Natalia Coronado-Mercer Wins Top Prize in Gaithersburg Book Festival High School Poetry Contest
GAITHERSBURG, MD – May 19, 2025 – Natalia Coronado-Mercer, a Richmond, Va., resident and sophomore at Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, was awarded first prize in the 2025 Gaithersburg Book Festival poetry contest for high school students for her poem “Chainlink Angels.”
Second prize went to Washington, D.C., resident Sebastian Biros, a junior at British International School of Washington, for “Ode to the District.” Ananya Gautam, a Potomac, Md., resident and senior at Winston Churchill High School, received third prize for “zeitgeist.” The Fan Favorite winner was Leah Bulson, a Rockville, Md., resident and senior at Richard Montgomery High School, for her poem “Read Their Words.”
Local poet and Arlington County Poet Laureate Emerita Holly Karapetkova, who judged the contest and whose collection, “Dear Empire,” won the 2025 William Meredith Prize for Poetry, announced the top three winners at the Festival on May 17.
“The three winning poems represent different poetic styles and approaches to the theme of civic duty,” Karapetkova said. “Each is carefully crafted with a strong voice and unique take on the subject, challenging us to think about our civic duty in terms of both our individual responsibility to one another and our collective responsibility to those whose voices have been silenced or overlooked.”
First-, second- and third-place winners were awarded $250, $100 and $50, respectively. The fan favorite winner received $25.
To be eligible for the poetry contest, students had to be enrolled in grades 9-12 at a public or private school, or be in a homeschool program, for the 2024-25 school year. Additionally, entrants had to reside in Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia.
About the Gaithersburg Book Festival
The Gaithersburg Book Festival is an annual all-day celebration of books, writers and literary excellence. One of the premier literary events in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the 2025 Festival took place Saturday, May 17, at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm (506 S. Frederick Ave.) in Gaithersburg, Md. The 2026 Gaithersburg Book Festival will take place Saturday, May 16, 2026. The Gaithersburg Book Festival also hosts author events in Montgomery County, Md., throughout the year to encourage continued appreciation for all things literary. The Gaithersburg Book Festival was sponsored in part by its official bookseller, Politics & Prose, and title sponsor, The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center. For more information please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org, follow us on Twitter @GburgBookFest or like us on Facebook and Instagram.
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