Winners Announced For Thornton Wilder Writing Competition In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — Hamden Public Library has announced the winners of the 2025 Thornton Wilder Writing Competition.

Now in its 39th year, the Thornton Wilder Writing Competition was established by the Friends of Hamden Library to honor longtime Hamden resident and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and novelist, Thornton Wilder.

See the winners below, and click on the links to read the writings:

Fiction

1st place – Somber Prologue by Sean Figueroa (Grade 11, Hamden High School)

2nd place – HATOP by Natalia Todorovich (Grade 10, Hopkins School)

3rd place – The Unseen Mask by Samir Iydroose (Grade 9, Hamden High School)

Poetry

1st place – You Cannot Divide By Zero by Emma Imanov (Grade 10, Amity Regional High School)

2nd place – Squatters by Quynh-Chau “Chau” Nguyen (Grade 12, Westover School)

3rd place – Dear Aburo by Michelle Etchie (Grade 11, Westover School)