Our November 2024 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #310 (provided by Stone Soup students Sage Millen, Meleah Goldman, and Emma Hoff), which asked that participants write a short story, poem, or create an artwork that tells a fairytale from the perspective of a secondary character As always, thank you to all who participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “The Wolf’s Side of the Story” by Isabella Fu, 13 “The Diary of Mrs Fitzgerald, Cinderella’s Stepmother” by Keziah Khoo, 11 “The Seven Dwarfs and Snow White” by Arshia, 15 “Home of Nature” by Shixi Wu, 8 “The White Rabbit’s New Life” by Tang Li, 12 Honorable Mentions “Little Red Riding Snack” by Lucia Tang, 12 “Through the Wolf’s Eyes” by Ethan Chen, 13 “True Tale of The Three Billy Goats Gruff” by Lydia Chen, 10 “Little Red Riding Hood: Wolf’s Plan” by Nidhi Gudigantala, 11 “Snow White” by Minakshi (Mina) Codyraman, 12 “A Candle’s Point Of View” by Silvia Anita Visoiu, 10 “The Doe and Baby Bear” by Jiya Parekh, 10 The Wolf’s Side of the Story ISABELLA FU, 13 It’s a chilly morning in the forest. The birds nestle up together in the shadows of the trees. The squirrels tuck away in the tree hollows, their tails shielding them from the cold. Meanwhile, us big ones don’t get any warmth, no matter how much we call. We’re silenced. Expected to thrive off of a few prey. Categorized as big, bad, and cunning meanies. All when we wolves are simply trying to live, just like the others. But I know I can’t just stay in one spot. I have to get moving. Hunger gnaws at me as I wander the woods. I desperately need somewhere to stay and something to eat. After a long while, I stumble upon a little pig’s house made of straw. When I catch sight of a welcoming fire burning inside, hope flickers in my chest. I knock gently. “Please,” I beg. “I’m cold, and I haven’t eaten in days. Could you spare a place by your fire?” After a few seconds, the door creaks open, just enough for the pig’s snout to peek through. He narrows his eyes. “You must be lying,” he says with a sneer. “I’m no fool. So just stop already, you scary wolf!” Suddenly, a gust of wind rushes through the air, carrying dust from the straw to my nose. I sneeze, causing the walls to immediately collapse and the fire to die away. The pig squeals and bolts, leaving me with the wreckage at my feet. Guilt forms up inside me, and it outweighs my hunger. I decide to follow the pig’s tracks and do my best to apologize. To my surprise, the path leads to another pig’s house built of sticks. It’s eerily getting darker, so I try speaking again to hopefully find a place to stay for the night. “Please,” I say, my voice hoarse. “I don’t mean harm. I just need rest.” The second pig appears in his doorway, looking me up and down. “Sorry, but I can’t trust you. My brother told me everything. Everyone knows what wolves are like.” He shuts his door before I get the chance to say otherwise. Then, another sneeze overtakes me. I can’t resist; the smell of the sticks is too strong. The sticks topple to the ground and the pig runs off, screaming. I follow him, yearning for sympathy. By the time I arrive at the third pig’s house, I’m practically hopeless. If snow starts to fall soon, I’d be doomed. The house is made of bricks, sturdy and well-constructed. Maybe here, someone would listen. I needed someone to listen. “Please,” I beg, scratching at the door. “I’m not the monster you think I am. I just need help!” The third pig laughs from inside. “Go on formulating your little schemes. My house is so robust, I literally have trouble hearing you right now.” I huff—not in anger, but in frustration, trying to explain myself. The pigs had falsely assumed my intentions. Their laughter rang from the safety of the bricks, and I knew by that point I was alone. Every single animal was cozied up in a loving home, while I appeared as an enigmatic outcast. Us wolves are always portrayed as evil creatures. Not a single story casts us as heroes. Not one. They say I’m the big, bad wolf, but they never asked who I really was. If they had, they might have seen the truth. I was just a creature in need of a little to eat, while being indicated as an intimidating predator. I was just a creature in need of warmth, while being described as a deliberate destroyer of many homes. I was just a creature in need, while being depicted as a malevolent monster in their tale. I was just a creature in need. The Diary of Mrs Fitzgerald, Cinderella’s Stepmother KEZIAH KHOO, 11 13 January 1852, 6 pm. That Cinderella forgot to dust under the cabinet again. I already warned that scatterbrained lass not to forget, but she is simply indolent. I have done so much for her, taking her into this grand mansion, giving her the charity of two small meals a day and a straw bed. And yet she is too kind— so kind she makes Charmaine and Gertrude, my two dear daughters, seem dreadfully unkind as a result, though they only punish her if she forgets to do something on the six-yard list of chores, or touch their things. She also dresses too fancy. She wears a good, serviceable grey dress with only thirteen large patches — to think she had the nerve to ask me for a new one yesterday— and a pinafore. Why, if I were her— though of course I would never be so dreadfully indolent— I would be contented with a shabby frock.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Stone Soup Monthly Flash Contest & Winners’ Roll
Stone Soup holds a Flash Contest during the first week of every month. The month’s first Weekly Creativity prompt provides the contest challenge. Submissions are due by midnight on Sunday of the same week and should be under 1,500 words. Up to five winners are chosen for publication on our blog. The winners, along with up to five honorable mentions, are announced on the blog. Submit via our Submittable site. The Weekly Creativity prompts are intended to help you “break the ice” and start writing. The prompts, all written by students, just like you. The prompts are different from each other. Each prompt makes challenges you think, to be creative. You might note a few different ways you can approach the prompt. As a rule, we advise skipping the way that seems easy or obvious. Always give some thought to the point-of-view you are taking. Who is the observer? Are you writing from the “first person” perspective, through the eyes of your character? Are you the “omniscient” narrator who sees all and knows all? If you are writing a prompt every week, then think about changing your points of view from week-to-week. Every contest has its own winners’ page, where you can read all the winning entries for the month. We are currently working on the winner’s page, but we will announce this new page when we announce the October winners in the following month! We are proud of everyone who takes part in the contest. Thank you for trusting us with your work! Good luck! Flash Contest #72, February 2025: Create a story, poem, artwork, or musical composition that reimagines Valentine’s Day in an unexpected way—Our Winners and Their Work Our February 2025 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #313 (provided by the Stone Soup editorial board), which asked to create a story, poem, artwork, or musical composition that reimagines Valentine’s Day in an unexpected way while avoiding typical Valentine’s words like love, roses, and hearts, and instead, use unconventional imagery, themes, or emotions to express connection and affection. As always, thank you to all who participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “A Saint’s Last Whisper” by Wing Hey Chan, 15 “Pebbles” by Naomi Ng, 13 Honorable Mentions “Here’s Your Order” by Sophie Lin, 11 “Unhappy Very Unhappy Valentine’s Day” by Katherine Liu, 6 “A Pianist’s Soulful Melody” by Gavin Liu, 15 “Unveiled” by Lexi Neiman, 17, “Hidden Treasures” by Lily Wu, 12, “When the Silver Tip Dances Again” by Victoria Xu, 10 “The Ocean’s Bond” by Erica Zhan, 12 A Saint’s Last Whisper Wing Hey Chan, 15 A Saint’s Last Whisper In secret halls where whispers stay, a priest still dared to disobey. He joined the hands the law forbade, and for his crime, the price was paid. His final breath fades into gray. The cold bars whispered of despair, A frozen grip in the stagnant air, Where shadows clung to the damp stone walls, And silence echoed through endless halls. His soul, imprisoned, felt the chill, a slow, cruel bite, and time stood still. Behind the bars, he …Read More Flash Contest #71, January 2025: Create a story, poem, artwork, or a musical composition based off of the painting “Champs de Mars: The Red Tower” by Robert Delaunay using the ekphrastic method —Our Winners and Their Work Our January 2025 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #312 (provided by Stone Soup students Emma Hoff), which asked that participants create a story, poem, artwork, or a musical composition based off of the painting “Champs de Mars: The Red Tower” by Robert Delaunay using the ekphrastic method. As always, thank you to all who participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Modernism’s Blinding Earthquake” by Gavin Liu, 15 “The Red Tower: When the Old Order Makes Way for the New” by Nathan Qu, 13 “Mr. Eiffel” by Derek Zhang, 11 Honorable Mentions “Through The Eyes Of Time” by Wing Hey Chan, 13 “I Remember” by Isabel Sands, 15 “The City of Gray” by Sydney Kesselheim, 12 Modernism’s Blinding Earthquake Gavin Liu, 15 Leaning city buildings crumple in the tower’s flame. Angels fall — or are they attempting to rise on Jacob’s ladder to evacuate modernism’s earthquake Sky’s gloominess tests angels’ golden wings to avoid fiery-red beams as Delaunay’s frantic mind holds no doubt of what demise modernity will bring— his desperate plea to Parisians to see civility’s tumbling collapse and the Eiffel Tower’s meaning— earth forgotten—unable to withstand the heavy iron, steel, and electric light as nature’s goodwill lags behind modernism’s deception. Nature’s resistance—crackling lightning striking Paris’s elegant tower made red— to unsnare people’s ignorance to instead wake in sun’s golden tower of love. The Red Tower: When the Old …Read More Flash Contest #70, December 2024: Write a short story from a blizzard’s perspective, a poem on your favorite part of winter, or create an artwork showing light and darkness —Our Winners and Their Work Our December 2024 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #311 (provided by Stone Soup students Sage Millen, Meleah Goldman, and Emma Hoff), which asked that participants write a short story from a blizzard’s perspective, a poem on your favorite part of winter, or create an artwork that shows light and darkness As always, thank you to all who participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Snowflake” by Scarlett Yi, 13 “Snowflakes: A Winter’s Tanka Poem” by Matthew Zhang, 13 “From the life we left” by Dara Jin, 11 “Waiting” by John Gabriel Sperl, 12 “Snowflake Light” by Tang Li, 12 Honorable Mentions “The Wonders of Winter” by Evee Dev, 9 “BLIZZARD” by Julian Yang, 10 “My View” by Sharbani Datta, 10 “Winter’s Breath” Haoran Yang,
I Wrote a Poem: Now What?
As a young writer, I have found it difficult to find places to submit my writing. For writers my age (I am twelve and my first poems were published when I was eight), there is a limited number of options. However, buried amid the many publications that only consider writing by adults, there are a few well-known magazines, journals, and platforms that publish and challenge young people, though every publication has its own guidelines and restrictions. The following publications are among the most selective and prestigious places that consider submissions by young poets. Rattle Young Poets Anthology (RYPA) is a yearly anthology published by a poetry magazine, titled Rattle. RYPA publishes poetry by writers ages 15 and under; however, it only publishes about 25 poems per year. Their submission usually closes in mid-November and decisions are announced by February. The Louisville Review also publishes young poets, 18 years old and under, in a section of the journal called the Cornerstone. The journal publishes twice a year, for now, only in print. The Louisville Review is a beautiful publication; each of its covers is a work of art, literally. The poems in Cornerstone are always stunning – it’s hard to believe that they’re written by kids. The prestigious Poetry Society of the UK has a section on its website called the Young Poets’ Network. It posts regular writing contests, much like Stone Soup’s monthly flash contests. It is highly competitive, since the upper age limit for these competitions is 25 years of age. However, younger contestants are often published. In addition, the same organization runs a yearly poetry contest called the Foyle Young Poets’ Award, which accepts submissions from poets ages 11 to 17. Submissions are usually due in July and decisions are announced by early October. An important thing to keep in mind when submitting to this award is that only 15 winning and 75 commended poems are chosen from about 16,000 poems submitted every year. In addition, journals such as Ember and The Adroit, though they do not have special categories for younger poets, encourage submissions by young people. To submit to Ember, you must be at least 10 years old. The Adroit allows anyone to submit, but it was originally founded to promote writing by the high school students. The key thing to remember when you’re considering submitting your work to a magazine, journal, or writing contest is that a good poem requires many revisions. The editors/reviewers/readers at these publications are often volunteers and dedicate a lot of time to reading submissions, so, out of respect for editors and reviewers, make sure that you’re submitting your very best work. I’ve had my share of rejections, so I know that the review process may feel daunting, even discouraging, but I’ve been published in most of these places, so it’s definitely possible. As long as you’re truly interested in writing and reading poetry, give these places a shot. Rattle Young Poets’ Anthology: https://www.rattle.com/children/guidelines/ The Louisville Review: https://louisvillereview.org/submissions Poetry Society’s Young Poets’ Network: https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/ Ember: https://emberjournal.org/ The Adroit Journal: https://theadroitjournal.org/
