Berkshire Athenaeum Short Story Contest Winners

08:17AM / Friday, August 23, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library, and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum announced the winners of the 46th Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and the 27th Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Young Adults.

Entries were combined into five age categories with a total of 28 submissions. A committee of judges read through the submissions and rated the entries on originality, appeal, writing style, and artwork, if applicable. All short story submissions are on display in the Children's Library now through September 21, 2024. The winning submissions are also displayed on the library's website.

When asked about his experience as a judge for this year's contest, Jon Wynn said, "I was both honored by the opportunity to judge and impressed by the high quality of the submissions. This year's Short Story Contest included wonderful storytelling and compelling artwork; I'm looking forward to coming back next year to sample more great tales!"

2024 winners of the Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and Young Adults:

Children Age 6
- 1st place: "What is Hairy's Favorite Season?" by Sage Saldo
- 2nd place: "The Keeper of the Books" by Evelyn Morin
Children Age 7 – 8
- 1st place: "Hazel and the Gnomes" by Hazel Rodd
- 2nd place: "The Bedroom Secret" by Talia Crowe
- 2nd place: "The Wild Monkeys" by Maribella Morin
- Honorable Mention: "Sage and Stella's Adventure" by Chloe Mishk
Children Age 9 – 10
- 1st place: "Almost Perfect" by Bodhi Goodman-Wu
- 2nd place: "The Day My Snow Creature Came to Life" by Lucy Simonelli
- Honorable Mention: "The Tale of How Sometimes the Feeling of Being Watched Can Turninto a Beautiful Friendship" by Sasha Hughes
Young Adults Age 11 – 14
- 1st place: "A Friend Under My Bed" by Suzy Schoeny
- 2nd place: "The Imagination Fort" by Nora Schoeny
- Honorable Mention: "The King of Midnight" by Madeleine Love
Young Adults Age 15 – 18
- 1st place: "No Visible End" by Olivia Caraccioli
- 2nd place: "Gone But Not Forgotten" by Gloria Williams
- Honorable Mention: "Black Out" by Evelyn Rathbun

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Reign Goes Unbeaten in 17U Division at Home Tourney

By Stephen Dravis and Ben McDonoughiBerkshires.com Sports
09:40PM / Saturday, August 15, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Berkshire Reign exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth and held off the Berkshire Bananas down the stretch to earn a 12-11 win in the 17-and-under Division of the 1791 Classic at Joe Wolfe Field on Saturday.

Darius Taliferro hit a three-run double, and Robby Bazinet hit a two-run double in the winning rally as the Reign finished pool play with a record of 3-0 and the top seed in Sunday morning’s semi-finals.

Scott Hoffman went 2-for-3 with a triple for the Reign in a wild game filled with momentum swings.

The Bananas jumped on top with four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead only to see the Reign take a slim, 5-4 advantage after three.

Then, after the Reign scored seven times in the fourth to take a 12-4 lead, the run-rule was on the table, and all looked lost for the Bananas.

But they got off the mat with a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth and scored twice in the fifth and had the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second in what was sure to be the game’s final inning due to the tournament’s time rule.

But Reign reliever Trevor Leonard delivered his only strikeout in an inning and a third on the mound when he needed it most to close the door and secure the win.

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