2026 PBS Reno Writers Contest Winners!

Annual Contest Proudly Presented by Rotary Club of Reno

RENO, NV (MAY 29, 2026) – PBS Reno is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 PBS Reno Writers Contest. PBS Reno received 2,638 entries from young authors who wrote and illustrated their own original stories around the theme, SPECIAL:

“We had another amazing year of stories submitted by talented young authors in our community,” said Joy Foremaster, PBS Reno Director of Education. “The stories were truly special. It is so fun to see the voices of these young children come out in their writing.”

Students participated from eight northern Nevada school districts: Carson City and Washoe, Douglas, Pershing, Elko, Lyon, Humboldt, and White Pine County.
“Thank you to our young authors, teachers, and parents for making the annual PBS Reno Writers Contest so much fun!” said Nancy Maldonado, PBS Reno Vice President of Education. “Reading children’s writing is special and entertaining. Our many judges spent hours poring over the stories and making the difficult decisions to select just a few to move forward. All of the stories showed creativity and effort. We have amazing young writers in our community!”

The winning stories will be published into hardcover books and will be featured on PBS Reno on the air and on the station’s website. All 2,638 children who submitted a story will receive a special certificate of participation from PBS Reno.

The PBS Reno Writers Contest is produced by PBS Reno and is based on the Reading Rainbow® Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, a concept developed by WNED-TV, Buffalo. The 2026 contest is sponsored locally by Rotary Club of Reno, Margaret Burback, Sara and Leonard Lafrance, Renown Children’s Hospital, Allegra Printing, United Federal Credit Union, Clasen Quality Chocolate, Wood Rodgers, Western Nevada Supply, Forgotten Astronaut Media, and Sierra Arts Foundation.

About PBS Reno

In fiscal year 2024-2025, PBS Reno reached 592,189 monthly viewers in northern and central Nevada and northeastern California across several platforms including three broadcast channels (PBS Reno 5.1, Reno Create 5.2, and PBS KIDS on PBS Reno 5.3), a YouTube channel, YouTube TV, online, livestreams, and digital platforms. PBS Reno provides PBS national programming and award-earning, locally-produced content, with many local segments posted weekly to PBS Reno’s YouTube channel. PBSReno.org provides engaging interactive content, including the video portal at watch.PBSReno.org that streams all locally-produced content and most PBS national content. PBS Reno serves students, teachers, parents and caregivers through immersive educational services including Curiosity Classroom workshops that bring classroom lessons to life with standards-based lessons and activities. Through the support of local corporations and foundations, as well as thousands of individual members, PBS Reno has been delivering public television and educational services to the communities it serves since September 29, 1983.

About Rotary Club of Reno

Rotary Club of Reno  was the first Rotary Club established in Nevada; chartered on August 1, 1916. With approximately 120 members, the Rotary Club of Reno is the largest group in northern Nevada. The Rotary Club of Reno exists to create fellowship among business, professional and civic leaders through social activities and charitable projects to meaningfully improve quality of life in the Truckee Meadows and to advance Rotary’s worldwide goals.

Contact us:

Membership Questions: membership@pbsreno.org
Programming Hotline: programming@pbsreno.org

Phone: 775.600.0555
Address: 1670 N. Virginia St. • Reno NV 89503