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 & 2026-2027 Santa Clara County 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. 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.
OlaRose Ndubuisi - 2024-2025 New York State Youth Poet Laureate
Read The Joy That They Locked Away
OlaRose Ndubuisi is the 2024-2025 New York State Youth Poet Laureate, a published author of six books, and the founder of The Finding Scoliosis Kindly Project, a non-profit project that raises global awareness of scoliosis and uplifts youth’s voices through writing, art, and music. OlaRose is a sophomore Coronat Scholar in the Honors Program at Syracuse University, dual majoring in Biology and Journalism, and in the BS/MD Program with SUNY Upstate Medical University. OlaRose has been a headliner at the Guggenheim Museum and NYC Youth Poetry Festival, and her writing has been published in The Kenyon Review, Yahara River Writers Anthology, Austin International Poetry Festival Anthology, Greater Madison Writing Project Anthology, One Page Poetry, and more.
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.