freedom

Story·Megan Kirby, age 12 — A girl forms a bond with a wild black stallion named Draco, but realizes she must set him free when captivity breaks his spirit.

Poetry·Nicole Guenther, age 12 — A girl contrasts her fearless swing-jumping with her cautious friend, capturing the exhilaration of flight and the dizzy joy of letting go.

Story·Maya Koretzky, age 12 — A boy trapped by his father's grief after his brother's drowning at sea finds freedom when an Angolan sailor arrives, offering passage to Zanzibar and a chance to reclaim the...

Poetry·Natalie Fine, age 12 — A night in a vibrant city comes alive through sensory details — dancing on cobblestones, lights on water, sleeping on doorsteps under a diamond-filled sky.

Poetry·Nicole Guenther, age 12 — A young poet confronts mortality by imagining flight beyond Earth's gravity, transforming the fear of nothingness into an invitation to soar through unnamed universes.

Story·Natalia M. Thompson, age 13 — In Tehran, a teenage girl joins her mother's secret political group that meets under the guise of Friday tea gatherings while the men are at prayer.

Story·Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, age 9 — A girl secretly cares for neglected horses in Toronto until one morning they leap the fence and she rides with them toward the sunrise.

Story·Brigit Pierce and Sam Hinton and Hannah Feren — In a dystopian dome where citizens' memories are erased through food, Drew discovers her grandmother has vanished and uses her voice-mimicking talent to expose the truth.

Story·Nina Oliva, age 12 — When villagers capture wolf pups for companionship, a girl who frees one is granted the power to speak to wolves and must negotiate peace between the species.

Poetry·Katie Thomas, age 12 — A prose poem captures the joyful chaos of puppies at play, describing them as a single creature of fur, tongues, and wagging tails.