city

Poetry·Ian Maduff — A kinetic poem follows a car journey across the Bishop Ford bridge, past landmarks and exits, building speed toward a hidden quarry pit.

Personal Narrative·Misha Joksic — A boy experiences sudden, severe stomach pain that turns out to be appendicitis, leading to an experimental treatment at NYU Langone Hospital instead of surgery.

Story·Jonah Christiansen-Barker, age 13 — A young boy writes stories in an alley, facing adults who question his identity as a writer until he discovers his own definition of being published.

Personal Narrative·Olivia Choi, age 12 — A five-year-old devastated by her family's move from California to New York City gradually discovers unexpected joys in her new home, including Central Park and snow.

Personal Narrative·Claire Pan, age 11 — An eight-year-old navigates her first solo bus ride, ice-skating camp, and the small victories of a shy kid finding courage in new experiences.

Poetry·Pei-Ying Olsen, age 9 — A young musician experiences how playing music transforms perception, turning static moments into flowing streams and city streets into moon-lit landscapes.

Story·Harper Fortgang, age 13 — A Purple courier delivering documents in the Forbidden Strip—where Purple and Green people live together—meets Unum, whose greyish-brown skin and perspective challenge everything she's been taught about segregation.

Story·Avital Sagan, age 12 — A sentient radio watches helplessly as carnivorous moonflowers take over the island city of Floracion, turning its inhabitants into mindless carriers of the infection.

Story·Chloe Leng, age 12 — In a post-COVID dystopia where rich and poor are segregated, a lonely delivery boy discovers an underground society of 'Peacebreakers' who refuse to wear masks or social distance.

Poetry·Summer Loh, age 8 — Through a fogged window, a child observes city life: a girl with her dog, a street musician, an old couple, and a flower growing through concrete cracks.