Sunset in the Shadowy Woods (acrylic) by Emma Yang, 8; published in the July/August issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma Wood Hello, all— I hope you are enjoying the summer—I just wrapped up my Intro to Poetry summer camp, and it was an invigorating week reading, discussing, and writing really incredible poems. One thing I love about the Stone Soup teaching philosophy is that we don’t teach “down” to kids—I adapt lessons that I use with undergraduate students, and the poems are never too hard for them. Everyone responds to the brilliant writing, regardless of their age and experience with literature! We are running writing summer camps in conjunction with Society of Young Inklings through August 10th—sign up for a spot now if you haven’t yet! You can also peruse our offerings below. We are currently running a campaign to support our writing workshops and summer camps, as well as our annual book contest and publishing program. While both of these programs align with our core mission, they cannot be entirely supported through the revenue we earn from the magazine. Here are some of the things we’ve heard from children impacted by these programs: Two of the most exciting and proud moments of my life were when I got my first poem published—and two years later when my book won the book contest. Emma Hoff, 11 Stone Soup means so many things to me–but with my novel, it was a goal and a place to aim for. That novel is currently being serialized in Stone Soup, and writing it was a huge experience for me. It taught me a lot! Emily Chang, 14 I’ve become the writer I am today thanks to Stone Soup’s writing workshops.…If not for them, I would very rarely have the motivation to sit down and write… I’ve discovered so much about my writing style through these classes, and I think anyone who has a passion for writing will find their voice through these classes, too. Anonymous, 13 We are also very proud to share that Liam Hancock, a contributor to Stone Soup and longtime writing workshop participant, has recently launched his very own literary magazine, StudentKind Literary Journal, for individuals aged 13-18—proof that the inspiration, confidence and skills that students develop in our classes takes them far beyond their own desk! We hope you will consider making a thoughtful gift in support of our successful book program, writing workshops, and summer camps today; your gifts will fund our classes, and enable us to continue offering scholarships to a handful of deserving students each year, as well as help our books reach a wider audience—and ensure this valuable initiative will continue. You can donate online via Paypal or Donorbox. Sincerely, P.S. The Stone Soup board of directors has given $6500 in a dollar-for-dollar match, so the impact of your donation is doubled. Donate Now From Stone Soup July/August 2023 Ivy’s Return by Clara Gluzdov, 13 The melody came on the beams of moonlight. Moonlight poured through a tall window, covering the room in an eerie glow. Ivy lay on the fluffy carpet, fur glowing slightly. Her ears finally stopped twitching at every noise, wishing it was music. More specifically, piano music. She sighed in her sleep, the comforting sound filling her dreams. Ivy dreamt of kitchens full of mice—so many! an endless source of entertainment—and swarms of birds in the air, fresh and warm, to bring inside for her beloved Dahlia. She rolled over in her sleep, and her dreams changed to the piano. If only I was human . . . Ivy purred to herself in her sleep. Then I could play the piano, the wonderful piano Dahlia sits at for hours and hours . . . I could be tall, tall enough to reach the piano, to sit down on the stool with my human legs touching the ground. But now it towers over me, grand and elegant, leaving me feeling small and vulnerable. If only I was human . . . As she wished and wished to be human, the moonlight wrapped itself around her. It grew thicker and thicker, almost solid now. Swirls of it were bright and sounded slightly higher pitched. To most it would sound like nothing, but to the moonlight it was speaking. Should we do it? Should we do it now? She had tried. She had tried to play the piano but was only able to make horrid, wild noise. And when she failed, it made her desire stronger. Does she truly want this? the moonlight sang. Yes! said a shiny swirl. Are you sure? said another. A third said: We will find out soon. * * * Click here to find out what happens next. Not yet a subscriber? Get one month digital access free! Don’t miss your chance to enjoy Stone Soup, the magazine 100% written and illustrated by kids since 1973, for free! Use code SUMMER at checkout to receive one month of digital access at no cost. Free submissions to the magazine, access to 20+ years of digital archives, and new issues bimonthly. Terms and conditions apply. Shop our Summer Sale Explore our summer camp offerings Advanced Novel Writing July 17–20; 9–11 am PT In Writing Instructor Conner Bassett’s course, learn the basic techniques of good storytelling, such as setting, plot, character, dialogue, and more! Brainstorm concepts and share ideas for your novel that will keep readers hooked from start to finish. Freedom through Constraint: Experiments in Poetry & Prose July 24–27; 9–11 am PT In this workshop taught by Stone Soup Blog Editor Caleb Berg, campers will study and use self-imposed constraints such as omitting specific letters and patterns of repetition in order to maximize the untapped potential of their work. The goal is not necessarily to make sense but to excite the senses! Anthropology of the Everyday: The Art of Creative Nonfiction July 24–27; 1–3 pm PT Taught by Laura Moran, cultural anthropologist and Stone Soup’s Refugee Project director, this course instructs students in a method of personal writing called autoethnography that combines storytelling with details
Weekly Creativity #258: Invent Your Own Holiday
Invent your own holiday!
Flash Contest #56, June 2023: Write a story where the protagonist is sitting on their lawn when a parachutist lands next to them—our winners and their work
Our June 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #256 (provided by Stone Soup intern Sage Millen), which asked that participants write an unusually specific story, one in which a parachutist lands next to the protagonist while the protagonist is sitting on the lawn. The rest of the details, however, were left to the brilliant imaginations of our participants, and they did not disappoint. Submissions ranged from a story about a clueless time traveler named Bob to a story about unsuccessfully meeting a Mr. Beast challenge to a story about two boneheaded “heroes” too focused on who saved their town the most. This week, due to a high volume of stories good enough to be selected for Honorable Mentions, we only chose four winners—two of whom are actually twins!—instead of our usual five, because it was too difficult to elevate one of our honorable mentions over the others. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “The Spy from the Sky” by Ariel Makri Levy, 11 “The First Snow” by Evelyn Lien, 12 “The Landing” by Isabelle Lien, 12 “Shoot the Moon” by Maya Ruben, 12 Honorable Mentions “Dandelion” by Han-ya Chen, 11 “One Day, One Short Life” by Sophie Li, 12 “Recruiting Mr. Pineapple” by Chloe Lin, 10 “The Heroes of Graztown” by Meg Schmit, 10 “Bob” by Ariel Zhang, 11 The Spy from the Sky Ariel Makri Levi, 11 Willow the fox cascaded down his velvet red staircase, plummeting towards the plate full of breakfast tacos. The kitchen, with wood-paneled cabinets, looked seemingly dormant. He had barely touched them when his sisters, Anne and Chiquita, rocketed out from under the yellow-painted table and seized the tacos. Willow let out a gasp, before regaining his senses and lunging for the tacos and, with one in his hand dashed out their red front door, the knocker letting out a large KNOCK as the door slammed shut. Willow let out a huge sigh of relief, and plonked himself on the lovely, fluffy grass in his front lawn. He had nearly finished his chicken-corn-chip taco when he spotted a small rectangle-shaped silhouette gliding down from the sky. Alarmed, Willow quickly ran into his makeshift tent he had made the night before and ducked for cover. He heard a rustle in the grass outside, and a whimper of, “Oh, no! The boss will be so mad at me now that I’ve accidentally landed in the Fox Lands!” Willow, slowly but surely, inched out of his tent and stared at what was before him. A flying squirrel with a parachuting helmet and gear had just landed in his front lawn! “Hello?” Willow asked. The flying squirrel jumped up with a jolt and quickly turned around. “Aaaughh! It’s a fox!” screamed the frightened parachuter. “Calm down, calm down. What even are you? You don’t look like a regular squirrel,” said Willow. The parachuter’s face turned a bright shade of pink and he slowly folded out his arms. Willow expected his arms to fold out on their own, but a thin flap of skin connected his arms and legs together, like a parachute! “What’s your name?” asked Willow. “My name’s Jello. Jello Gelatinno Spaghetto Pizzapayo. I work for the Suspiciously Unidentifiable Squirrel Spy Youngsters.” “Did you come to spy on the foxes?” Willow asked suspiciously. “No, no, no! This was all a gargantuan mistake! I meant to land on the Wolf Lands. You know, where the “brave,” “helpful,” and “awesome” wolves live?” Willow shrugged. “Yes, I know.” “So anyway,” Jello continued, “a bizarre force was pushing me back and not allowing me to enter their territory.” “What do you and your squirrel company even want?” questioned Willow. “You see, my boss, Sir Squeaksqueak, is making me perform a bunch of rigorous tasks like spying on the Mad Wolves, sabotaging and preventing them from being wicked, that sort of stuff, and I only get 15 dollars per hour! For being a spy and potentially putting my life in danger!” “I will help you!” announced Willow in triumph. “I am dying for adventure!” After they had both trundled up the stairs to his room, Willow took a blank paper out from his drawer and started writing. Jello leaned in a bit, but Willow’s fur was so puffy, he couldn’t see anything. Willow spun 90 degrees in his chair to look at Jello, with his paper in his sweaty palm. “This is the plan.” he announced. “We will start our own spy business, people will come to us when they need to know something or when they need to protect someone, and if they ask if it’s federally acceptable, we’ll just say we have a relationship with a friend of the president of the Squirrel Lands.” “It’ll be called the Brilliant Anonymous Super Spy Federation!” said Jello. “Are you sure you want to leave The Squirrel Lands?” asked Willow. “Yes, I’m sure,” Jello confirmed, “I think it’s time to take my own path in life.” They marched together out of Willow’s house, and with the parts of Willow’s makeshift tent, they quickly constructed a small cabin with a sign on it reading, “The Brilliant Anonymous Super Spy Federation, your wish is our command.” Customers quickly started coming in, and Jello and Willow were swamped with work. Who knew there was so much drama in the Fox Lands? 12 years later Willow and Jello were strolling down the streets, looking for somewhere to sit down and have a nice cup of coffee. “Hey, look, a veggieterean cafe!” Willow said. “It’s ‘vegetarian,’ not ‘veggieterean.’ Anyway, I’m up for a nice cup of vegetarian coffee!” said Jello. They strutted into the coffee shop, and none other but Jello’s former boss, Sir Squeaksqueak, was sitting at one of the tables! “Hi, what’s up?” asked Jello. “I just want to say I’m really sorry,” Sir Squeaksqueak said, “for making you
