Mitali Perkins has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions), all of which explore crossing different kinds of borders. Her goal is to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening.
“My territory as a writer is exploring the unknown.”
“Just for one moment, I keep my eyes closed, trying to hold on to the last faint tendrils of the dream I was just having, but they slip away from my grasping hands like silk.”
“Along the course of my life, I was repeatedly told that the mere scratch of ink on a parcel of paper was a sin. …
Unfortunately, the need to rebel against authority was a crippling disposition of mine. My fingers itched for the release of my thoughts onto paper.”
“Writers…live in a sort of twilight between the world they belong to and the world they create.”
“Being swept away by a story [is] not such a bad thing.”
“When you write, you write by the seat of your pants.”
There’s an apprenticeship to be served in becoming a writer at least as much as an apprenticeship to be served in becoming a doctor.
You have to learn your craft so well that you’re not even conscious of it when you write.
Congratulations to all the young authors who put the time and effort into crafting their stories. Thank you for sharing them with us. From more than 800 entries, we selected 23 stories to publish in Bluefire 2024. Here are the $1000 for 1000 Words Creative Writing Contest Results for 2024.
“Buried Things” by Karma Abboud (12th Grade)
“Climbing the Mind Stairs” by Nayoon Lee (6th Grade)
$100 Prize Grade Level Winners
“Stealing Past Dragons” by Olivia Mooneyham (11th Grade)
“The Myth” by Hannah Rouse (11th Grade)
“Cicadas and Summer” by Chelsea Guo (10th Grade)
“A Conversation with the Living” by Raleigh Rhodes (9th Grade)
“Tick Tock” by Weston Fleming (8th Grade)
“Florals and an Orange” by Eleanor King (7th Grade)
Honorable Mention Winners
“Last Dance” by Rori Kennedy (12th Grade)
“Remembering My Name” by Abby Talbert (12th Grade)
“Angel-ish Delusions” by Claire Hennemeyer (11th Grade)
“Izzy’s Wings” by Karissa Chmil (11th Grade)
“I Hope Heaven Has Dragonflies” by Lee Luna (10th Grade)
“Not (O)Kay” by Sydney Grodin (9th Grade)
“Screens” by Lauryn Brown (9th Grade)
“My Boy” by Leila Brawner (8th Grade)
“Tamish’s Trapdoor” by August Smith (8th Grade)
“A Loop of Lies” by Suha Mirza (7th Grade)
“Long Time No See” by Yushin Chen (7th Grade)
“The Stranger in Her Skin” by Payton Tu (7th Grade)
“Coaster Courage” by Rowan Iyer (6th Grade)
“Sweet Tea” by Wrenna Baldwin (6th Grade)
“The True Meaning of Bravery” by Lucia Barraco (6th Grade)
