by Congratulations Alamance County Student Writers!
The Burlington Writers Club annually sponsors the Student Writing Contest to recognize exceptional student writers in Alamance County. The contest is made possible in part by a grant through the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, and Alamance Arts.
An Award Ceremony was held at Alamance Community College on April 25, 2026. A total of 14 schools submitted 227 entries from grades 3-12: 5 private schools and 9 public schools. The contest entries broken down by category: 19 elementary school poetry; 1 middle school poetry; 38 high school poetry; 93 elementary school fiction; 45 middle school fiction; 31 high school fiction. Thank you so much to all who made this endeavor possible, including school administrators and educators, parents and guardians, contest managers and judges, contest chairs and committee, and the Burlington Writers Club’s officers and members.
Elementary School
Fiction
1st place: Maddie Drane
2nd place: Waylan Phillips
3rd place: Duncan Scott
Honorable Mention: Eliezer Ngeh
Poetry
1st place: Casey Jurado
2nd place: Alexander Naymon
3rd place: Shirin Assar
Honorable Mention: Clayton Outen (not pictured)
Middle School
Fiction
1st place: Austine Iosef Santos
2nd place: Max Miller
3rd place: Haley Nelson
Honorable Mention: Davis Mullinax
Poetry
Julia Burnham received the Honorary Poet certificate for submitting the only poem in the middle school poetry category.
High School
Fiction
1st place: Kemuel Farrish
2nd place: Elise Palmer (not pictured)
3rd place: Annabelle Wright (not pictured)
Honorable Mention: Sawyer Fairchild (not pictured)
Poetry
1st place: Arrabella Manning
2nd place: Abagail (Persephone) Barzdins (not pictured)
3rd place: Ava Morrison
Honorable Mention: Chloe Teele (not pictured)
