Ten Lafayette Parish School System students earned top honors in the 2025 Festival of Words Youth Creative Writing Competition, a regional contest hosted by the Festival of Words in partnership with the National Writing Project of Acadiana (NWP-A). Students in grades three through twelve from across Acadiana submitted original works in categories ranging from poetry and fiction to multimedia presentations and advertisement creations.
The annual competition encourages young writers to experiment with language, develop their creative voice, and share their work with a wider audience. This year’s winners from LPSS represent a wide range of campuses and artistic perspectives, showcasing the strong writing, storytelling, and creative expression cultivated in district schools.
Elementary School Winners
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1st place: Seth Arabie, Woodvale Elementary, “The State Farm Ad”
Multimedia
1st place: James Chauvin, Woodvale Elementary, “The Quantum Squeebs”
Fiction
1st place: Mabel Kellner, Woodvale Elementary, “An Ant’s World”
2nd place: Camille deClouet, Woodvale Elementary, “The Secret World”
Middle School Winners
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1st place: Jocelyn Rosales, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “Louisiana Hesitate”
Multimedia
1st place: Shya Hebert, L.J. Alleman Middle School, “If Water Could Speak: Leading by Listening”
2nd place: Jocelyn Rosales, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “The Louisiana Hesitate Podcast”
Fiction
1st place: Daniel Calvert, Belle Place Middle School, “The Unknown Curse”
2nd place: Vance Herpin, Youngsville Middle School, “Tokyo Jump”
3rd place: Alexandra Gillet, St. Pius Elementary, “The Squash”
Poetry
1st place: Shya Hebert, L.J. Alleman Middle School, “Heart Patterns”
2nd place: Abdul-Hadi Mohammed, Edgar Martin Middle School, “Breathe”
3rd place: Bryanna Cotton, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “Sundown”
High School Winners
Fiction
1st place: Addison Fontenot, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “My Perfect Girl”
2nd place: Amelia Rosteet, Southside High School, “Never Me, But You”
3rd place: Lucy Saucier, Southside High School, “Birds of a Feather”
Honorable Mention: Sha’layjia Dugas, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “Continuity”
Poetry
1st place: Neviah Taylor-Larson, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “Shedding Skin”
2nd place: Jillian Thomas, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “The Weary Stone”
3rd place: Addison Fontenot, Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, “My Last Dance to an Ugly Melody”
Students with winning pieces were invited to read their selected work at the Festival of Words Youth Writing Competition Awards Ceremony.