Creative Writing
Twelve-year-old Vita Rossi is a star athlete whose unexpected injury has pulled her away from the only place she’s ever felt at home: the tennis court. Now, she finds herself with fewer friends, more time, and a lot of trouble as she tries to figure out who her team really is when a racquet isn’t in her hand and her mental health is challenging her in ways she never expected.
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This MG manuscript was selected for a spot in the 2023 program.
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The first five pages of this manuscript were workshopped by authors, peers, and a literary agent in the 2022 program.
In the world’s oldest fossil forest, a girl becomes the youngest-ever paleontologist, hunting for dinosaur bones on a family hike.
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This 50-word story landed in the 2024 Winner’s Circle of award-winning author Vivian Kirkfield’s international #50PreciousWords contest.
A young girl struggles to find the final flower for her herbarium in time to complete a gift for her mother’s homecoming.
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In the 2025 contest, this entry received an honorable mention in the “Beautifully Written” category.
When wallflower Lea becomes a teen assassin, her first crush—the school’s star athlete—becomes her first target.
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This YA short story closed out the 2015 issue of The Mercury.
Young Benedict Arnold faces an uphill battle to protect his family’s reputation when his alcoholic father leaves them penniless.
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In 2015, vignettes from this work of historical fiction won The Mercury Fiction Prize, in addition to being published in the 2015 issue.
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Selected vignettes received one of the 2015 Stephen Crane Fiction Prizes.