As we celebrate the launch of our 2024 Writing Contest, we’re thrilled to shine the spotlight on some of our brilliant former winners.

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Let’s hear from one of our 2018 winners, Jaclyn Westlake.

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Where do you live? Laguna Beach, CA

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What year did you win the Storyshares writing contest? 2018

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Tell us about your book. My book, A Runaway Tale, follows Zigg as he escapes his father's unstable home and goes on the run. When he's captured by mysterious men in a van, he has to determine whether or not he can trust them.

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How did you find out about the contest? I followed Storyshares on Instagram.

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What gave you the idea for your story? I adopted a dog who'd been in the local shelter for months and had a lot of trust issues when  I first brought him home. It made me wonder what his life might have looked like before. A Runaway Tale is a very exaggerated version of what I imagined!

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What made you want to participate in the contest? I hadn't ever tried to get my fictional stories published, but I wanted to start putting my work out there to build confidence and grow as a writer. I love what Storyshares stands for and I felt like A Runaway Tale was a great fit!

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How has your life changed since winning the Storyshares contest? Winning the Storyshares contest was a huge confidence boost for me. Since I won, I've completed a two-year writing program, signed with an agent, and my debut novel, Dear Dotty was published this year. My second novel will be out in the summer of 2025.

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Where can we find you? I’m on instagram @jaclyn_writing and my website is www.jaclynwestlake.com

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Anything else you want to share? I've loved being a part of the Storyshares community and am so grateful that my first fictional story was chosen. I love knowing that my work is out there in the world and it helped motivate me to keep writing. 

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Jaclyn’s book, A Runaway Tale, is one of Storyshares’ best-selling middle school stories. It can be found in our eLibrary and in our Best of Middle School Book Bundle.