LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Around 100 students tested their creativity Saturday while competing in the annual Power of the Pen regional competition.
The statewide creative writing contest, which has been held since the mid-1980s, brought seventh- and eighth-grade students from 23 schools across northwest Ohio to the Ohio State Lima campus for the 2026 Northwest Regional competition.
Students competed in three rounds of creative writing throughout the event. In each round, participants were given a “what if” scenario or theme and had 40 minutes to craft a short story based on the prompt. Judges later reviewed the entries and provided written feedback to help students strengthen their writing skills.
“So, the students that participate at Power of the Pen, no matter if they win an award or not, they all come home with Judge comments. So, they're able to get really good feedback on their writing, about what they can work on, but also about what they're doing. That's really good. And I think it's really important for middle school students to kind of know that they're talented in something that is often seen as very quiet and personal,” says Rachel Peters, Northwest Regional Director of Power of the Pen.
The top-performing students from the regional competition will advance to the state tournament in May.
