This summer, young writers from all over the world joined The Journal Bootcamp to learn about current events, write creatively, and get published! Students worked closely with their dedicated coaches each week to edit and refine their writing, until it was worthy of a feature in an online magazine.

Dozens of students took the challenge one step further by entering the Summer 2026 Letterly National Writing Competition!

After days of reading, scoring, and re-reading entries, we are so thrilled and proud to bring you this year’s winners…

In the “12 and under” category…
🥇 1st Place: Jessica Yu for “Letter to Silence”
🥈 2nd Place: Hillary Shen for “Year of the Horse”
🥉 3rd Place: Theo Li for “Bassultus’ Trip Through the Earth“
⭐️ Honorable Mention: Nathan Tse for “The Adventure of an Average Ant”
⭐️ Honorable Mention: Alina Sun for “A Handful of Stars”

In the “Over 13” category…
🥇 1st Place: Benjamin He for “A Certain Kind of Education”
🥈 2nd Place: Eileen Zou for “Will History Shape France and Morocco’s Combat on
the World Cup’s Football Field?”
🥉 3rd Place: Irene Lin for “The Seventy-Sixth Page”
⭐️ Honorable Mention: Helen An for “Life is Better with Siblings”
⭐️ Honorable Mention: Claire Zhang for “Responsibilities of Life”

We thank all of our young writers and their families for showcasing their unique voices and spirits through their work! We can’t wait to see what you come up with in our upcoming programming.

Happy Writing!

💌 The Letterly Team