2024 local & state youth poet laureates
Helena Donato-Sapp - 2024 Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate, 2025 Runner Up Los Angeles County Youth Poet Laureate, & 2025 Runner Up for the Western Region Youth Poet Laureate
Read Stupid/Smart
Helena Donato-Sapp is a multiple award-winning Youth Poet Laureate who lives in Southern California. She is a junior at Orange County School of the Arts. She is a globally award-winning disability justice activist and you can find out more about her at https://www.helenalourdes.com.
Sierra Elman - 2024-2025 Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate
Read “trout lake” wins best motion picture
Sierra Elman is the 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate of Burlingame-Hillsborough. She has been recognized by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness, DePaul's Blue Book: Best American High School Writing, and the Anthony Veasna So Scholarship among many others, and her writing can be found in the Blue Marble Review and the Eunoia Review. Sierra is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Marmalade Lit and is an alumna of the Adroit Journal's Summer Mentorship Program and the Kenyon Review’s Young Writers Workshop.
Seohyun Ryu - 2024 California Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up
Read again & again
Seohyun Ryu is a 2024 California Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up and a California Arts Scholar. She is currently studying at UC Berkeley. Her life basically revolves around her two adorable dogs, podcasts, and peach ice tea with a piece of literature.
Nadia Wright - 2024 National Student Poet Laureate for the Southeast Region
Read Dirty Brown Soles
Nadia Wright served as the 2024 National Student Poet Laureate for the Southeast Region, a program supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She's currently studying English with a concentration in African American Literature at the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. When she's not advocating for her community or leading her grassroots organization from the Ground Up, she is happily painting or doing yoga.