The Young Writers Program July Writing Contest: Results!

A couple of weeks ago, we announced the first annual Young Writers Program July Writing Contest. It was just a little idea—a way for our students to get in some writing during the summer. Almost 150 entries later, we're proud to say that the contest was much bigger and better than we'd ever hoped.

Our only prompt was "Compose a brief story (300-word limit) that starts on a bright, sunny day." The directions these kids and teens went with that simple concept were inspiring. We had sci-fi, horror, war, comedy, romance, and more—all unique takes and ideas. We were so impressed with everybody who submitted, and choosing a winner was a very hard task. Eventually we narrowed it down to three stand-outs…

Grand Prize Winner:

Samantha Tatum (WordsToSay), Middle School

It was a bright, sunny day.

That was the problem.

My brother spent the morning curled up on the front porch, his thin, young legs poking out from his position as a replicated armadillo and his soft breath panted quietly, whispering warnings of what he saw to the wind.

I sat behind him, worrying his hair. He did not sleep under my touch, his tiny body trembling.

I watched as his friends rushed around on the streets, every once in a while staring up at the sky—but only fleeting glances. They did not absorb panic as quickly as my brother always did.

Mum was quarantined at work, though I wasn't sure why. The government was rushing to explain and in their haste, put down strange regulations anywhere they would stick, trying to convince everyone that the situation was under control.

It wasn't.

My skin prickled and I slathered more sunscreen over my skin, my fingers shaking lightly as I rubbed it in. I had to stay calm. Soon, I had to feed my brother dinner. We could go inside and escape from this madness for a few hours. It wasn't like I was going to catch on fire or anything…

What if?

Suddenly confused tears rushed down my cheeks and my eyes stung as I struggled to see through the moisture to my brother.

I scooped his body up into my arms as he kicked and yelled, asking me what I was doing. I opened up the front door to my house and pulled both of us into the safe darkness.

I wondered why there were no government-issued guides to surviving this.

But then again, who anticipates waking up to two suns in the sky?

Honorable Mention Winners:

Thayanora, High School

Ceana Leonard, Elementary School

Photo by Flickr user Thomas Hawk