The 2025 edition of Walferdange Book Days once again set the stage for celebrating young literary talent, as RTL Today and Ernster hosted the 2025 Young Authors Contest award ceremony, featuring the introduction of the newest short story collection that showcases all submitted entries for this year’s competition.
First launched in 2023, the Young Authors Contest was created to give emerging writers a platform to share their work with a wider audience, and this year’s edition continues to build on the tradition of putting the next generation of storytellers in the spotlight at the country’s largest book fair.
The awards were presented by RTL Today Radio‘s Sam Steen together with Vanessa Gubbini from Ernster Publishing.
In the ‘Up to 11 years old’ category, Leonardo De Vivo was the winner with his short story ‘Ugly...Who?’.
Einar Pesonen Kazi took second place, and Pol Clarke rounded out the podium.
The ’12 to 16 years old’ category awarded Aagneya Sarkar’s ‘Woe Through Wealth’ with top honours.
Clara Roselaer and Clara Charlesworth von Kunitzki – Neu came in second and third place, respectively.
The winners took the stage as excerpts from their stories were read to the audience, with each receiving Ernster vouchers, a certificate, and a special prize. To mark the occasion, RTL and Ernster presented ‘Young Authors 2025 – 85 short stories’, a new anthology featuring every entry submitted to this year’s contest.
Each winner left with a freshly printed copy of their work, and the collection is now available in Ernster bookstores and on the retailer’s website. The book highlights the imagination and creativity of young writers, and RTL Today remains proud to support their growing talent.
