authentic voice

Poetry·Katie Thomas, age 12 — A prose poem captures the joyful chaos of puppies at play, describing them as a single creature of fur, tongues, and wagging tails.

Story·Evelyn Chen, age 13 — A teen reluctantly agrees to teach piano to her blind neighbor, confronting her own prejudices when the girl calls her out for treating her differently because of her disability.

Poetry·Kyle Lotke, age 10 — A child races to watch the sunset, imagining where the sun goes, then becomes the sun sinking into bed while darkness transforms into regenerative sleep.

Story·Emory MacLaughlin, age 13 — A girl accompanies her stubborn friend into a forbidden forest to prove his bravery, only to encounter Shape Stealers—creatures that mimic humans—and flee when she can't distinguish friend from monster.

Poetry·Rickza Kerr, age 11 — A Haitian-American adoptee imagines helping the world through kindness, reuniting families, and bridging the gap between her birth country and adoptive home.

Story·Edie Koehlert and Chloe Weber — Three young cats journey to find a new home after their dying mother sends them away, guided by their deceased father's cryptic message about believing in possibilities.

Story·Emma Peterson, age 11 — A girl receives her art school acceptance letter and struggles with leaving her mother and younger sister, ultimately deciding to pursue her dream after her sister's encouragement.

Story·Megan Lowe, age 13 — A newly adopted Japanese girl struggles to adjust to her American home until her museum-worker father brings her a tiny tea cup from a Japanese Friendship Doll exhibit.

Poetry·Gabrielle Mott, age 8 — Peace arrives like moonlight through a window, then expands into visions of mountain streams, glass-still pools, and fields where doves coo sweetly.

Story·Maisie Bilston, age 11 — An English girl grieving her father's death moves to Germany and creates a magical world in the apartment building's garden, finding friendship through imagination.