Do you love reading or writing stories full of secrets, suspense, and spooky twists? Are you curious about mysterious houses or creatures that live in the woods? Then Stillwater Public Library’s Youth Mystery Writing Contest is for you! Young writers ages 8-12 are invited to enter our writing contest inspired by award-winning author Jacqueline West, creator of The Books of Elsewhere and Long Lost.

Choose from one of the writing prompts below, write a short story up to 2,000 words, and submit it to us by Friday, October 17! Stories can be Word documents, PDFs, or photos of hand-written work (if you think we can read it!). Submit online.

Writing Prompt 1: The tagline for The Books of Elsewhere is "This house is keeping secrets." Imagine a story where you (or your main character) discover a powerful secret hidden somewhere within your own home. What might it be? Where might it lead? Who might have put it there in the first place?

Writing Prompt 2: In Long Lost, the characters trade tales about "The Searcher," a mysterious being that lurks in the woods on the outskirts of town. Create your own Searcher lore. Who—or what—is it? A ghost, an animal, a monster, a human, or nothing at all? What might happen to a character who enters the Searcher's woods?