A new collaboration by University of Iowa College of Education faculty member Liz Corson is creating creative writing opportunities for students in Southeast Iowa communities.

Corson, a clinical assistant professor of Elementary Literacy Education and vice president of the Iowa Reading Association, recognized a lack of writing contest for area grade school and high school students.

She sought to change that and started collaborating with the Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP). Together they launched the IYWP Short Story and Poetry Contest, an inaugural writing contest for school kids (grades 1-12). 

“We no longer have an active council in Southeastern Iowa so there has not been a short story and poetry contest in this area for some time,” says Corson. “To fill that need to celebrate our local student writers, the Iowa Reading Association partnered with the Eastern Iowa Reading Council, UI’s Teaching and Learning Department, and the Iowa Youth Writing Project.” 

Corson notes that collaborating with Mallory Hellman, IYWP director, and Gwyneth Forsythe, IYWP associate director, was essential to making the writing contest a reality. 

The winners of the 2025 IYWP Short Story and Poetry Contest are as follows:

Short Story Winners 

What Happens to Wingsy by Elizabeth Hadlandsmyth (first grade, Horn Elementary School)

Magic by Asha Mihalopoulos (second grade, The Country School)

Rufus Escapes by Juliet W. (third grade, Homeschooled)

Protectors by Alena Hadlandsmyth (fourth grade, Horn Elementary School)

The Midnight Zone by Brooke Lynn Mader (fifth grade, Gilbert Intermediate School, Ames)

The Heart of the Ancient Wood by Skylar Chen (sixth grade, Northwest Middle School)

Northern Dawn by Lorelei Rex (seventh grade, Southeast Middle School

Adam’s Intervention of the Supernatural by Missy Alwali (eighth grade, Southeast Middle School)

Weightless by Adeline Goeken (twelfth grade, Liberty High School)

Poetry Winners 

The Sun and the Moon by Phoenix Sims (second grade, Coralville Central Elementary School)

Cherry Blossom by Hrisha Patel (third grade, Horn Elementary School)

I am Poem by Isabelle Lu (fourth grade, Weber Elementary School)

The Howl of the Cry by Laina Nelson (fifth grade, Coralville Central Elementary School)

Forward-Backward by Skylar Chen (sixth grade, Northwest Middle School)

The Way from One Thing to Another Thing and Back by Mazzy Sleep (seventh grade, Homeschooled)

Undefined by Missy Alwali (eighth grade, Southeast Middle School)

The Lyre Strums by Loren Barjis (ninth grade, West High School)

The Secrets We Keep by Kaisha Hawkins (tenth grade, Liberty High School)

The winning writers were invited to a recognition and celebration event at the College of Education’s Baker Teacher Leader Center where family, friends, and teachers listened to each student recite their award-winning work.