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District 181 Foundation
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Significant Initiatives
  • Programs
    • Event Schedule
    • D181 Parent Programs
    • D181 Student Art Show
    • Living Classroom
    • Summer Camp Expo
    • Tech Ambassadors
    • Young Writers
  • Grants
    • Educator Grants
    • KIDS Grants
  • Ways to Give
    • Business Partners
    • Professional Partners
    • Family Resources Partner
    • Staff Appreciation
  • Community Speaker Series
  • Trivia Night
  • Donate

Become a Published Author /Celebrate at Young Writers Night

Title: "INKspired Minds"

  Open to All 3rd – 8th Grade District 181 Students


All Types of Writing Accepted– Creative Writing, Poetry, Informational Writing, Persuasive Essays, Graphic Stories/Comics.and best persuasive essay for each grade level. 

  

It’s Easy to Participate!


1. Parents can register all interested children using the button below.


2. Students do not need to have their writing finished before registering. Information about how to submit the writing will be provided in the registration confirmation email. 


3. No minimum length requirement(many pieces are quite short). Maximum length allowed: 1000 words.


4. Students can write about any topic they wish that is appropriate for a school publication. They can write a new piece specifically for the book or they can submit something they have already written. Not sure what to submit? Ask your child’s ELA teacher who we are sure will be happy to make a suggestion.


5. Students will receive their books at Young Writers Night 

Important Dates

Registration Closes 

January 31, 2025


Written Work Due 

February 14, 2025


Young Writers Night 

April 10, 2025 6:30pm

at HMS

writing Awards

2025 Award Winners

 

3rd Grade

Poetry

Claire Yun - Monroe

Creative Writing  

Daiven Arora - Elm, Vivian Chung - Prospect, Neeva Doshi -  Elm

Informational  Writing

Angelina Garbis - Madison,  Aveer Patel - Oak, 

Persuasive Writing 

Annika Panjwani - Madison


4th Grade

Poetry

Rea Gojani - Oak,  Akash Kumaran - The Lane,  Grace Tuthill - Madison

Creative Writing 

Evelyn Chau - Monroe, Mihika Gopani - Elm, Devi Punjabi -  Prospect

Informational Writing

Leah Kozmic - Madison

Persuasive Writing

Emilie Liu - Walker


5th Grade

Poetry

Madeline Wenzel - Walker

Creative Writing

Alyssa McCauley  - Oak, Jane O'Brien - Monroe

Informational Writing

Giorgio Vendraminetto - Madison, Peyton Yeager - Madison

Persuasive Writing

Isaac Li - Madison


6th Grade

Poetry

Olivia Hummer - HMS, Alexandra Weil - HMS

Creative Writing

Naomi Fenton - HMS, Viaan Gopani - HMS

Informational Writing

Diya Kumaran - HMS

Persuasive Writing

Ellie Panoff - HMS


7th/8th

Poetry

Ryan Zhang - HMS

Creative Writing 

Ranya Nijmeh - HMS, Milena Cweirtnia - CHMS

Informational Writing

Regan Lee - HMS, Misha Shah - HMS, Diya Sharma - HMS

Young Writers Night

Thursday, April 10, 2025, 6:30pm at HMS

Doors Open at 6pm. Young Writers and their families are invited to this fun evening celebrating writers and writing.  That night students can:

  

  • Books Distributed
  • Writing Awards Announced
  • Youth Author Keynote and Interview
  • Fun Learning Sessions for Writers, Artists, and Family Members

Meet Refe Tuma

Young Writers Night Keynote Speaker

  (It’s pronounced ‘reef’) 

The first book I ever wrote was Redwall fanfic titled STORM BADGER. It was twelve pages long with original hand-drawn illustrations. It turned out pretty well, so I figured I should end on a high note—I didn’t write another book for more than 20 years.

That doesn’t mean I wasn’t writing. 

As a teen, I set my stories to music, singing and playing guitar in bands across the Chicago area. I took an interest in recording and music production, embellishing my age by a few years to take over the lease on a recording studio in my home town when I was 15 so I could help other musicians tell their stories.

At 16, I joined the film and video program at my local college, where I wrote short films we rarely had the budget to shoot. One required a stuntman to break the windshield of my mom’s Toyota Corolla. He charged $250 and asked, “How much blood you want to see?”

One fateful November night years later, my wife Susan decided to set some plastic dinosaurs on the bathroom sink. Our daughter woke us up the next morning by jumping on our bed. She pulled us into the bathroom to show us the dinosaurs had come to life and started brushing their teeth. The dinosaurs wound up getting into trouble every night for the rest of the month, and again every November after that. Pretty soon, we were telling stories about them.

Now, I’m excited to share another brand-new series with you. Frances and the Monster and Frances and the Werewolves of the Black Forest are full-length novels about an aspiring young scientist who creates a monster only she can stop. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

The Young writers Experience

Tips for a Successful Experience

  1. After registering, students should submit their finished pieces. Use the button in this section to upload writing.  
  2. Documents should be Word or pdf. DO NOT SUBMIT PICTURES (jpg or png) OF PAPER DOCUMENTS! Please find a scanner if you don't have an electronic version.
  3. Please create a title for your work and include it at the top of the document.
  4. If a student needs help getting started, please contact us and we can connect you with a mentor.
  5. Content should be suitable for a school publication that is read by students as young as 3rd grade. It should not include violence/killing, self-harm/suicide, or illegal activities.
  6. If a student wishes to turn in something that was already completed in school this year and is not sure what to choose, his or her classroom teacher can help.
  7. The writing will be compiled into a bound book which every writer will receive.
  8. Student writers and their families are invited to Young Writers Night on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at HMS.  
  9. Students do not need to be available for Young Writers Night to participate in the book.  However, students who do not participate in the book may not attend Young Writers Night.

Cover art Contest

calling all student artists

We are looking for art for the front and back covers!

What should the cover art depict?

Anything students would like to share that reflects the theme “INKspired Minds”


Who can participate?

All District 181 students are eligible to participate.


What type of artwork can be submitted?· 

Artwork can be digital or on paper using any type of media.· No size or dimensions requirement – the cover will be designed to fit the dimensions of the winning piece.· DO NOT include the title of the book in your artwork. 


How should the artwork be formatted for submission?

Artwork must be submitted in jpg or pdf format and uploaded through the button below. If a piece created on paper cannot be scanned or photographed at home, please contact us for help. 


Submission Deadline

Friday, February 14, 2025


Please Note

Care should be taken in photographing or scanning the artwork. Submissions that are low resolution, have shadows, are strangely angled, show paper crumples and creases, or have other technical issues will not be published.  

A special note of thanks

Funding for a portion of the Young Writers program is sponsored by the Theresa Wilkie Memorial Fund.

Copyright © 2025 District 181 Foundation - All Rights Reserved.

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