Stone Soup Flash Fiction Contest Winners
February 2026
Winner
From My Mother’s Purse
In light of the recent ICE activities. In my mother's purse, I found a paper detailing what to do if an ICE agent came to your door. It was next…
January 2026
Honorable Mention
The Moment Around Us
Dear Stone Soup Editors, Please find attached my poem, "the morning around us," for consideration in the Monthly Flash Contest. It is approximately 338 words. I am a 14-year-old writer…
December 2025
Winners
From Apples to Apple Pies
Tang Li, aims to share this artwork to express her winter break plan-- baking apples to an apple pie for the family. As a novice baker, she believes that sharing…
Charm Bracelet of Lovers
I shook my wrist; the charms on my thin, silver bracelet made a ringing, clarion sound that pinched my ears. Each little trinket on my bracelet represented a past lover…
October 2025
Winner
My Polar Story
This is a story about love and continuity. Through it, I hope people can feel that a parent’s love for their child never fades, with time or the limits of…
Honorable Mention
An Unspoken Meaning
“What’s happening?” I looked out of my bedroom window down the road outside of our apartment. Cars were driving around, in perfect rhythm, it seemed. Not a car was driving…
February 2025
Winner
Pebbles
A pile of smooth pebbles lies on Delia’s desk next to a crumpled velvet bag. She strokes the surface of one of the stones with her thumb. This one is…
Honorable Mentions
Hidden Treasures
A Woman’s Strength and Journey Her journey begins in the violet haze of dawn enveloped in a dark cloak of mist, she breathes into her scarf looking up into the…
When the Silver Tip Dances Again
When the Silver Tip Dances Again Dust settled into my spine like winter into old bones. I remember when your silver tip danced across my pages, creating stories of legends…
Unhappy Very Unhappy Valentine’s Day
A Very Unhappy Valentine’s Day Flowers wilt in the winter air, Cupid shoots hate arrows making people glare Teddy bears without heads fly through the sky bouncing off the kids…
November 2024
Winners
The Seven Dwarfs and Snow White
When The Warmth Forgot Me The snow struck my face— violent, playful— as though it hadn’t meant to sting the way it did. I longed for my blanket, for cocoa…
The Diary of Mrs. Fitzgerald, Cinderella’s Stepmother
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Home of Nature
COVER LETTER Submission Title: Home of Nature Author: Shixi Wu Age: 8 years School: Grade 2, Class 1, Future School of Chongwen, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, China Guiding Teacher (Parent): Jianjun…
Honorable Mentions
The Doe and Baby Bear
Resolution My name is Chenoa Arrow, meaning White Dove in my language. It has been three years since my mother contracted measles. It was only days after she got sick…
Through the Wolf’s Eyes
Shades of meaning!She walked with wisdom, town to town,Reading colors like a turning page.Purple for justice, steady and bright,Green for hope, chasing the light.White for the strong who rise and…