News

The Peters Township Public Library held its third annual Tween and Teen Writing Contest this spring, culminating with a reception honoring all participants on April 8.

This year’s theme challenged writers to explore the word “wonder.” From poetic and philosophical musings to beautiful descriptions of nature to compelling fantasy and sci-fi realms, the 19 teens and tweens entering the contest addressed the theme in a variety of creative ways. Judges–including library staff, authors, and Peters Township Library Foundation members–scored entries based on creativity, technique, and theme.

Over 70 participants, family members, and friends gathered at the April 8th reception for prizes, refreshments, and the announcement of winners. The top two winners in each category read an excerpt of their entries at the reception and received gift baskets. Thank you to The Peters Township Library Foundation for generously funding the reception!

Select the writer’s name below to read their entry*. 

Tween Poetry:
Grand-prize winner: Emily Mish
Runner-up: Annabelle Droney

Teen Poetry:
Grand-prize winner: Ashley Hafenbrack
Runner-up: Rex Bennett

Tween Fiction:
Grand-prize winner: Grace Robles
Runner-up: Elliana Wilson

Teen Fiction:
Grand-prize winner: Hannah Crnkovich
Runner-up: Claire Henry

Tween Participants:
Elizabeth Hovanec (poetry)
Ruth Hovanec (poetry)
Aymaan Khan (poetry)
Ishanvi Kuppili (fiction)
Prahan Kumar Munnaluri (poetry)
Elliot Scheib (fiction)

Teen Participants:
Ella Clapp (fiction)
McKenna Fornof (fiction)
Gabriella Lamb (fiction)
Alexis Marchewka (fiction)
Thomas Oxenreiter (fiction)

*Please note that unlinked participants have opted not to publish their entry. 

The Bookmark Contest is back! We invite creative individuals of all ages, from Pre-K to Adults, to design a bookmark celebrating the Summer Reading program’s theme, “Color Our World.”

Entries will be judged based on the prompt, “Color Our World.” Participants can create their designs by hand or digitally. A panel of judges, including library staff, board members, PTL Foundation members, and 84 Sign Shop staff will select the winners. The library should receive entries by April 30, 2025, and participants can drop off their forms at the library during open hours or email their digital artwork to skrawiec@pt-library.org.

Participants must submit only one entry and must hold a valid WAGGIN Library Card to be eligible to win. All entries become the property of the Peters Township Public Library, and only original characters and creations are allowed. Copyrighted characters and images are not permitted. Incomplete forms will be disqualified.

Click here to view the entry form online as a PDF
or visit the library to get your entry form!

The winners will be announced on Saturday, June 7, at 11:30 a.m. at the Summer Reading Kickoff. The winners will receive a commemorative award and copies of their bookmarks. Winning designs will also be printed and available at the library throughout the summer.

This contest is sponsored by the 84 Sign Shop. The Sign Shop provides graphic design, printing services, promotion, and awards for this contest.

Millions of people across the country visit their libraries every week. What’s the draw? Everything. From young families stopping in for play and storytime, to students sketching out their next creative project in a makerspace, to seniors seeking tech help, libraries of all kinds help us connect the dots from one part of our journey to the next.

Stop by the PT library anytime this week to let us know what draws you to the library. Leave a love letter for your library or write a note to staff. Notes will be shared with library staff, library board members, and township officials.

This year we’re also celebrating with a spirit week and social media campaign with prizes. Read on for details.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN | Engage with us on social media and win!

During National Library Week, we’re launching a Facebook campaign with prizes: a six-month Riverstone Books subscription, a Book Lover’s Gift Basket, and a three-month book subscription. Entering is easy. Simply like or comment on our posts during the week, or create your own library posts and tag us! Each post engagement earns you one entry into the contest, while each post you create earns two entries. The more you engage with us, the more entries you get, and the better your chances to win!

Post ideas:
· Dress up for our Spirit Week (details below) and post and tag us.
· Take a pic at a library program you attend and post and tag us.
· Share your book haul online and tag us.

The contest runs from Sunday, April 6 through Saturday, April 12th. Three winners will be randomly selected from the entries the following week and winners will be notified on Saturday, April 19th. Prizes are sponsored by The Peters Township Library Foundation.

SPIRIT WEEK | Show your spirit when you visit the library this week.

· April 7: Wake Up & Read — Pajama day at the library!
· April 8: Twin Tuesday — Dress like a librarian, library worker, friend, or family member!
· April 9: Bookworm Wednesday — Pay homage to a favorite book character or wear some bookish inspired garb!
· April 10: Throwback Thursday — Whether it is the 80s, 60s, or 1700s, throw it back with an inspired wardrobe choice today!
· April 11: FANtastic Friday — Support your favorite team or teams today!
· April 12: Super Saturday — Be a hero or a villain!

LOOKING FOR MORE FUN?

The library has 20+ programs during National Library Week. Find these programs and more on our event calendar. The library is also launching a Bookmark Contest again for the summer reading theme. Visit our blog post to learn more!

Senior officers from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, return to the library for a panel discussion on Contemporary National Security Policy Challenges. The officers will appear in-person at the library on Thursday, January 23, from 6 to 7 p.m., with a question-and-answer session to follow the presentation.

Registration is available through our online event calendar.

This is the 18th consecutive year the library has hosted a panel discussion with officers from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This presentation is part of the Eisenhower Series College Program with the U.S. Army War College.

Featured speakers for the program include:

Lieutenant Colonel Creesy Antoine is a Signal Officer in the U.S. Army with over 24 years of experience in planning and managing communication and information systems networks for Army and Joint organizations. She has held various leadership and staff roles in Combat Engineer, Signal, Infantry, Special Operations, and Airborne Infantry organizations. Her operational and combat experience spans deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Germany, Poland, and Romania. She holds a BA in Speech Communications and Rhetorical Studies and an MS in Management with a focus in Public Relations.

Colonel Rob Haertsch, an Australian Army Officer with 25 years of service, recently served as Director – Land at Army Headquarters in Canberra, overseeing the integration of operational planning with the joint force and government. Prior to this, he was the Defense Adviser in Suva, Fiji, working with the Head of Mission at the Australian High Commission. His operational deployments include to the Solomon Islands, Iraq, and Afghanistan, along with domestic support to civil authorities in Australia. Colonel Haertsch holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Masters in Defense and Military Studies from the Australian National University.

Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hartnett is a Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Air Force. He has served for over 19 years, and his last assignment was as the Public Affairs Advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force. In this capacity, Lt Col Hartnett supported the Secretary’s efforts to modernize the force and improve the lives of Airmen through the coordinated use of media engagement, community outreach, and internal coverage. He holds a Master’s Degree from Air University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Colonel Kevin G. Werry is an Air Defense Artillery officer with 22 years of service.  He most recently worked at the Joint Staff as the operational design team lead for a classified project directed by the Deputy Secretary of Defense focused on force modernization and design.  Prior to serving on the Joint Staff, he commanded a Patriot battalion in Fort Cavazos, Texas.  Colonel Werry has deployed to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and several other locations in the Middle East and Europe.  He holds a BS from the University of North Texas, an MA from Naval Postgraduate School, and an MS from Georgetown University.

Join five local Fantasy and Sci-Fi authors as they share information about their craft and answer questions from the audience. A panel discussion will be followed by light refreshments, book signings, and opportunities to purchase books from authors.

1 to 2 p.m., Panel Discussion – Limited Seating, Click here to register online (starting Feb. 1) to reserve your seat.

2 to 3 p.m., Book Signing & Reception

View the Authors and their works below.

Joshua David Bellin

Pittsburgh native Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). A college teacher by day, he has published numerous sci-fi novels, including the Survival Colony 9 series, the Ecosystem series, and the time-travel thriller Myriad. His published works are characterized by immersive world-building, intricate plotting, and shocking conclusions. As a publisher, he has produced the three volumes in the Accidental Time Travelers Collective series, each of which features 12 time-travel-themed short stories by an international group of authors.

Josh is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). A popular speaker at conferences and book festivals, he mentors aspiring authors in a variety of genres, including speculative fiction, literary fiction, and Young Adult fiction. Catch up with Josh on his website, where you can subscribe to his monthly e-newsletter: https://joshuadavidbellin.blogspot.com/

Frederic S. Durbin

FREDERIC S. DURBIN studied mythology, classical languages, and English literature at Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, and graduated summa cum laude. For over twenty years, he taught ESL and creative writing at Japan’s Niigata University. He has been professionally writing fantasy for grownups and children for over twenty-five years. His short work has appeared in Cricket, Cicada, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Black Gate, and in various anthologies. His first novel, Dragonfly, was published first by Arkham House in 1999. His most recent, A Green and Ancient Light (Saga Press) received the Realm Award for Fantasy and was named a Best Fantasy of the Year by Publishers Weekly and a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association. His historical fantasy The Country Under Heaven (Melville House) is forthcoming in May and was placed by Publishers Weekly on its Top Ten picks for speculative fiction books to watch for in Spring 2025. Durbin co-edited the five-volume Cold Hard Type fiction anthology series (Loose Dog Press) and teaches creative writing at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. He and his wife live in western Pennsylvania.

J.V. Hilliard

Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations.

His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him during his formative years. His genius brother, whose wizardly prowess allowed him to master the art of the abacus and his own quill, trained with him for battles on fields of green and sheets of ice.
Hilliard’s earliest education took place in his warrior uncle’s tower, where he learned his first words. HIs uncle helped him to learn the basics of life—and, most importantly, creative writing.

Hilliard’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day.

Larry Ivkovich

Larry Ivkovich’s speculative fiction has been published in twenty-five online and print publications including Zombies Need Brains, Shoreline of Infinity, Air and Nothingness Press, and Flame Tree Publishing. He’s been a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest and was the 2010 recipient of the CZP/Rannu Fund award for fiction.

His four-part urban fantasy series, The Spirit Winds Quartet, is published by IFWG Publishing, and steampunk inspired SF novella, Hope’s Song, was released by IFWG in 2024. The first two books in his self-published science fiction series, The Magus Star Trilogy, are available on Amazon.
Larry is a member of SFWA, Pennwriters, and the Mindful Writers North. He lives in Coraopolis, PA with his beautiful, multi-talented wife Martha and wonder cat Milo.

Jamie Lackey

Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cats. She has had over 200 short stories published in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, and Escape Pod. She has a novella and two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press, and she’s created six successful crowdfunding campaigns to self-publish a novel, two novellas, a novelette, and three short story collections. In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, mushroom hunting, and hiking. You can find her online at www.jamielackey.com.