belonging

Story·Ava Bush, age 13 — A lonely woolly mammoth at a rigid academic school befriends a creative girl who teaches him about color-emotions, leading to their escape to a colorful utopia.

Poetry·Layla Linnard, age 11 — A child reflects on life before a new baby arrived, using a mirror structure to express the loss of sleep, space, and being a family of three.

Story·Alina Samarasan, age 12 — During morning hair-braiding, Carlita reflects on her Cuban heritage, school discrimination, and her absent brother who's been arrested.

Story·Una Dorr, age 12 — After moving to Brooklyn, Kiera finally achieves popularity but must choose between her new friends and Claudia, who wears the same Hello Kitty shirt Kiera once loved.

Story·Lia Taylor, age 12 — A prince sent to find a bride falls for her brother instead, leading them to flee their kingdoms and establish a new land where love can flourish freely.

Poetry·Anya Geist, age 12 — A nocturnal tour through a French vacation house moves from cicadas outside to bedrooms within, mapping the geography of temporary belonging through precise architectural detail.

Story·Julia Li, age 12 — A girl feels like an alien at school, invisible until classmates realize her father is rich, then suddenly everyone wants to help her.

Story·Anyi Sharma, age 10 — A man recently released from prison hosts a dinner party where guests flee one by one, revealing his isolation as reality dissolves into forest imagery.

Story·Pauline McAndrew, age 9 — A girl arrives at a family gathering in North Carolina, plays with cousins, collects wood for a fire, and finds home in the sensory details of the reunion.

Story·Morgan Biagioni — A girl arrives at a family gathering in North Carolina, plays with cousins, collects firewood, and finds home in the sensory details of the reunion around a bonfire.