10/27/2026
🔎📝 Mystery solved! We have our winners!
Twenty-three young writers ages 8-12 entered Stillwater Public Library’s Youth Mystery Writing Contest, submitting original stories inspired by one of two prompts. One was based on The In-Between and the other on The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly, both middle-grade novels by award-winning author Rebecca Ansari.
Rebecca visited the library on Oct. 22 to announce the winners. With so many imaginative stories to read, choosing the top four was no easy task!
🏆 Grand Prize Winner: Ellie Polasik (Stillwater Middle School), “The House on the Corner of Maple St.”
✨ Runners-Up:
📖 Anika Wriskey (Stillwater Middle School), “Iceberg, Boat, and Me”
📖 Viviana Chapman (Hand in Hand), “From the Past”
📖 Grace Heinrich (GATE at Bayport Elementary), “The Multiverse House”
Rebecca praised Ellie’s story for its beautiful descriptions and voice, and loved its scary, perfectly incomplete ending. She also recognized the runners-up for their vivid details, creative plots, humor, and imaginative twists.
🎉 Congratulations to Ellie, Anika, Viviana, Grace, and all 23 writers who took on the challenge! It takes creativity and courage to share an original story, and we’re delighted these young authors put their ideas on paper.
Want to read the winning stories? You can find the grand prize and runner-up stories on our website!
A special thank-you to Rebecca Ansari for judging the contest and to Laura Hammond, English teacher at Stillwater Middle School, and Kari Larkey, 3rd grade teacher at Lily Lake Elementary School, for encouraging their students to enter. We appreciate all the teachers who inspire a love of reading and writing. 💙
Keep reading, keep writing, and keep those mysteries coming! ✍️📚
Mainstreet Stillwater MN Discover Stillwater Stillwater Area Public Schools Valley Bookseller Rebecca Sheldon Ansari
