The Friends of the Orinda Library proudly announce the winners of the 2023 Poul Anderson Creative Writing Contest, which was open to all students who reside or attend high school in Orinda. The contest is named in honor of the late Poul Anderson, a popular science-fiction writer and long-time Orinda resident.
From dozens of outstanding entries, winners were selected in the following categories: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Poetry and Essay. Each will receive a $500 award from The Friends of the Orinda Library. The winners are:
- Olivia Falk for her poem entitled The Memory Box;
- Emma Wong for her poem Breaking Up with Beautiful;
- Tatiana Gupta for her short story Box; and
- Nina Segall for her essay Intertwined Fingers.
Honorable Mentions went to Liesel Yun, Antong Cao, Matthew Bakonyvari, Kaia Bonham and Josslyn Grover. We congratulate the winners and all the talented entrants.
Many thanks to this year’s judges, who donated their time and literary expertise. The judges included Sora O’Doherty, reporter for Lamorinda Weekly; Susan Williams, librarian at Miramonte High School; and Anne Lowell, librarian at Glorietta Elementary School.