Our contest has been posted to Spring 2026!
Thank you to everyone who submitted their stories for our writing contest! We will contact you with information regarding the virtual awards ceremony where we will announce the winners.
It is time once again for the Palo Alto City Library Writing Contest, now called the Elizabeth Stewart Writing Contest!
Kids and Teens grades 3-12 are invited to address the following prompt in 500 words or less:
"You’ve got a magic pen. What can it do and how will you use it?"
- You do not need to be a Palo Alto resident or go to Palo Alto schools to enter the writing contest.
- Please submit as a Word document or PDF attachment.
- Contest submissions can be in any style: prose, poetry, verse, rap, etc.