The Lafayette Public Library is pleased to announce the winners of the 22nd annual Writes of Spring Writing Contest. We congratulate the winners and recognize the efforts of all students who contributed their entries.

We also thank the teachers for providing the instruction necessary for the students’ success and for encouraging and inspiring them in their scholarly pursuits. This year, the Writes of Spring received 339 student entries!

The contest was open to all students in grades K – 12 who reside in Lafayette Parish or in the surrounding parishes: Acadia, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion. Students submitted their own original unpublished work (in English, French, or Spanish) in one of the following genres:

• Poetry (1-3 poems, 100 lines total)

• Fiction (K-6 graders: max 750 words; 7-12 graders: max 1,500 words)

• Personal Narrative (K-6 graders: max 750 words; 7-12 graders: max 1,500 words)

The results are in! Winners of the 2024 Writes of Spring Writing Contest are as follows:

Elementary School

Fiction [Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades]
First place: Bishop Drapekin, “Supa Fail: A Gaming Story” (Cathedral Carmel)
Second place: Hains Pefferkorn, “The Puppies and the Pyramid” (Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School)
Third place: Genevieve Speeg, “The Little Seed” (St. Pius Elementary)

Personal Narrative [Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades]
First place: Sawyer Williams, “Two Times I Got Hurt at School” (Woodvale Elementary)
Second place: Cece Hamilton, “The Day I Went to the Park” (Woodvale Elementary)
Third place: Taylor Wang, “A Trip to Disney” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)

Poetry [Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades]
First place: Briley Bach, “Little Things” (Ernest Gallet Elementary)
Second place: Oliver Alfred, “The Park of Poetry” (Green T. Lindon Elementary)
Third place: Viaan Singhal, “Wonders” (Ernest Gallet Elementary)

Fiction [Third and Fourth Grades]
First place: Janie Fruge, “Adventures of the Lost Ball” (Teche Elementary)
Second place: Genevieve Hoffpauir, “The Worsening Day” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)
Third place: Norah Thom, “Bumblebee” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)

Personal Narrative [Third and Fourth Grades]
First place: Mikey Cortez, “New Orleans Newbie” (Cathedral Carmel)
Second place: Elizabeth Hollier, “The Healing” (Cathedral Carmel)
Third place: Annie Adams, “The Very Best Time of My Life” (Cathedral Carmel)

Poetry [Third and Fourth Grades]
First place: Aubrey Drew, “Bump, Set, Spike” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)
Second place: Addy Brandon, “Snake” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)
Third place: Nate Walton, “Old Man” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)

French Poetry [Third and Fourth Grades]
First place: Magalie Chang-Fong, “Dans mon jardin” (Prairie Elementary)

Middle School

Fiction [Fifth and Sixth Grades]
First place: Audrey Cahill, “Lost in My Thoughts” (Episcopal School of Acadiana)
Second place: Nola Buteaux, “Rain” (Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy)
Third place: Evangeline LeBlanc, “How Tigers Earn Their Stripes” (Broadmoor Elementary)

Personal Narrative [Fifth and Sixth Grades]
First place: Emmeline Rhodes, “The Great Ice Cream Truck Chase” (Cathedral Carmel)
Second place: Genevieve Richard, “Climb to the Crown” (Teche Elementary)

Poetry [Fifth and Sixth Grades]
First place: Karmyn Babineaux, “Growing Old” (Teche Elementary)
Second place: Amelie Broussard, “How I See the World” (Prairie Elementary)
Third Place: Amy Thomas, “Wheels” (Westminster Christian Academy)

French Personal Narrative [Fifth and Sixth Grades]
First Place: Gracie Leblanc, “Ecole Intermediare” (Prairie Elementary)

Fiction [Seventh and Eighth Grades]
First place: Amelia Ducatel, “The Day” (Cathedral Carmel)
Second place: Gabi Hebert, “Eagles Land” (John Paul the Great Academy)
Third place: Addyson Taylor, “Revolution’s Unraveling Dance” (David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy)

Personal Narrative [Seventh and Eighth Grades]
First place: Stella Walker, “A Dream Come True” (Cathedral-Carmel)
Second place: Alex Montet, “A Cross-Country Personal Record” (St. Cecilia)
Third place: Camille Bernard, “Every Little Girl” (St. Pius Elementary)

Poetry [Seventh and Eighth Grades]
First place: Sophia Domingue, “The Sound of Music” (St. Pius Elementary)
Second place: Mariya Marcus, “I am From” (St. Pius Elementary)
Third place: Clare Thomson, “Trust” (St. Pius Elementary)

High School

Fiction [Ninth and Tenth Grades]
First place: Martha Odom. “The Turning Pointe” (Ascension Episcopal School)
Second place: Marc Canter, “House of Guilt” (David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy)
Third place: Rudra Karadkhelkar, “The Enigma of the Cherry Blossom” (Lafayette High School)

Personal Narrative [Ninth and Tenth Grades]
First place: Luka Reynolds, “My Experience in the Mental Hospital” (Southside High School)
Second place: Emma Roszell, “What I Learned From Taylor Swift” (Southside High School)

Poetry [Ninth and Tenth Grades]
First place: Carys Grindrod, “You Have to Get Back Up” (Southside High School)
Second place: Brie Jones, “Mermaid Girl” (David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy)
Third place: Collin Thibodeaux, “What I Wanted and What I Got” (Southside High School)

French Fiction [Ninth and Tenth Grades]
First place: Beau McCoy, “Le Loup Apprend Une Leçon” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Second place: Olivia Dore’, “Le Ciel de Scintillement” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

French Poetry [Ninth and Tenth Grades]
First place: Emma Phillips, “Les quatre saisons” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Second place: Nina Foss, “Ode à Marianne” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Third place: Emma Domec, “La Plage” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

Fiction [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Audrey Pinkley, “Swim” (Comeaux High School)
Second place: Katherine Hotard, “The Outside Looking In” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Third place: Clay Hebert, “The Drive Home” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

Personal Narrative [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Grant Deshotels, “My Big Game” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Second place: Reagan Rantz, “Gone But Never Forgotten” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Third place: Charlotte Brown, “Not a Charity Case” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

Poetry [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Auden Saft, “ICARUS” (Lafayette High School)
Second place: Ava Thibodeaux, “Continuum” (Teurlings Catholic High School)
Third place: Everett Foard, “Man on the Moon” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

French Fiction [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Caroline Meaux, “L’écureuil prodigue” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

French Poetry [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Ava Segura, “Ode à l’été” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Second place: Patricia Engelhardt, “Ode au bouquet de fleurs” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)
Third place: Ruthie Pippin, “Laisse le monde derrière” (Saint Thomas More Catholic High School)

Spanish Fiction [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Keiana Batiste, “El Secreto del Relojero” (Opelousas High School)

Spanish Personal Narrative [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Keegan Moten, “Un Viaje Inolvidable” (Opelousas High School)

Spanish Poetry [Eleventh and Twelfth Grades]
First place: Ryon Lafleur, “Sinfonia del Alma” (Opelousas High School)
Second place: Gabrielle Francis, “Mariposas” (Opelousas High School)
Third Place: Takayla Coleman, “Latidos del Corazon” (Opelousas High School)

Congratulations to this year’s winners and a big thanks to all who participated in the 22nd annual contest!

The library would also like to thank the teachers, librarians and other educators who volunteered their time to judge the entries. Each winner will be given a copy of an anthology featuring the works of all 2024 winners, as well as their official certificate.

You can learn more about the annual contest by visiting our Writes of Spring Writing Contest page.