The Friends of the Long Beach Public Library and the Helen Fuller Cultural Carrousel are once again hosting a summer essay contest for local youth to showcase their reading and writing skills.
Long Beach youth ages 6 to 18 are encouraged to write an essay discussing this year’s prompt: “What was the coolest book you read this year and what was your favorite part?” Entries must be submitted by Aug. 8.
Participants can submit their essay in English or Spanish, and winners of first, second and third place in each age group will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card, organizers said.
“The Friends of the Long Beach Public Library are delighted to continue our annual Summer Essay Contest, celebrating the creativity and voices of young writers in our community,” Samantha Aviles, director of the Helen Fuller Cultural Carrousel and board member for the Friends, said in a written statement. “Through this contest, we encourage children to express their ideas, strengthen their writing skills, and discover the joy of storytelling.
“By supporting children’s access to the Long Beach Public Neighborhood Libraries,” Aviles added, “we help connect young people with books, programs and opportunities that inspire curiosity, creativity and a lifelong love of learning.”
The Friends’ mission is to preserve the public library as a place of intellectual freedom and to guard against censorship, according to its website. The organization advocates for a strong public library system by keeping informed and acting on current issues that affect local libraries.
Other ways the Friends organization contributes to the quality and success of the library’s services and programs include making an annual donation to each individual neighborhood branch library for their discretionary use; awarding annual scholarships to library employees and volunteers continuing their higher education; and administering the annual summer essay contest.
Entries for the 2026 summer essay contest must include the student’s name, age, phone number, email address and school name. Children and their parents or caregivers can drop off printed essays to their neighborhood library or email them to lbfriendessaycontest@gmail.com by Aug. 8.
The word counts for the essays are:
50 words for ages 6-7.
50-100 words for ages 8-9.
100-150 words for ages 10-11.
150-200 words for ages 12-13.
300-500 words for ages 14-18.
Winners of the summer essay contest will be announced on the Friends of Long Beach Public Library’s social media and website on Aug. 22. An awards ceremony will take place Aug. 29 at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, 5870 Atlantic Ave.