Celebrate Writers!

We're so grateful for all of the submissions received for the 2026 Write Outside Your Door writing competition. It's an honor to read so many submissions that show love for our city.

BIG congrats to our winners!

K-2 Winner, Victoria Lee from Kirkwood School District

3-5 Winner, Matthew Hightower from Lift for Life

6-8 Winner, Annabelle Olagbegi from Forsyth

6-8 Honorable Mention, Jack Power from Lindbergh School District

9-12 Winner, Maya Lewis from Hazelwood School District

9-12 Honorable Mention, Maeve Boehler from Nerinx Hall High School

Teacher Writer Winner, April Dickey Anderson from Parkway School District

Shout out to all of the amazing writers who made it to the finalists round. Keep up the good writing!

Finalists

Riley Rudin, Alex Hunt, Emma Paffrath, Madeline Lee, Sydney Mosley, Teddy Koepke, Arthur Kaplan, Camden Kerksick, Tanvi Savarnya, Hadley Schneider, Gitamani Anbukumar, Rachel Boland, Leila Palmejar, Venkata Aditya Unnam, Sydney Krus, Grace Dobson, & Katelyn Delvaux!

From the Following Schools

Kirkwood School District, Lindbergh School District, Holy Cross Academy, Forsyth, Nerinx, Fort Zumwalt School District, & St. Louis Community College.

Contact Us: gwp@umsl.edu
1 University Boulevard, 302 Marillac Hall, St. Louis, MO, 63121

Learn More: http://www.umsl.edu/services/gwp/
Facebook & Instagram: @GatewayWriting