Congratulations to the 2022 Awardees and Honourable Mentions on their literary works. 
 

Poetry 

Age 12 

1st – Alexis Pereira, The Olympic Swimmer 
2nd – Emma S, Perspective 

 
Age 13 

1st – Tahreem Jamil, Cut Down 
2nd – Meerab Saleem, The never ending road 

Honourable Mention: 
Muziana Khan, Summer 

Age 14 

1st - Jonathan Middleton, An October Night 
2nd – Idil Farah, Extreme Life Of A Germaphobe 

Honourable Mentions: 
Jade Chan, Lingering Past 
Shuaib Hadi, Shakespearean Sonnet: Cats 
 

Age 15 

1st – Junnah Ataya, Best Friends 
2nd - Tasia-Lynn Busby, God’s Reason 

Age 16 

1st – Olivia Gringhuis, moment of tangency 
*Young Poet Award winner (awarded by the Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature Science and Art) 
2nd – Joshua Middleton, "I Don’t Like Poems" 

Honourable Mentions: 
AK Star, Pick up the Pen 
Len Lu, when the music stops 

Age 17 

1st – Marie-Paul Duwai-Sowa, Effervescence 
2nd Silhouette by Sarah Reid

Honourable Mentions:  

Rami Naamna, Caterpillar Society 
Kezia Hart, Right?

Age 18 

1st Anna Hurnanen, Growing Pains 
2nd Cameron Boese, The Empty Well of Carrying On 

Honourable Mentions: 
Natasha Moore, Over 
Abbey Hanson, Childhood

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Poetry (French) 

1st – Len Lu, l'été (infini) 
2nd – Muziana Khan, Été 

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Short Story 

Age 12 

1st Jessica Mantel, Up in A Tree 
2nd Kailyn Mercer, 32 Kilometers in 18 Hours 
 

Honourable Mention: 

Maheen Wasif, The Chicken and the Cat 
 
Age 13 

1st – Josiah Lee, Broken Pathways in The Praries
2nd – Keyara St. Cartier-Samms, Nishtawaymiht (Identity)

Honourable Mentions: 
Asher Berkelaar, How I Woke In A Swamp With No Recollection Of Who I Was And Found My Way Arduously To My Brother’s Estate 
Ava Proper, Women’s Rights 
Isabel Vanderzwaag, Working Together is Better 

Age 14 

1st – Jade Chan, Unspoken Truths 
2nd – Erica Game, Forget me not 

Honourable Mentions: 
Jaxen DeBoer, My Hockey Story 
Tishey Omidiran, White Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Mckenzie Dunwoodie, The Girl on the hillside 

Age 15 

1st – Ana Kovacevic, The “dear boss” Letter
2nd – Anya Wang, Yourself 
 
Honourable Mention: 
Maia Whitman, Rebel For Ireland 

Age 16 

1st – Olivia Gringhuis, four frozen monarchs 
2nd – Sierra Bishop, Eternity 

Honourable Mentions: 
Len Lu, Alien 
Joshua Middleton, Fly, Little Plane 
Abigail Van Raalte, Charm’s Lure 
Zoe Smith, When their Eyes Met 

Age 17 

1st – Sofia DiGiacomo, The Stories That I Wrote 
2nd – Kezia Hart, Thirty-Five dollars per Month 
*Maitland Banting Silver Quill Award winner (awarded by the Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature Science and Art) 

Honourable Mention: 
C. Le Donne, Lamb, Post Sacrifice 

Age 18 

1st – Anna Hurnanen, Changing Lanes 
2nd – Olivia Lanc, The After-School Heist Program 

Honourable Mention: 
Abbey Hanson, An Autumn Afternoon 
 
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Short Story (French) 
1st – Len Lu, Écrivain 
2nd - Joshua Middleton, Ça commence avec vous

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HAALSA Young Poet's Award: 
Kezia Hart, Thirty-Five dollars per month 

Maitland Banting Silver Quill Award: 
Olivia Gringhuis, moment of tangency 

For previous years, please visit the Local History & Archives Department at the 3^rd floor of the Central Library.