Joseph's Inkwell is a Jewish, student-run writing competition.
Our mission is to amplify Jewish teen voices and provide a platform for creative expression.
Summer 2025
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If I Set Not Jerusalem
A winning poem by Shani Zilka, 18 (Israel)
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Tapestries of Shabbat
A winning essay by Tova Weiss, 16 (Michigan)
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My street is no longer yellow
Selected essay by Ava Weinbrenn, 15 (United Kingdom)
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The Promised Land is in You and Me
Selected essay by Jay Schwartz, 16 (Colorodo)
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Everything I Do
Selected essay by Ariel Nyvall 16, (New York)
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Unextinguished
Selected poem by Leah Freedhoff, 18 (Canada)
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I Walk the Risk of Being Alive
Selected poem by Casey Nyvall, 19 (New York)
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Friday Night Dinner
Selected peom by Ori Rum Zemet, 13 (Israel)
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These Words
Selected poem by Casey Nyvall, 19 (New York)
Summer 2024
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My Mom Told Me
A winning essay by Jessica Elkin, 17 (Savannah, GA)
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The Waves Are Calling Me Down
A winning poem by Eli Val, 16 (Sewanee, TN)
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Rantings of a Gourmet Girl in a Kosher Household
Honorable Mention: essay by Hannah Rubin, 19 (New Hampshire)
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Pretend
Honorable Mention - Fiction
by Hannah Gumpert, 15
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Garba and Gaza: A Celebration of Life
Selected essay by Gabrielle Siegel, 17 (Atlanta, Georgia)
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Mishkan T’Filah for Children
Selected essay by Gabrielle Siegel, 17 (Atlanta, Georgia)
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Bits and Pieces: The Evolution of my Jewish Identity
Selected Essay by Madison Saltz, 16 (California)
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I Can’t Speak Spanish
Selected essay by Hannah Gumpert, 15
after Elizabeth Hsu
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The Value of Intellectualism Throughout a Life of Persecution
Selected essay by Tzur Shalit, 15 (Texas)
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Bubbe’s Spoon
Selected Poem by Blair Berenson, 18 (Georgia)
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Abraham’s Epic: The Akedah (Binding of Issac)
Selected Poem by Ian Maman (Georgia)
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It’s So Quiet Here
Selected Poem by Hannah Rubin, 19 (New Hampshire)
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A Ghazal Written after October 7th
Selected Poem by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, 16 (Massachusetts)
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The Strongest Ribbon
Selected short story by Casey Nyvall, 18 (New York)
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Good Jewish Girl
Selected poem by Eshkar Kaidar-Heafetz, 19 (Georgia)
