08/27/2026
Over the weekend, we attended the Forward Madison FC game to celebrate the top 3 winners for the 2026 WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest! Congratulations to Eloise Anderson (16) for penning the winning entry "Cold Tea, Hot Kettle" and taking home the grand prize of $500!
Two runners-up were also invited to be celebrated on the field during half-time of Saturday's game and received personalized jerseys from the team. 8th-grader Alayna Yang's entry "A Tuna Tale, is an original, fully illustrated comic, while 12-year-old Olivia Lubcke submitted a touching story about a tree that's more than "Just a Tree". Three additional finalists will take home $100 each, and you can read all six of the prize-winning stories online now at madpl.org/youthvoices.
Of course, the fun doesn't stop there! Thanks to the hard work of our amazing community judges, 50 young writers will see their writing in print this October when the 5th edition of the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology is released and the young authors included in it are celebrated during the Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration!
Congratulations again to these talented writers and a big thank you to our partners for the contest, Forward Madison FC and the Wisconsin Book Festival. Additionally, the contest wouldn't be possible without the support of the Madison Public Library Foundation and generous literacy advocate Eve Galanter.
