The Friends of the Orinda Library proudly announce the winners of the 2024 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 many outstanding entries, winners were selected in the following categories: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Poetry, Science Fiction and Essay. The winners are:
- Olivia Falk, a junior at College Preparatory School, for her poem entitled An Abecedarian of My Thoughts on Lunar New Year;
- Antong Cao, for her short story, Cell, Rising;
- Josslyn Grover, a junior at Bentley, for her essay, The Elephant and the Peacock, and for her Science Fiction story, Case Study Volleyball Territory 94563.
Each winning entry earns a $500 award from The Friends.
Honorable Mentions went to Abigail Kim, Emma Wong, Adria Esopa, and Livia Segall and Rory Gaarder-Wang. 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, and Sally Hogarty, retired executive editor of The Orinda News.