RIPPLE FOUNDATION NEWS & MEDIA

Toronto, ON (June 2, 2025) – Ripple Foundation, a national youth education charity dedicated to nurturing the creative literacy skills of the next generation, has named the winners of its annual flagship event, the Kids Write 4 Kids (KW4K) national creative writing challenge.

Grade eight students, Firdaus El-Darymli from Ottawa, ON and Isabel Roscoe from Edmonton, AB will become published authors and donate 100% of 2025 book sale proceeds to First Book Canada.

This year’s contest saw one of the highest ever participation rate, with stories received from 648 participants from 354 schools across nine provinces and one territory.

A strong judging panel, comprised of authors, editors, publishers and previous winners selected the winning titles for this year from ten finalists, rated on creativity, originality, story structure and writing quality. The full list of ten finalists from across Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick can be found here.

“Each entry we received was a testament to the fantastic imagination and creativity of young writers across Canada. We were delighted with the amount of talent we saw from students this year” said Ivy Wong, Founder of Ripple Foundation. “Congratulations to Firdaus and Isabel for winning this year’s contest – they will now become published authors and this achievement is undoubtedly just the beginning of many more to come!”

Firdaus’ book ‘The Legend of the Paper Cranes’ and Isabel’s book ‘Memoirs of a Tree Lord’ will be published in print and digitally for the world to read. These books will be available to buy on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBookstore, and Overdrive. Links can be found at: kidswrite4kids.ripplefoundation.ca/book

Ali Brew, a 2025 graduate from Sheridan Illustrator Program has graciously volunteered to lend her talent and time to illustrate the covers for Ripple Foundation’s winners’ books. Ali’s unique style and artistic vision will undoubtedly add a beautiful dimension to these wonderful stories.

Kids Write 4 Kids emerges as a vibrant annual event designed to ignite creativity among students spanning grades 4 to 8. Encouraged to cultivate and submit their imaginative narratives, participants can witness their creations in both print and digital mediums. Over 25 authors have been discovered, and over 4,944 literary creations have been submitted to KW4K since its launch in 2012.