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San and Bert
Jessica Wang
12th Grade, New YorkFirst Place — San lived in a strawberry. It was a large strawberry, plump with a spongy outer skin and as grand as a boulder
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All the Buttons
Eleanor Bolas
9th Grade, New YorkSecond Place — The doorbell trills, ding-ding-ding, and then the door is open and Dee is pulling me inside her apartment.
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Public Park Therapy
Rachel Samantha Rose
Freshman, University of VermontThird Place — After a full minute of laughing and wheezing James blurts, “She didn’t even get the slur right
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An Excerpt from Brad Kessler's North
Brad Kessler
We’re pleased to share an excerpt of Brad Kessler’s latest novel, North, in anticipation of his conversation...
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An Excerpt from Myriam J. A. Chancy's What Storm, What Thunder
Myriam J. A. Chancy
Fiction has the power to help us understand one another. As readers, we may take comfort in storytelling that reflects our own experiences...
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As They Imagine Us on Summer Nights
Kylan Tatum
12th Grade, New JerseyFirst Place — It had the makings of a quiet summer. We strapped pink wings to our shoulders and dove headfirst into blue...
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A Letter to Mama
Ciara Balanzá
11th Grade, New YorkSecond Place — Dear Mama, I find it difficult to keep track of the days without my regular routine. I no longer feed pigeons...
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Recalcitrance
Saanvi Agwarwal
12th Grade, CaliforniaThird Place — Syla’s palms were sweaty as she stared at the birch door and golden handle. Regardless of how she used the...
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Clairvoyance
Tanisha Shende
11th grade, New JerseyFirst Place — The ground is perpetually damp, the buildings creak, and the sun seems more like a hole forced into the sky...
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The Thing in the Wall
Ife Olatona
17 years old
Washington D.C./Olun, NigeriaSecond Place — If we whispered the name of a dead person, it winked like a friend. If we suppressed our fright and kept quiet...