authentic voice

Poetry·Madeline Male — A child watches their old house disappear through the car window as the family drives away to a new home, capturing the moment of leaving.

Personal Narrative·Avaline Mikhasiuta — A five-year-old Russian speaker faces her first day of kindergarten without knowing English, finds connection through a Japanese classmate who shares her language barrier.

Story·Adler Savikas — Three royal brothers shipwrecked on separate shores of the same island each journey inland through different terrains before reuniting in a dandelion field at the center.

Poetry·Pauline McAndrew — In early morning solitude, a teenager reflects from her blue chair, treasuring this pause before the world returns to normal and her sanctuary becomes ordinary again.

Poetry·Pauline McAndrew — A mixed-race teenager rejects the 'café au lait' metaphor others use, claiming instead the power of being a thunderstorm where opposing forces create energy and change.

Story·Naaman Garcia — A farmer discovers a mysterious seed that grows into a tree bearing giant blocks of cheese, builds a cheese business with his neighbor, then loses everything to lightning.

Personal Narrative·Xi Huang — After witnessing a powerful storm from her Florida deck, a young girl discovers the ocean's terrifying magnificence and gains new understanding of its dual nature.

Poetry·Katja Muckle Eizenberg — A sunflower narrates its life cycle from bloom to seed dispersal, watching its seeds fly away to freedom before entering winter's sleep.

Personal Narrative·Micki Mermelstein, age 11 — Alone at her family's Country House, once filled with cousins' laughter, an 11-year-old reflects on how growing up has emptied the summer gathering place of its magic.

Poetry·Mary Gomes — A child's meditation on the beauty of the name Paulina spirals into wonder about meaning, naming, and the limits of knowledge.