Meet the Write-a-Story Contest Winners!

We asked your students to write an imaginative, compelling, original short story that starts with one of three first lines written by the famous author Jennifer A. Nielsen. We are very excited to announce that Jennifer has chosen two winning short stories. The middle school winner is Madeleine Mei Tsai Fine, who wrote “Family of Thieves.” And the high school winner is Abigail Taylor, who wrote “Free!”

Check out the fabulous winning stories—and the amazing finalists and runners-up below! And find out about this year’s writing contest here.

“Family of Thieves”

by Madeleine Mei Tsai Fine

New York, NY

Why Jennifer chose this story:

"Fantastic opening paragraph! It pulled me immediately into the story and made me intrigued by the narrator. Elizabeth is a great character, a sort of Robin Hood type of anti-hero that makes this a fun read. The plot is complex but well laid out, and Governor Strüm makes a wonderful villain."

—Jennifer A. Nielsen

Read her winning entry here!

“Free!”

by Abigail Taylor

Albuquerque, NM

Why Jennifer chose this story:

“There are some brilliant themes that move through this story, namely the repetitions of tugs and pulls on her life, pulling her away, or back to her family. I loved that. Writing in present tense can be very difficult too, but this is done exceptionally well. This is very mature writing, and the ending is beautiful.”

—Jennifer A. Nielsen


Read her winning entry here!

“Won’t Let Them Win”

by Eloise Hamm

Winnetka, IL

“Wings”

by Rachel Ruth

Mount Vernon, OH

Leah Conroy

Little Falls, NJ

 

Brianna Madison Grossman

Edison, NJ

 

Patrick Moneghan

Deptfold, NJ

 

Ellie Wilson

Gillespie, IL

 

Tessa Valdovinos

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Scope Contests

Scope is packed with contests to get your students excited about writing. And they can win awesome prizes!

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