The 2025 WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest is CLOSED! Please refer down below for more information on the 2025 Youth Voices Judges and details about the Winners Announcement Event.
Meet the 2025 Youth Voices Judges!
Judges for Ages 9 and Under
Araceli Esparza - Author/Speaker/Storyteller (and Poet!)
Araceli Esparza is a published, award-winning Bilingual Chicana Poeta. Araceli’s work has been published in several anthologies and journals, and you can hear her poetry in the Wisconsin Life archives. She is a Pushcart Nominee twice! She is an MFA graduate from Hamline University. Araceli was born and raised in Madison, WI; her parents were migrant farmworkers from Guanajuato, Mexico, from whom she still gathers her strength.
Currently, Araceli is planting seeds as a social justice speaker and founder of Midwest Mujeres, a Latina mentoring program that mentors Latinas in corporate storytelling skills and provides a space for their stories to be shared. Check out her work online.
Constance Roberts - Library Media Specialist at Stephens Elementary School (MMSD)
Growing up, Constance lived in a lot of different places. The one place she always made sure to visit was the public library- even when in Germany! Since Constance read all the time, no one was surprised when she became a librarian.
Having spent the school year encouraging students to try different books, she is excited to read the original pieces that the creative kids of Madison write!
Judges for Ages 10-13
Wallis Lapsley - Goalkeeper for Forward Madison FC
Wallis Lapsley was born and raised in Seattle, WA. One of his earliest memories is walking to the Seattle Public Library (University Branch) with his little sister and mom on his mom's days off from working as an ICU nurse. They would use the computers and pick out books to take home and read before bed. Some of the first books Wallis can remember reading on his own were from the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne.
Wallis went to school and played soccer at UC Davis where he studied Global Disease Biology and Chicana/o Studies. He have been fortunate enough to be playing professional soccer for 6 years with stops in New York, Tucson, Seattle, and Omaha before coming to Madison this year. Once Wallis' playing career is finished he is hoping to pursue coaching or go back to school to study Nursing or Library Science.
Laura Bird - Local Author and Wisconsin Book Festival Presenter
Laura Anne Bird lives in Madison with her husband, three big kids, and little dog. When she’s not reading, writing, or reviewing books, she volunteers as an ambassador for Wisconsin Book Festival, a board member for Madison Public Library Foundation, and the Co-chair of Lunch for Libraries.
Laura is the middle grade author of Marvelous Jackson and Crossing the Pressure Line. Join her on Instagram where she celebrates all things literary.
Judges for Ages 14-18
Bianca Martin - City Cast Madison Podcast Host and Storyteller
Bianca Martin is the host of the local, award-winning weekday podcast City Cast Madison, which connects Madisonians to their city and neighbors.
She’s formerly a long time radio and podcast producer for a number of NPR and public radio programs including “Our Body Politic”, “1A”, plus, National Geographic's nonfiction narrative podcast “Into The Depths”.
Justin Festge-Russell - Youth Voices Youth Ambassador, City of Madison Youth Poet Laureate
Justin Festge-Russell, or JEXIZIS, is the Madison Youth Poet Laureate and a 19-year-old student at UW Madison. Justin specializes in hip-hop, poetry, and creative production. He is also a member of a full tuition Hip-Hop, Activism & Urban Arts Scholarship called First Wave.
Justin works with youth to explore and uncover their artistic prowess. He's currently pursuing a degree in education with the goal of impacting the lives of youth with positive direction.
The WE READ program is funded by Madison Public Library Foundation, Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation, Friends of the Madison Public Library, Roots & Wings Foundation, and Jane Doughty & David Wood.
Contest Details
The 2025 WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest is now CLOSED! Please check back later in the year for more information on next year's contest.
Submissions can be in English, Spanish, or Hmong. If you would like to submit in a language other than English, please contact Abigail Ryan at ryana@madisonpubliclibrary.org to ensure a translator for our judges can be acquired.
This annual contest, hosted by Madison Public Library in collaboration with Forward Madison FC and the Wisconsin Book Festival, is for kids in the Madison area. The library accepts submissions in English, Spanish, Hmong and other languages, and writing can be in the form of short stories, songs, poems, comics, graphic novels, and more.
Contest Dates: May 1 - June 30, 2025
2025 Theme: Roots
Age Groups:
- Ages 9 and under | 500 words or less
- Ages 10-13 | 750 words or less
- Ages 14-18 | 1,000 words or less
Authors should limit themselves to their single best piece for submission.
The Prizes
Submissions for the contest are judged by a community panel of judges. Three talented writers will be recognized for their achievements by:
- Being recognized on the field at Forward Madison's game on August 21, 2025
- Receiving a prize package of Forward Madison swag
- Having their stories published in the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology, which will be available in every Madison Public Library location and Madison Metropolitan School District library location across the city
- Featuring them at the Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration.
- Having their work be shared via social media, the Forward Madison FC and Madison Public Library newsletters, and other community channels.
The GRAND PRIZE WINNER also receives a $500 cash prize, while the two runners-up receive $250, and the three age category winners receive $100 each courtesy of the Madison Public Library Foundation. These prizes serve as investments in youth - the winner and their families are left to determine the best way to spend or save the funds.
2025 Writing Contest Theme & Youth Ambassador
The WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest Youth Ambassador chooses the theme for the contest each year, encourages youth to apply, serves as a judge, and writes the foreword for the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology in the fall.
"We're excited to welcome Justin Festge Russell, Madison's Youth Poet Laureate, as the Youth Ambassador for this year's contest," said Madison Public Library's Youth Services Manager Tammy Ocampo. "Justin is enthusiastic about fostering the next generation of writers in Madison, and he's a shining example of a young person who has accomplished so much by pursuing their creative passions."
Justin Festge-Russell, or JEXIZIS, is the Madison Youth Poet Laureate and a 19-year-old student at UW Madison. Justin specializes in hip-hop, poetry, and creative production. He is also a member of a full tuition Hip-Hop, Activism & Urban Arts Scholarship called First Wave. Justin works with youth to explore and uncover their artistic prowess. He's currently pursuing a degree in education with the goal of impacting the lives of youth with positive direction.
“Inspired by Madison Public Library's 150th Anniversary, this year's Youth Voices Writing Contest theme is all about Roots,” said Russell. “Whether your story is about going back to your roots to examine your personal history and revisit moments that were worth holding on to, exploring moments of conflict where you had to get to the root of the issue, or planting new ideas and growing together from the roots up, we want to hear them!”
Attend the Winners Announcement Event!
Forward Madison FC vs Spokane Velocity FC
August 21, 7-9pm | Breese Stevens Field
The 2025 WE READ Youth Voices winners will be announced at the Thursday, August 21 Forward Madison FC home game at Breese Stevens Field [917 E. Mifflin St.]. More details to come soon.
WE READ Youth Voices Anthology
Each year, the top 50 stories are collected and published in the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology. The anthology is available at all Madison Public Library locations, as well as at all Madison Metropolitan School District Libraries.
You can read some of the past winning stories online or check out a copy of the anthology from the library to get inspired:
