About the Inklings Book Contest
Each year, the Inklings Book Contest celebrates youth writers in grades 3–12. Winners revise their stories with a professional mentor and are published in our annual anthology. Finalists receive editorial letters with revision guidance and are featured on our Inkwell platform.
This post offers a sneak peek at several finalist pieces. Click through to read each story on the Inkwell, where young writers are encouraged to share their voices and connect through storytelling.
Want to cheer them on? Anyone can create a free read-only subscriber account to leave a comment.
Inklings Book 2025 Finalist Spotlight
Chapter Two: Extraordinary Worlds
The stories in this second chapter of our Inklings Book 2025 Finalist Spotlight invite us into magical and wonder-filled territory that calls to the imagination. These youth writers lead us through their sweeping worlds filled with mystery, suspense, and unlikely friends.
The Visit
by Niva Paliwal
(3rd grade)
It was a bright and sunny day on Nahi’s home planet of Watig. As soon as Nahi woke up, she rubbed her four eyes. Then she started her daily routine: Feeding her pet tiger, Tigerra, hunting for food, cleaning the house, washing her bright green wings, putting moisturizing herbs on her glowing freckles, and pressing tiny flowers onto the nails of her forty fingers. After all the morning chores were done, Nahi started to read a book. Suddenly, the ground shook and the leaf that she was reading tore.
“Come on! That was my favorite book, A Study in Green!” Nahi exclaimed.
However, Nahi had bigger things (literally) to worry about. A large hunk of metal had just landed in the jungle where Nahi lived.
Eliminated
by Frieda Socol
(3rd grade)
Anastasia (Anna) stepped outside and inhaled the chilly winter air. Just a week before, her small village of Python, one of the six villages in the Icon Circle, had been preparing for The Holiday, with flowers and colorful decorations. Now everything stood bleak and barren on the cold December morning. Anna shivered and pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Looking over the balcony of her house, more like a tower actually, she could see all of Python. The large town square and market, down to the small houses lining the edge of the village. Anna hurried down the stairs into the square, pulling her leather jacket tighter around herself as she went.
The Train Ride
by Viola Prilmeier
(6th grade)
The rain poured down in sheets, streetlights glowed. Eli stood on the platform of the train station; his guitar case clutched tightly in one hand while the other rubbed the back of his neck in irritation. He’d thought he could make it after the gig; thought he could charm the night into giving him just a little more time. But time had slipped through his fingers—fading, fleeting, gone.
“Dang it,” he muttered to himself, checking the time on his phone.
Midnight had come and gone; the last train had just pulled away from the platform. The station was nearly deserted.
Just as he turned to leave, a figure appeared from the shadows—a tall man in a vintage suit, complete with a hat perched at a jaunty angle. He stood beside an old post that had been there for what seemed like ages; it was rusty and maroon, and it seemed to fade in with the night.
Looking for a Summer Adventure?
Try the Inkwell Scavenger Hunt! Read stories, spot hidden gems, and earn fun rewards.
