A note from Emma
This weekend we are thrilled to be launching our third annual book contest! Every year we refine the contest a bit more, and this year we decided that we will select two winners to publish: one in fiction and one in poetry. Comparing poetry collections to novels and novellas is truly an apples-to-oranges comparison, and we would like to be able to fully recognize the achievements in each genre by rewarding publication to two manuscripts. You can read the full guidelines for the book contest at our Submittable site.
I have been working nonstop with last year’s winners, Tristan Hui and Anya Geist, on novel edits, and I am so excited to share their work with you later this year. We are all so amazed at the quality of work we receive for this contest, and of the evident effort put into each and every project. It is truly an honor and a pleasure to read your manuscripts, and I cannot wait to see what this year brings.
To kick off the contest, Naomi Kinsman of the Society of Young Inklings will be leading her Design a Novel Weekend Workshop, an intensive two-day class to help those of you who are starting a new novel. The workshop will meet on Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11, from 9 a.m. to noon. PDT (noon to 3 p.m. EDT). Naomi is a wonderful teacher, and working with her will set a wonderful foundation for your work!
Although we regret not being able to offer a free novel workshop at this time, there are scholarships available. And if you would like to support our mission to support all creative children, regardless of income, please consider making a donation.
As always, feel free to write us with any questions.
Highlights from the past week online
Don't miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com!
Anushka, 10, wrote a review of the 2015 novel Gorilla Dawn by award-winning author Gill Lewis, explaining how they think the novel “can inspire children and adults to work to conserve our environment.”
From Young Blogger Dominic Ng: a persuasive article about their favorite video game, Minecraft.
Ashlyn, 11, wrote an information-packed review/essay on George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm.
To find out more about the autonomy of the self, check out a review of New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman’s 2017 novel, Restart, by Emily, 10.
At last week's workshop, participants learned about the volta, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and metamorphosis in order to write pieces that "veered." Read some of the work created during the workshop here.
Contest, partnership and project news
Our Young Authors’ Studio Summer Camps with the Society of Young Inklings are now open for booking! Find out more and secure your spot at the Young Inklings website.
To reiterate, we are launching our third annual book contest, so make sure to check out the full guidelines at our Submittable site. Happy writing!
From Stone Soup
March 2021
The Flowers That Live Forever
By Iris Chen, 10 (Rye Brook, NY)
A young girl walked through the gloomy roads of Brickville. As she walked, some rain began to fall.
Huh, the girl, whose name was Olivia Judertt, thought. What perfect rain for flowers.
Olivia loved her town, but it had no real color. She also didn’t like the fact that the town had no flowers.
Olivia hated gloomy and gray things. She was very fond of flowers and color. Olivia loved coloring more than sketching, and she would rather get a colorful paint set than a phone as a gift. Her room was painted rainbow, and the first time you set eyes on it, you had to shield your eyes: the colors clashed together so much and it was too bright.
So when she noticed that the town was missing color and flowers, her two favorite things, she decided to change that.
One day she hopped into the kitchen with a new idea forming in her mind. “Mom, Dad!” she exclaimed. “I would like to plant some flowers in our backyard!”
Mrs. and Mr. Judertt laughed uneasily. “Oh, silly girl,” they said. “The soil in our backyard isn’t nice enough for some pretty flowers. Besides, the weather here is very foggy, and flowers need plenty of sun.”
Stubborn Olivia refused to give up. She emptied her piggy bank and walked to the closest flower shop.
Olivia looked around the flower shop. Lots of colorless, grown flowers covered one side while seeds were stacked on top of each other on the other. She walked around, trying to pick out the just-right flowers. All the flowers there were expensive and not very colorful.
“This is hopeless,” Olivia grumbled after half an hour of searching for the perfect seeds.
Then something caught her eye. On the top shelf at the back of the store, sitting proudly right behind two really ugly flowers, was the most beautiful and colorful flower Olivia had ever seen.
Olivia scrambled around for a stool to stand up on. She found one, climbed onto it, reached high, and brought down the flower.
“Oh, it’s just a package,” she said to herself. The name on the package really drew her interest, though. It read, “THE FLOWERS THAT LIVE FOREVER.” . . . /MORE
Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered
in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
Stone Soup's Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
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