Natalia Coronado-Mercer Repeats Top Win in Book Festival Poetry Contest

Natalia Coronado-Mercer, a junior at Appomattox Regional Governor's School and a Richmond, Va., resident, was awarded first prize in the 2026 Gaithersburg Book Festival poetry contest for high school students for her poem "Sapien."

Second prize went to Annapolis, Md., resident Rachel Hanauer, a sophomore at Annapolis High School, for "David's Secret Chord." Eve Browne, a Potomac, Md., resident and freshman at Thomas S. Wootton High School, received third prize for "My Sister's Dog." Sophomore Hargun Malhotra, a Clarksburg, Md., resident attending Poolesville High School, was voted the fan favorite for their poem, "Kintsugi."

First-, second- and third-place winners were awarded $250, $100 and $50, respectively. The fan favorite winner received $25.

Majda Gama, a local poet and recipient of the Graybeal Gowen Prize for Virginia poets and judge of this year's contest, announced the winners at the Festival on May 16.

"The winners of the Gaithersburg Book Festival High School Poetry Contest each addressed the theme 'What Is Humanity' in formally and rhetorically captivating ways," Gama said. "Spanning the length of deep time and spiritual time, I felt my belief in humanity restored by the poems as they grappled with our shared struggle to achieve an understanding of our place in the universe, and with our mutual responsibilities as stewards of our precious planet."

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 2025-26 school year. Additionally, entrants had to reside in Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia.