freedom

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.

Air

Poetry·Julia Marcus, age 13 — A hiker rises above civilization to Lake Alpine, becoming one with the hawk soaring overhead, breathing pine and sage and thin mountain air.

Poetry·Parwana Amiri, age 16 — A refugee teen's defiant catalog of what takes courage — building schools, welcoming the homeless, staying human — versus what's easy: destroying, hurting, closing your eyes.

Poetry·Parwana Amiri, age 16 — A dialogue poem between two voices moves from invitation to fly, through a refugee's plea for help, to a declaration of collective strength and resistance.

Story·Steven Cavros, age 9 — In future Orlando sewers, sentient creatures made from garbage attempt to form a government, leading to chaos, tyranny, and one night of freedom above ground.

Personal Narrative·Shriyans Boddu, age 11 — A New York City boy gets permission to go outside alone for the first time, gets lost, and must find his way home using the subway.

Poetry·Suhani Pandya, age 12 — A girl questions the restrictions placed on her body and freedom—bound feet, hidden face, denied education—ultimately rejecting beauty that consumes a life.

Story·Ananya Nigam, age 13 — A leaf contemplates the community rule that all leaves must eventually fall, resisting until witnessing a tree being cut down transforms fear into understanding.

Story·Sienna Rapaport, age 10 — A girl with a vast imagination discovers her father is the legendary Bird of Steel and must steal his power to save Riverhaven from eternal conflict between humans and magical...

Story·Anya Geist, age 13 — In a genetically engineered society where roles are predetermined, a young Director-in-training discovers her forbidden passion for music during a symphony rehearsal.