Two meaty hands squeezed Kai’s shoulders from behind, guiding her every step. Fingers dug into the base of her neck, pressing with such a...

1st Place Judge Selection The glowing green letters on the alarm clock next to me read 2:48 am and I’m pinned down by Max’s weight on my...

Editor's Choice Open up. I never had an issue doing so, until I realized that “opening up” doesn’t mean be more comfortable. It means, be...

Dad told us to keep going without him, to flag someone down from the church instead. Mrs. Norton was piling the leftovers of her mini...

10/10/2017 Dear Aubrey, Hey. It’s Simone. If you’re reading this, I guess I’m dead. As of writing this, I’m packing everything up to go...

3rd Place Judge Selection They had agreed to meet that morning in the parking lot of a diner on the outskirts of Lancaster, next to a...

2nd Place Judge Selection No one noticed when the Harvest began. The nearly microscopic mites moved in swift silence inside the...

abandon ceremonial possibilities and face death head on— for in those moments when you kiss death and come back to the dance you are...

Like the whisper of a prayer: you beg yourself to strip the comfort from your skin. Dear fingertips, I plead with you Get a grip on...

1st Place Judge Selection Like a great gazelle had been shot to the ground, I imagine the shape of his body like this belongs anywhere...

2nd Place Judge Selection Am I a speck of dust irritating the corner of your eyelid? Well, now you have rubbed me, and your eyes have...

If I can’t be a girl, at least teach me to write like Maya Angelou, and let my confidence strike fear into the beholder. Teach me, then,...

Everybody twisted their face at me When I told them my dad was an orange. The first day the school counselor Called home, Mom left me at...

With frostbit extremities and my neck craned, I watch the arborous fireworks of barren winter oaks vein a crackling black sky. Stars like...

I feel every Thank You is something to keep: every card, every Post-It, backs of bills, or receipts. Not birthday nor holiday cards, to...

Editor's Choice When I was young, we took our crumbs and tried to build a cake. The bags of chips were labeled “chips,” the cheese was...

Rain rolls off the ball of my nose and freezes on the matchbox resting in my hand. The now dampened box has cardboard walls that form a...

It wasn’t like heaven or nirvana. It wasn’t like Christmas or a birthday. It wasn’t like good or great. It wasn’t like wonderful or...