Rockwood Student Authors Recognized in St. Louis Writers Guild Competition

A total of 13 Rockwood School District students from fourth through eighth grade earned recognition in the 2025 St. Louis Writers Guild Young Writers Awards competition.

Wildwood Middle student Alaina Scuito and Stanton Elementary student Adeline Luaders each earned first place in their age category, while LaSalle Springs Middle's Jack Marcum earned second.

LaSalle Springs' Hadessa Ouattara and Wild Horse Elementary's Tanvisha Animireddi also earned honoradble mentions in their age groups.

Abbigail Foster-Graham (LaSalle Springs), Ethan Lobo (Wildwood), Coy Williams and Katelyn Zickrick (both LaSalle Springs) were among 10 finalists in the Grades 6-8 competition, and Alice Fracalossi Barni (Babler Elementary), Alexis Belle (Stanton), Sri Vindhya Satuluri (Wild Horse) and June Schriefer (Stanton) were among the 10 finalists in Grades 4-5.

Elementary and middle school writers were given a first line to their piece – “A strange noise ... ” – and asked to write up to 500 words.

All of the award winners and finalists were recognized and had the opportunity to read or have their work read aloud at a St. Louis Writers Guild event Jan. 10, and the work of all 13 Rockwood students is published in the 2025 Young Writers Collection, which is for sale on Amazon.

Congratulations to these outstanding Rockwood student writers! Learn more about these students below.

Alaina Scuito, Wildwood, 1st place (Grades 6-8), "A Stranger in the Dark"
Adeline Luaders, Stanton, 1st place (Grades 4-5), "A Winter Breeze"
Jack Marcum, LaSalle Springs, 2nd place (Grades 6-8), "Sirens in the Night"

Alaina Scuito entered this year's contest after her language arts teacher, Erin Smith, told her class about the opportunity.

Scuito's story centers on a woman who hears a noise in her house and is surprised to find her husband, who had passed away. 

"I just started writing for fun, and then (Ms. Smith) helped me publish it," she said. "It felt really good to get first place. I was very excited when I found out. I just started writing over the summer, and it has been really fun."

Hadessa Ouattara, LaSalle Springs, Honorable Mention (Grades 6-8), "The White Room"
Tanvisha Animireddi, Wild Horse, Honorable Mention (Grades 4-5), "The Witches' Treasure"

Finalists
Grades 6-8: Abbigail Foster-Graham, LaSalle Springs, "The Voice Inside;" Ethan Lobo, Wildwood, "Spooky Storage;" Coy Williams, LaSalle Springs, "After-School Scare;" and Katelyn Zickrick, LaSalle Springs, "The Forgotten War"

Grades 4-5: Alexis Belle, Stanton, "Spirit Animal School;" Alice Fracalossi Barni, Babler, "The Lost Kittens;" Sri Vindhya Satuluri, Wild Horse, "Proxima and Back;" and June Schriefer, Stanton, "The Forgotten Land"