The Annual Stamford Literary Competition

The Stamford Literary Competition 2023 header: 38 Years of Great Writing

2023 Winners

Elementary School Winners

Grade 3 Fiction

1st Prize

Mya Roberto

The Fairy Tale

Davenport Ridge

2nd Prize

Nina Pizzarello

Frank and Fred and the Monster Sleepover

Springdale

3rd Prize

Maite Pardo Balda

Saskya’s Story

Mater Salvatoris

Honorable Mention

Samuel Block

Dragon vs. Sharks

Davenport Ridge

Grade 3 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Elan Nayini

Aquarium Encounters

BCHA

2nd Prize

Maytal Moreen

Moon

BCHA

3rd Prize

Faith Fiorello

I Have a Sport

Mater Salvatoris

Honorable Mention

Julia Teitelbaum

How to Take Care of Your New Dog

BCHA

Grade 3 Poetry

1st Prize

Idan Kochavi

Falcons

BCHA

2nd Prize

Rebecca Ostroff

Purple

BCHA

3rd Prize

Gabriel Zizmor

Dangerous Fire

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Joseph Gilboa

Winter

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Grace Angel

Leaf                                                         

BCHA

Grade 4 Fiction

1st Prize

Ava Calicchio

Merland

Strawberry Hill School

2nd Prize

Yohan Joseph

Teamwork is Best

The Catholic Academy of Stamford

3rd Prize

Abigail Lyden

The Adventures of Nugget

Strawberry Hill School

Honorable Mention

Eva Marie McRoskey

The Magic Notebook

Mater Salvatoris

Grade 4 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Sally Hennesey

Herbert the Snail

Mater Salvatoris

Grade 4 Poetry

1st Prize

Natan Warmflash

The Baseball

BCHA

2nd Prize

Eli Weisser

The Beach

BCHA

3rd Prize

Alex Folkinshteyn

A Night

BCHA

Grade 5 Fiction

1st Prize

Yael Rosenfeld

Chilly Frights

BCHA

2nd Prize

Preston Munier

The ALL STAR Game

Davenport Ridge

3rd Prize

Sophie Brand

Oh No! Our Snowman!

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Kyle Curry

The Painting

Davenport Ridge

Grade 5 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Cody Meek

The Grind

Northeast Elementary

2nd Prize

Emma Basta

The Big Heart Attack

Davenport Ridge

3rd Prize

Trent Geisler

Life With My Special Brother

Davenport Ridge

Honorable Mention

Claire Quintong

My First Loss

Davenport Ridge

Grade 5 Poetry

1st Prize

Ameyaa Agrawel

A Life of Gratitude

Westover Magnet

2nd Prize

Piper Mills

Justice                                           

Davenport Ridge

3rd Prize

Maximillian Milewski

Baseball Dream

Davenport Ridge

Honorable Mention

Mason Last

The Worst Food Group of All

Davenport Ridge

Middle School Winners

Grade 6 Fiction

1st Prize

Rudrh Nair

The Life Around Me

Turn of River

2nd Prize

Naa Ayele Armah

Afia, the Prince and the Flower

Strawberry Hill School

3rd Prize

Sofia Evanko

Kayla and the Kiwi

Strawberry Hill School

Honorable Mention

Gargi Bagwe

The Legend of the Barn

Strawberry Hill School

Grade 6 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Victoria Angel

Loneliness

BCHA

2nd Prize

Mia Tripolitsiotis

A New Achievement

Rogers International

3rd Prize

Angela Ching

Algophobia and the Inevitable

Rogers International

Honorable Mention

Giana Forte

The Day I First Tumbled Into the World

Rogers International

Grade 6 Poetry

1st Prize

Victoria Angel

Autumn the Thief

BCHA

2nd Prize

Maggie Mosenkis

Ode to Paris

BCHA

3rd Prize

Elana Kohl

Ode to Math

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Avigayil Chavkin

Ode to Winter

BCHA

Grade 7-8 Fiction

1st Prize

Prisha Jilhewar

The Scholar Jacket

Strawberry Hill School

2nd Prize

Rohan Arun

The Tale of Captain Walters

Strawberry Hill School

2nd  Prize Paula Chavez Roig Popular Strawberry Hill School

3rd Prize

Ritaj Nouh

Dragonkind’s Sanctuary

Turn of River

 

Honorable Mention

Medha Ganti

The Dream that Changed Me

Strawberry Hill School

 

Grade 7-8 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Aarna Agrawal

When I Grow up

Dolan Middle School

Grade 7-8 Poetry

1st Prize

Ritaj Nouh

Life’s Wonders

Turn of River

2nd Prize

Layla Molina

I Hear

Strawberry Hill School

3rd Prize

Emma Gordon

April 25, 2010

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Rhea Sadhu

Souls

Strawberry Hill School

High School Winners

Grade 9-10 Fiction

1st Prize

Mia Garcia

A Blip in Time

Westhill High School

2nd Prize

Cooper Toland

Never Change

Stamford High School

3rd Prize

Ruby Jiminez

My Reflection: A Tale of Insecurities

Westhill High School

Honorable Mention

Saoirse Zucker-Malone

The Robotic Dog

King School

Grade 9-10 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Isha Kotha

Panic

Stamford High School

2nd Prize

Ana Hernandez

Dating a Latina-From a Latina

Stamford High School

3rd Prize

Zahra Fadil

Bikini Kill and the Rocker Chick Revolution

Stamford High School

Grade 9-10 Poetry

1st Prize

Nabeeha Nafey

The Lowest High

Stamford High School

2nd Prize

Jane McNamara

For Fathers with Daughters

Stamford High School

3rd Prize

Sreeram Vemulapalli

Speed

AITE

Honorable Mention

Isha Kotha

Boom!

Stamford High School

Grade 11-12 Fiction

1st Prize

Sarah Barry

What Happened to the Words?

AITE

2nd Prize

Alicja Liszka

Heredity

AITE

3rd Prize

Kristina DeLelle

The Woods

Westhill High School

Honorable Mention

Dharana Alilaikannan

Silver

Westhill High School

Grade 11-12 Nonfiction

1st Prize

Janiya Smith

The Boy Who Held the Door

Stamford High School

2nd Prize

Ella Leferman

On Compassion

AITE

3rd Prize

Keira Lubliner

Art as Political Protest and Expression

Stamford High School

Grade 11-12 Poetry

1st Prize

Luke Conzo

Wistful Evenings

J.M.Wright Technical

2nd Prize

Giovanni Nieves

Wrinkled

AITE

3rd Prize

Harry Cohen

The Profound Poem

BCHA

Honorable Mention

Rosie Dumarsais

The Cost of Being Right

Stamford High School

Honorable Mention

Clementine Davis

YOUR THORNS BLED ME DRY

AITE

Honorable Mention

Natalia Sierra-Vettorazzi

When I die I want to become a tree

AITE


Elementary School Winners (Grades 3-5)

Middle School Winners (Grades 6-8)

High School Winners (Grades 9-12)

Entrance Guidelines

Eligibility

Students in grades 3-12 who live in or attend school in Stamford.

Categories

Fiction, non-fiction, poetry. Entries judged separately for Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-10, Grades 11-12.

Submissions

Each student may submit only one entry per category.
Each student may submit entries in two categories only.

Originality

Entries must be original work of one individual author.

Length

Fiction entries limited to 1500 words.
Non-fiction limited to 1500 words.
Poetry limited to two pages.
Entries that exceed the limit will not be submitted to the judges.

Format

Entries must be in English, typed, single-spaced, using a simple 10-point font.
NO color text.
NO illustrations.
NO staples.
Word docs only.

Procedure

Entry form must be attached to the online submission form.
Only Word docs will be accepted.
Please use the name of your entry as the name of your Word doc.
A separate entry form is required for each submission.

Deadline

All entries must be submitted no later than February 10, 2023.

Winners will be notified.

Judging Guidelines

Criteria

There may be four winners in each category: First, second, third place, and one honorable mention.

Creativity (50%)

Insightful content based on personal experience and/or issues of personal interest. Originality and appropriateness of topic are essential.

Structure (25%)

Organization: Clarity of thought, clear focus, coherent expression, development of theme (opening, development, closing).
Fiction: Present and resolve conflict or problem affecting characters.
Non-Fiction: Logical development with supporting arguments or examples.
Poetry: Indicate understanding of forma and structure, and demonstrate command of the elements of poetry.

Technique (25%)

Accuracy in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Ability to use punctuation conventionally or for effect. Language appropriate to subject and audience. Proper use of vocabulary - appropriate choice of words. Variety of sentence structure. Presentation should be neat, easy to follow, easy to read, with clear, clean margins.

Submission Form

Entire form must be completed to qualify.