9th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards Ceremony
When
Sep 13, 2025
1:00pm–3:00pm
Cost
Private. By Invitation Only.
Registration is required.
Congratulations to the winners of the 9th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards
On Saturday, September 13, 2025, at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, we will celebrate the winners of the 9th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards.
867 poems were submitted to this year's competition in grades K-12. 25 winners and 12 honorable mentions will be awarded at the ceremony. This year, we are also awarding a Passing the Torch Award to a pair of winners - an adult champion of youth poetry, as well as an outstanding youth poet whose poem reflects the moment, is uniquely thought-provoking, and lights the path forward for others, including their peers. We are excited to celebrate all the winners, honorable mentions, and this special award.
During this celebration, winning poets will read their poems onstage. Honorable mentions will have their name and poem title read by the emcee and stand to be recognized.
The event is by invitation only. If you would like to join us or have questions, please email us at poetry@ilhumanities.org.
More About...
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
The venue is located on the University of Chicago's campus at 915 East 60th Street (at Drexel Avenue).
Directions and Parking
Directions
Public Transportation:
- The closest CTA Bus routes are 2, 4, X28, 59, 63, and 192. The venue is near the CTA Red line as well.
- Metra Electric Line provides service to the 59th Street Station.
Driving Direction:
Get driving directions here.
Parking
- Limited street parking is available around the University of Chicago campus.
- A paid parking garage is accessible at Drexel Ave and 61st Street. The garage rate is $4 per hour with a $20 maximum fee per day. Accessible parking spaces are located near the elevators.
- The Wells parking lot on Drexel Ave and 60th St is free to the public on weekends. This lot includes accessible parking spaces.
Drop Off
North Entrance is accessible, and drop-offs are permitted. Ramp is located next to stairs. Located at 915 E. 60th Street, between S. Drexel Avenue and S. Ingleside Avenue.
Accessibility
- The venue is wheelchair accessible.
- If you require accommodations to participate in this event fully, please contact us at events@ilhumanities.org at least 48 hours before the event.
The Winners...
2025
Kindergarten
- Winner: Alantis Martin, “Happy Days” (Peoria)
1st Grade
- Winner: Essence Dean, “Loves Me” (Chicago)*
- Winner: Jennifer Eklund, “Ballgown, Please!” (Peoria)
- Honorable Mention: Major Garvan, “Field Trip Day” (Chicago)
2nd Grade
- Winner: Jermany Ashford, “Wind and Grass” (Peoria)
- Winner: Oliver Spanner, “That Terrible Thing” (Oak Park)
- Honorable Mention: Maryam Zeeshan, “Rain” (Chicago)
3rd Grade
- Winner: Delilah Long, “The Hibiscus Flower” (Peoria)
- Winner: Rani Patel, “Stapler” (Chicago)
- Honorable Mention: Carmen Foley Strasburg, “Untitled” (Winnetka)
4th Grade
- Winner: Mya Watkins, “The Nature Walk” (Peoria)
- Winner: Bella Xia, “Our World Is Crumbling” (Des Plaines)
- Honorable Mention: Roy Conley, “Rain and Desert” (Skokie)
5th Grade
- Winner: Isabelle Lakier, “light” (Chicago)
- Winner: Ray Weitzman, “The frog on the lilypad” (Chicago)
- Honorable Mention: Anna Vermylen, “Being Me” (Chicago)
6th Grade
- Winner: Vivian Steel, “Vinegar & Sage” (Skokie)
- Winner: Matthew Tesiano Cagadas, “The Harvest of Silence” (Skokie)
- Honorable Mention: Vera Volckens, “Blitz” (Oak Park)
*Denotes a previous winner or honorable mention
7th Grade
- Winner: Eli Teper, “A Last Effort” (Champaign)
- Winner: Sophia Javier, “I am from” (Chicago)
- Honorable Mention: Caroline Field, “Eternal” (Skokie)
8th Grade
- Winner: Khloie Waterhouse, “Storm's Coming” (Cerro Gordo)
- Winner: Beatriz Whitford-Rodríguez, “intertidal” (Chicago)
- Honorable Mention: Maddy Willard, “Sculpted Lies” (Cerro Gordo)
9th Grade
- Winner: Ellie Hersher-Dale, “I Dream of Tomorrow's America” (Evanston)
- Winner: Angel’la Murray, “Dementia” (Oak Park)
- Honorable Mention: Haritha Jagadeesan Suganya, “The Quiet Gaze” (Aurora)
10th Grade
- Winner: Leonidas Leigh, “requested funeral rites” (Oswego)
- Winner: Serafina Zethmayr, “Shock and Awe, Attrition, Punishment, Boxing” (Justice)
- Honorable Mention: Zoe Cobb, “what the comb said to the black girl” (Chicago)
11th Grade
- Winner: Ruby Kemp, “Outrunning Grief” (Oswego)
- Winner: Antaya Malnati, “Nature of Destruction” (Oswego)
- Honorable Mention: Melynda Patton, “The Name I Made My Own” (Oswego)
12th Grade
- Winner: Dalila Martinez, “If They Take Her” (Chicago)
- Winner: Morgan Montoya, “Toto, I don't think we're in Chi-town anymore” (Chicago)
- Honorable Mention: Finch Shaw, “RAMBLINGS OF A SINNER AS AN ABECEDARIAN” (Lincolnshire)*
*Denotes a previous winner or honorable mention
Missing a chapbook from a previous year? Contact us.
Previous
Download a chapbook or list to read the poems of previous winners.
About the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards
This annual competition honors the legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks and the creativity of K-12 writers in Illinois by creating a platform for the next generation of poets to share their voices and develop their craft. Submissions open in November and awards are announced the following summer. Winners receive a prize package and are invited to celebrate at an awards ceremony in Chicago.
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Contact
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