Stories of an unusual bookstore and a teen at the brink of a life-changing moment earned honors for two VPS middle schoolers. The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District recently announced the results of its 2015 Teen Imagined Ink writing contest. Mailei Brodniak, a student at Vancouver iTech Preparatory, took first place in the middle school division for “My Last Words.” Kaya Dunn, a student at Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, took third for “Zenetha.”
Their work, along with that of three high school students and another middle school student, earned honors in a field of 420 entries overall, an 80 percent increase over the number of entries submitted in 2014. Library staff members served as judges, and the winners were honored at a special event featuring award-winning author Deb Caletti.
Imagined Ink is an annual contest in which sixth- through 12th-graders in the library district are invited to submit an original work of 1,000 words or less in any format.