 PM, Thursday, January 30, 2025 will be reviewed for formatting compliance. Contestants will then have until the final deadline to resolve any issues and resubmit their work.
- Final Deadline: Thursday, February 13, 2025 by 5pm
Submission Process
- Submit entries electronically via Submittable
- Entries will be judged by professional writers, editors, educators, librarians, and booksellers
- Winners will be notified in late March/early April
- Awards Reception will take place Sunday, April 27, at 2 PM in the Cooper Event Space
- Prize checks will be awarded in each category for each age group: 1st Place - $100, 2nd Place - $50, 3rd Place - $25. Winners must provide their Social Security Number in order to receive a prize check; otherwise, the prize will be issued as a Missoula Downtown Association gift card.
- Winners’ names will be submitted to the local newspapers and published on the various Missoula Public Library social networking sites and our own webpage
Entry Format
- Prescribed formatting MUST BE FOLLOWED in order to qualify!
- Fiction and non-fiction entries must be 2,000 words or fewer; poetry entries may be no more than 3 pages
- Entry must be self-contained (i.e. not a single chapter from a longer story, an excerpt, or a story that is ‘to be continued’)
- Use an easy to read font; do not use ALL CAPS, cursive, or bold fonts
- Entry must be typewritten and double-spaced (poems may be single-spaced); authors in 8-10 age group may handwrite their entries, but writing must still follow all other formatting requirements
- The title must appear at the top of the first page. Do not include the author’s name anywhere on the entry
- Each page must be numbered (the first page and/or single page entries are not required to be numbered).
- Entry must be uploaded and submitted electronically. Handwritten entries from the 8-10 group must be scanned prior to uploading
Attention: Teachers & Parents
If you are encouraging children to submit an entry, please stress to them the importance of following the entry format and submission guidelines. To avoid disqualification, review their entries prior to submission.
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