November 3, 2025:
Congratulations to all of our Youth Mystery Writing Contest participants!
Twenty young writers (ages 8-12) submitted original stories to our mystery writing contest inspired by The Books of Elsewhere and Long Lost, middle-grade novels by Minnesota Book Award Winner Jacqueline West. We were amazed by the creativity, imagination, and suspense woven into each story.
Jacqueline had the challenging job of reviewing these shadowy and mysterious tales and narrowing the field to the top three stories. She announced the grand prize winner and two runner-ups during her visit to the library on Thursday, October 30. The grand prize winner was Amelia Mills for “What Lurks in the Woods.” The runner-ups were Benjamin Alam-Price for “My Eyes Might Deceive Me” and Molly Sellers for “The Farmhouse Mystery.”
We’d also like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Laura Hammond, English teacher at Stillwater Middle School. Several students shared that she encouraged them to enter the contest—runner-up Benjamin even dedicated his story to her! We deeply appreciate teachers who inspire a love of reading and writing in their students.
Winner: Amelia Mills
Amelia is a seventh grader at Stillwater Middle School. An avid writer, she has already completed several stories and has countless other ideas waiting to be developed. Amelia loves reading series like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Nevermoor, and The Inheritance Games.
When she’s not writing or reading, Amelia keeps busy running cross country, playing soccer and softball, climbing trees, participating in Girl Scouts (Troop 57685), making jewelry, and performing in theater.
Author Jacqueline West praised Amelia’s story for its “eerie and excellent sense of place, and a very well-constructed plot, too.” She added that Amelia’s “day in the life of your main character is effective, believable, and compelling, with a very creepy twist at the end. Bravo!”
Runner-Up: Benjamin Alam-Price
Benjamin is a sixth grader at Stillwater Middle School with a lifelong love of storytelling. The first book he ever wrote was in second grade with his two friends, Brady and Rowan. Their series, Creepy Storys—misspelled because, as Benjamin says, “well, it’s second grade!”—grew to nine books, plus a few prequels and lore notes. He still has most of those books today… except for Book Seven. “Book Seven doesn’t like to be seen,” Benjamin says. “I lost it on the last day of second grade—and again a few months later!”
Outside of writing, Benjamin enjoys watching YouTube, playing video games, snowboarding, and swimming. He even runs his own YouTube channel, where he posts content about games and shares original music he creates himself.
Benjamin loves The Alien Skill series by Rae Knightly and is currently reading Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland—both of which he highly recommends to other readers.
Author Jacqueline West praised Benjamin’s story for its “excellent flow—everything is tightly woven and makes sense. Beautiful design work too! Love the cover and chapter headings. There’s a strong mix of description, dialogue, and action throughout—exactly what a story needs. Well done!”
Runner-Up: Molly Sellers
Molly is a sixth grader who is homeschooled and the oldest of five siblings, with three sisters and one brother. She also has two playful kittens named Cookie and Sergeant Tibbs. A passionate writer, Molly has created lots of stories—most of them full of adventure.
When she’s not writing, Molly enjoys boating, reading, playing in the forest near her home, spending time with friends, practicing jiu-jitsu, and participating in Bible Quizzing. Her favorite book series is The Green Ember by S.D. Smith, followed by The Lantern Lane series by Tessa Greene and The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder—all of which she highly recommends!
Author Jacqueline West selected Molly’s story as a runner-up, praising its “lovely writing. The sentences are rich and varied, characterization is clear, and the flow is strong. The main character is very sympathetic, and the whole thing has a wonderful fairy tale feeling. Nice work!”