nature

Story·Risa Askerooth, age 12 — A grueling hike through Hawaiian wilderness nearly ends in defeat before revealing hidden pools, where exhaustion transforms into pure joy.

Poetry·Candace Huntington, age 13 — Three cousins play Monster Tag in overgrown summer fields, transforming into predator and prey as they chase through bushes and around corners.

Story·Meilan Steimle, age 12 — A girl with overly intellectual parents seeks sisterhood on a school trip to Yosemite, but finds bickering cabinmates, indifferent leaders, and a bed-wetting incident instead.

Poetry·Tanay Kumta, age 12 — A student escapes a bad school day through a nighttime walk, finding solace in crickets, crunching leaves, and cool air that transforms frustration into peace.

Story·Abby Lustig, age 11 — A girl races along the beach following a dolphin, sprinting through sand and tide pools to keep up with the graceful creature before having to leave for the airport.

Poetry·Matthew Brailsford, age 11 — A child at the beach reaches out to touch the sunset and wraps it around their shoulders like a coat, transforming sensory experience into wearable joy.

Poetry·Elizabeth R. Herndon, age 10 — A child lies in cold grass on an autumn night, imagining herself as a falling leaf among bare trees and scattered leaves.

Story·Billy Liptrot, age 13 — A boy finds solace at a secluded spot by a reservoir, where memories of catching frogs with his brother merge with present sensory details of water, weather, and wildlife.

Poetry·Cammie Keel, age 13 — A winter morning arrives through skeletal trees, a crow's shriek, silver air, and frost-cocooned grass until the last leaf falls on white ground.

Poetry·Ethan Vranic, age 12 — In a dreary autumn meadow between two oaks, once-flourishing roses now lie shriveled and colorless, their sharp thorns the only remnant of former vitality.