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Poetry·Rhiannon Grodnik, age 11 — A young observer watches the sunset over San Francisco Bay, experiencing a moment of profound solitude and connection to the infinite before the city lights disappear into darkness.

Poetry·Rhiannon Grodnik, age 11 — A young observer watches sunset over San Francisco Bay, experiencing a moment of cosmic solitude before the city lights pull her back to the present.

Story·Samantha Lai, age 10 — A slave girl named Min-Li discovers she is a Guardian of the Phoenix when a magical bird rescues her and reveals her destiny to heal villages.

Story·Emma Delaney, age 13 — On the last day of eighth grade, seven best friends release a balloon with a wish to stay friends forever, as they face separation for high school.

Story·Emina S. Sonnad, age 12 — A girl takes her dachshund for a run on an unseasonably warm winter day, reveling in the frost-covered grass and their shared joy of movement.

Story·Emily Waxman, age 10 — A girl prepares for prom in 1946, wearing a dress made from her brother's WWII parachute, reflecting on family sacrifice and finding beauty in hardship.

Story·Claire Wilhelm-Safian, age 11 — A poet escapes his chaotic household at night to write in the barn, where the sounds of sleeping animals inspire verses that flow from his heart.

Story·Katharine Pong, age 12 — A girl runs eleven miles to the beach without planning, where observing oysters making pearls from irritating sand grains helps her reframe her frustrations with home life.

Poetry·Sophie Anne Ruehr, age 11 — A child navigates a Cape Cod beach as high tide transforms the landscape, jumping ice-covered islands while observing the retreating wildlife and encroaching sea.

Story·Jonathan Morris, age 12 — An elf boy searches for rare ashberries to save a dragonfire victim, remembering how the same berries failed to save his father years before.