Recipients
2025-26 FALL/WINTER
Congratulations to our winners. Their award-winning pieces will be published in the 2026 issue of Occasus, the undergraduate literary journal of the Department of English and Writing Studies.
Poetry
Winner
Cara Kalmbach
"Read Receipt"
My name is Cara Kalmbach and I am a Grade 9 student from Markham, Ontario. Aside from poetry writing, I deeply enjoy engaging in portrait photography and playing music with my friends and family. Two years ago, I started learning the guitar which sparked my interest in songwriting and singing. I also love reading compelling books. My current favourite author is Ray Bradbury; his style of writing deeply influenced my poetry and writing voice. "The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us" (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451). I hope to continue developing my love of writing in the future.
Fiction
Winner
Emily Nahm Iorfida
"The Reunion"
Emily Nahm Iorfida is a Grade 9 student at Nelson High School in Burlington, Ontario. She is enthusiastic about theatre and language arts, as well as various track and field events. Her favourite things include music, temperate weather, and a good plot twist. She finds that words are often more approachable than people, but is working on cultivating her inner extrovert. Aspiring to educate herself and others, she wishes to discover the science behind medical technologies and rare illnesses. This event marks her first ever published work.
Creative Nonfiction
Winner
Gaurika Na
"Life on My Plate"
Gaurika Kailash is a Grade 10 student at Castlebrooke Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. Her work often focuses on identity, memory, and the meaning behind everyday experiences. She is especially interested in how writing can turn simple moments into powerful stories. In her free time, she enjoys travelling and watching movies.
2024-25 FALL/WINTER
Poetry
Winner
022 Day Liyange
Day Liyanage is a Sri Lankan-Canadian 17 y/o writer from London, Ontario. They're an IBDP student and previous co-head of a youth-run creative writing space, as well as someone who is constantly learning from all the art, books, and video essays they consume. They're an advocate for the role that stories play in influencing political and social advocacy and hope to create something that resonates with the world. They also have a big affinity for indie music, chocolate éclairs, and cats.
Runners-Up
009 Carrie Liang
Carrie Liang is a high school student based in the West Coast of Canada. She is a voracious writer at heart and enjoys reflecting on the nuances of life, identity, and human relationships, which are themes commonly found in her works. When she's not hunched over her latest endeavours, you can find her crying over Mitski or cramming last minute notes for exams.
010 Daniel Brunt
Daniel Brunt is a Grade 12 student at H. B. Beal Secondary School. He reads, writes, rock climbs, meanders down sidewalks, and thinks about the Greeks. Managing a creative arts club, working part-time at a restaurant, and hosting writing workshops for Canadian youth, he fills his free time with passionate commitments as he strives for a career in academics. He intends to begin his studies in literature in the fall.
023 Noor Ansarian
Noor Ansarian is a senior at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She plans to study molecular biology in university, but she also has a great passion for written and spoken poetry. She is especially interested in using the arts as a way to connect individual experiences to social justice.
Fiction
Winner
013 Aashrith Raj Tatipamula
Aashrith Raj Tatipamula is a writer and aspiring engineer currently in grade 11 at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School. His work explores the balance between structure and adaptability, blending technological precision with the fluidity of change. Aashrith is passionate about transformation and resilience, whether through engineering projects, robotics, or storytelling. Outside of writing, he is dedicated to building and reimagining within the realms of robotics and engineering. He also has a strong interest in politics and serves in the Canadian Army Reserves.
Runners-Up
010 Jin Lu Yu
Jin Lu Yu is a grade 11 student at Richmond Hill High School. She creates versatile works that merge her creativity from the dramatic arts with the analytical depth gained from debate. Through both fiction and nonfiction, she draws from personal experiences to explore meaningful themes. Passionate about using writing as a tool for connection and awareness, she strives to inspire through her words. Beyond writing, she enjoys practicing the oboe, refining her graphic design skills, and studying her favourite subject, biology.
014 Ethan Oh
Ethan Oh is a Grade 10 student at Richmond Hill High School. He enjoys creative writing, photography, entrepreneurship, music, and basketball, and hopes to study mathematics in post-secondary education. He is currently in the works of writing a murder mystery novel!
011 Yasmina El Hajjar
Yasmina El Hajjar is an 18-year-old high school student of Lebanese origin with three languages under her belt: English, French and Arabic. She’ll be attending King’s University College in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities next year. She has received 3 prizes at graduation from École Secondaire Gabriel-Dumont in French, Arts and Maths. When she’s not busy reading at least one book a week, she’s coming up with, mulling over and refining about a dozen story ideas. A fan of giant puzzles, drawing cartoons and daydreaming scenarios, this was her first writing contest.
Creative Nonfiction
Winner
013 Day Liyanage
Day Liyanage is a Sri Lankan-Canadian 17 y/o writer from London, Ontario. They're an IBDP student and previous co-head of a youth-run creative writing space, as well as someone who is constantly learning from all the art, books, and video essays they consume. They're an advocate for the role that stories play in influencing political and social advocacy and hope to create something that resonates with the world. They also have a big affinity for indie music, chocolate éclairs, and cats.
Runners-Up
014 Jas Singh
Jas Singh is a senior at Mentor College in Mississauga, but her credentials as a professional dillydallyer, birdwatcher and berry forager are probably more notable. When she’s not outside, she can be found watching Godard films and 90s cartoons, listening to Schubert and failing him on the piano, and of course, writing.
006 Jin Lu Yu
Jin Lu Yu is a grade 11 student at Richmond Hill High School. She creates versatile works that merge her creativity from the dramatic arts with the analytical depth gained from debate. Through both fiction and nonfiction, she draws from personal experiences to explore meaningful themes. Passionate about using writing as a tool for connection and awareness, she strives to inspire through her words. Beyond writing, she enjoys practicing the oboe, refining her graphic design skills, and studying her favourite subject, biology.
