PEN OF YOUTH. This year's Young Writers Showcase celebrated 24 authors between third and eighth grade. (Submitted photos)

Part of the popular annual Chippewa Valley Book Festival, the Young Writers Showcase recognizes area youths for their written work, and this year’s awardees include nine elementary schoolers and 15 middle schoolers.

The Young Writers Showcase event was held on Sunday, Oct. 15, at the Grand Theatre, with 18 of the 24 selected authors reading their winning entries to those in attendance. Entries spanned the genres of fiction, nonfiction, prose, and poetry.

New this year was the addition of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival printed booklet, allowing each of the young authors at the Oct. 15 event to see their work in print and take a booklet home.

Elementary students selected came from Meadowview, Putnam Heights, and Menomonie elementary schools; the Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School; and one home-schooled student, displaying the wide array of talented local youths.

• Fred - A Poem on Popsicle Sticks by Addie Odeen, grade 3
• Turtle’s Amazing Adventure by Rachel Strand, grade 4
• The Forest by Isabella Larson, grade 4
• Amazon Forest by Madeline Soleta, grade 4
• A Real Dummy by Luna Cormican, grade 4
• Flopsy: A Tall Tail by Miles Meeks, grade 4
• Seasons by Luca Parson, grade 5
• Environmental by Easton Brown, grade 5
• Sasha’s Best Surprise by Jadyn Marsh, grade 5

Students from Delong, Northstar, and Menomonie middle schools were selected as well, with many submitting works of fiction and poetry.

• The Broken Weapon by Marshall Meeks, grade 6
• A Tale of Two Girls by Finley Crater, grade 6
• Adventure is Out There by Evelyn Hanevold, grade 6
• Oak Leaves by Ila Lorde, grade 7
• Between Heaven and Earth by Haven Reagan, grade 7
• Before It’s Too Late by Amelia Osterhaus
• Nobody Cares Enough by Elsie Lemahiev, grade 8
• Black Trash Bags by Dylan Bryant, grade 8
• Final Siege by Owen Kelsey, grade 8
• Follow Your Heart by Payeng Lee, grade 8
• Friends by Trystynn Englund, grade 8
• Loud by Noel Burcham, grade 8
• Uprooted by Nora Skorczewski, grade 8
• Summer Sun Gone Rouge by Evangeline McCormick, grade 8
• Reflection of My Truth by Daphne Ogden, grade 8

“Reading is one of my favorite things to do. I like writing because I really like the ability to create universes and characters from my own mind,” said sixth grader Marshall Meeks, whose work The Broken Weapon was selected for this year’s showcase.

The 24th Chippewa Valley Book Festival was held Oct. 11-16 and brought Wisconsin Poet Laureate Nicholas Gulig to the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for the “Poetry and Conversation” event, which was moderated by local bestselling author Nickolas Butler.

The Young Writers Showcase occurs annually. Reach out to chippewavalleybookfestival@gmail.com for more information.