Environmental Writing Competition Winners Announced

Guest Judge Anna Farro Henderson has spoken – the winning pieces for our 2025 Environmental Writing Competition are officially here! Sponsored by Patagonia, the competition received a record-breaking number of entries, blowing our Write the World team and guest judge away. Winning pieces will be republished on The Starfish Journal. 

Read on to  find out who won and hear our guest judge's thoughts on these captivating narratives.

Please note: Winning and finalist pieces on the site are now publicly viewable!

WINNER:

“To Dye For,” by Diya Thennarasu (United States), age 16

I was immediately drawn into the narrator's love of fashion and game of looking for "Made in India" tags. I love the transition that the narrator makes throughout the emotional arc of the piece. At the start, the narrator sees fashion as a fun pursuit — an identity, even. As she learns about the pollution from dyes in rivers back in India, where her family is originally from, a complex web of social, economic, and environmental systems emerge. By the end, she has not given up her identity as someone who loves style and clothing, but she is able to hold this along with her concern, sadness, and hopes. Fashion becomes a lens to see the world and to directly feel the impact and responsibility of our actions on the environment. I love this line: "Fashion still is essential to understanding my character. But fashion now is essential to understanding the state of the world."

RUNNER-UP:

“The Silence After Rain,” by fatima.hussain (Pakistan), age 15

In this essay about fireflies, we see how the narrator's connections to the natural world are passed down from her grandmother's stories and interests. The narrator is not alone in her connection to nature, but brought into it and shares it with loved ones. The essay illustrates how changes in climate overlay other human impacts on the landscape, including how electric lights, agricultural chemicals, and land clearance impact fireflies. The essay leaps from the loss of species to the loss of the narrator's childhood as environmental degradation takes away once beloved smells, sights, and experiences. I really loved the line: "Maybe this fight isn't about winning yet. Maybe it's about remembering loudly until the world has no choice but to listen."

BEST PEER REVIEW:

“My love for nature,” reviewed by saraahcats (United Arab Emirates), age 13

Just as the reviewer admired the real and honest voice of the piece they wrote about, I found this reviewer's voice to be real and honest. The reviewer shared how the piece impacted them, making them look at changes around their home too. The review offers concrete feedback, praising the first lines, pointing out a scene about sparrows and mango trees, and then also offering feedback about places where more specific descriptions would be helpful. The suggestion for the end to circle back to the engaging image at the start of the essay was interesting and offers a helpful idea for consideration. I like that the reviewer ended with overall encouragement and praise. I felt like I had front-row seats to one writer engaging deeply with another. 

PIECE FINALISTS: 

“A Promise to My Roots,” by naia w (Indonesia)

“Recomposition,” by myocelle (Philippines)

“The Fireline,” by georgielew (Australia)

“What We Left in the Soil,” by Aneesh K (Australia)

“When The Mountains Caught Fire,” by FrankieGarc1a (Australia)

PEER REVIEW FINALIST:

“The Quiet Revolutions of Home,” reviewed by Cinnamonn (United States)