Meet The Winners Of GPB's 2022 PBS KIDS Writers Contest

Congratulations to the winners of GPB's annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest! These winners were among hundreds of K-3 students in Georgia who participated in the 2022 PBS KIDS Writers Contest. Students submitted original, illustrated stories for the chance to win prizes and be featured on GPB's website. 

A first, second, and third place winner was selected for each grade. Each grade level also had a STEAM winner--ones that best incorporated science, technology, engineering, arts, or mathematics. 

An awards ceremony was held on Saturday, June 25th at GPB's headquarters. During the ceremony, winners and their families enjoyed a visit from Arthur, learned about pollinators with special guest author and PBS KIDS Early Learning Champion, Andrea Zoppo (Miss Ladybug), and got to record their award-winning stories in our GPB radio studios.

Listen to all the stories here. 

Kindergarten Winners:
1st Place - The Community Garden, by Evan Brown (LaGrange, GA)
2nd Place - Little Ben – The Big Hitter, by Aadit Ochani (Marietta, GA)
3rd Place - Sparkle Heart Does Ballet, by Olivia Dexter (Rome, GA)
STEAM Winner - My Super Storm, by Shankar Belagaje (Marietta, GA)

Caption

L to R: Evan Brown (1st Place), Aadit Ochani (2nd Place), Olivia Dexter (3rd Place) Not pictured: Shankar Belagaje (STEAM)

1st Grade Winners:
1st Place - The Honey, by Jack Workman (Newnan, GA)
2nd Place - Magical Friends, by Avery Wu (Statesboro, GA)
3rd Place - The Pine Tree, by Lawson Brown (Savannah, GA)
STEAM Winner - My Future, by Hewen Li (Cumming, GA)

Caption

L to R: Hewen Li (STEAM), Jack Workman (1st Place) not pictured: Avery Wu (2nd Place), Lawson Brown (3rd Place)

2nd Grade Winners:
1st Place - Cloudy Day, by Jacob Choi (Buford, GA)
2nd Place - The Bad Hurricane, by Yazmine Gonzalez (Clayton, GA)
3rd Place - The Shrink-ray Pets, by Laila Ellis (Athens, GA)
STEAM Winner - Operation PEMDAS, by Greyson Lee (Mableton, GA)

Caption

L to R: Jacob Choi (1st Place), Laila Ellis (3rd Place), Greyson Lee (STEAM), Yazmine Gonzalez (2nd Place)

3rd Grade Winners:
1st Place - Rubye and the Magical Bridge, by Jennah Byrd (Riverdale, GA)
2nd Place - Once Upon a Dream…, by Aarav Dharmaraj (Pooler, GA)
3rd Place - The Motorcycle Dilemma, by Drew Brown (LaGrange, GA)
STEAM Winner - Adaptions, by Kaitlyn Gaulding (Peachtree Corners, GA)

Caption

L to R: Aarav Dharmaraj (2nd Place), Drew Brown (3rd Place), Jennah Byrd (1st Place) not pictured: Kaitlyn Gaulding (STEAM)

For more information on GPB's PBS KIDS Writers Contest, go to gpb.org/writers. The next contest will kick off in January 2023. The contest is made possible with generous support from Steve Kuranoff.