presents 2020 Southern California Young Writers Awards Illustration by Maia Tumbokon age 13 The dA Center for the Arts Pomona , CA Inclusive | Accessible | Equitable ARTS for All Introduction We are delighted to announce the results of the 1st Southern California Young Writers' Awards, formally the Mrs. Nelson’s Young Writers’ Awards founded in 1997 by author Q.L. Pearce. We received 23 submissions from students whose ages ranged from 6 to 16. Their stories range in length, topic, style and focus, some ending joyfully, others tragically, and a good many mysteriously. A few students wrote wittily and with passion about the ups and downs and pleasures of everyday life, two wrote clever poems, but a greater number jumped the fence into science fiction, magic, outer space and Vampire territory— stretching their imaginations and their readers’ as well. A box in the attic is opened and a magical story line unrolls; a sip of “Shrink water” and a heroine slips into an unknown world and returns with a husband. Princesses are saved, Aliens conquer, matches are made and lovers are lost. And although all the stories were submitted by the February 2020 deadline, it is striking that so many of them touch on the unpredictability of life, and the unforeseen events that can sweep us into new and unfamiliar worlds. “Listen to the children” has always been a wise advisory, and the stories they write, at whatever level of sophistication, merit our attention and encouragement. Martha Fay is a freelance writer and editor and the author of three works of nonfiction, most recently Out of Line, The Art of Jules Feiffer. She has also written three travel guides, Village Walks, Tuscany (2007); City Walks:Rome (2006), and City Walks:New York (2003). She lives in Brooklyn, New York Special Thanks to Martha Fay for reviewing and delighting in the array of fiction, non-fiction and poetry Q.L. Pearce, founder the Young Writers’ Awards Judy Nelson, founder of Mrs. Nelson’s Toy & Book Store and sponsor of the awards Gina Capaldi, illustrator advisor Elizabeth Jones, dA support team 2 CONTENTS GROUP I: ages 6-9 THE CIPHER SWORD, Anika Shivaram, age 9, Foothill Country Day School Magical Heroism, with prologue and 8 chapters 6 MIDNIGHT AND THE VAMPIRES, Audrey Wong, age 9, United Christian Academy Highly imaginative, coherent and complete/ Vampire fiction 9 THE PICK SIX, Max Scheckter, age 9, The Pegasus School Football Poem/clever and engaging 11 SNOWFLAKES, Sabrina Zheng, age 8 , Country Spring Elementary School at Chino Hills Nature Poem, clever and engaging 12 THE BEST TRIP EVER, Milan Bhargava Desai, age 8, The Pegasus School Reportage/ Diary/ detailed, with a touch of humor 13 WAG AND ME, Sofia Sanchez Enriquez, age 6, The Pegasus School Outer Space Friendship 17 ALIEN INVASION, William Gruen, age 8, Signum Crucis Homeschool Academy A Vivid and Disastrous Event— The Aliens Win 18 THE SHRINK WATER, June Simmons, age 7, Da Vinci Connect (k-8 public charter) Imaginative Science Fiction 19 FANTASY OVER THE WONDERS, Christabel Choi, age 8, Walnut Elementary The End of Christalis City 21 3 GROUP 2: ages 10-13 CHANGED HEARTS, Silvia Pinto, age 12, Aveson Global Leadership Academy Surviving the Sixth Grade Dance 23 THE DESTINY OF ARILE, Minhkha Dang, age 10, The Pegasus School Chosen to Save the Realm 27 FLAUNT IT-DON’T HIDE IT, Maya Bhargava Desai, age 11, The Pegasus School The Challenge and Satisfaction of Being Small 30 MEMORIES, Catherine Gruen, age 13, Signum Crucis Academy A Tale of Teenage Destiny 32 THE POLAR VILLAGE, Ella Schimmelpfenig, age 10, St. John’s Episcopal School Rancho Santa Margarita CA Fantasy of Valor, Ice, and Polar Bears 36 RACING WITH THE WIND, Finley Shivaram, age 11, Foothill Country Day School The Thrill of the Sail 39 THE DOGS OF DESTINY (Book 1, Ch. 19), Lilah Coeymen, age 11, Foothill Country Day School Ambitious Tale of a Magic Dog World 40 ONCE UPON A ROYAL RESCUE, Kaylee Lu, age 10, Country Springs Elementary School A Princess Learns a Lesson 43 SOMETHING CHANGED, Jazmine Quinones, grade 5, Hollywood Schoolhouse A Very Bad Dream 46 THE GREAT WHITE NORTH, Logan Eide, age 10, The Pegasus School Hope and a Broken Heart 48 THE TOY KINGDOM, Jayden Choi, age 10, Walnut Elementary Toys Come to Life 50 GROUP 3, ages 14-18 FERN FOREST, Jillian Drews, age 18, Independence High School, Escape to Fairyland 52 LAST NIGHT I DREAMED OF YOU, Claire Diepenbrock, age 16 Tender Reminiscence 57 Illustrations : Anika Shivaram, age 9, Leah Oh , age 10 Maia Tumbokon , age 13 4 GROUP I: ages 6-9 Illustration by Annika Shivaram Age 9 5 The Cipher Sword By: Annika Shivaram Prologue I saw the symbols and encryptions on the sword illuminating in the dim, rectangular room. My desperate eyes and eager hands were an inch away from touching the sword when I froze. I stopped dead in my tracks. Right in front of me was a human drenched in blood. Then he breathed. “Run,” he said, “Run for your life!” And that is where my story begins. Chapter 1: Grandma I awoke in startled desperation. I was panting loudly and covered in sweat. I emerged out of my comfortable bed; it was exactly as smooth and soft as silk. “Luna!” my mom called as I curiously looked out the window, “Time to go to Grandma’s house!” I loved going to my grandmother’s house because she always told me fascinating stories about our ancestors. I quickly dashed downstairs and into the aromatic kitchen. My mother’s pozole was steaming on the stove in a scalding pot. “Here, Luna,” said my mom calmly, handing me a ceramic bowl of the freshly made soup. A few minutes had slowly passed with silence and then finally my mom sadly whispered, “Grandma is very sick. She has cancer.” I was in shock. Grandma couldn’t have cancer, she was in perfect condition! “She is moving to a hospital so we will have to help her move her things.” A cold, icy feeling blocked my heart and drained all the happiness out. Chapter 2: The Attic Before I knew it, I was in my mother’s rusty, old car that had dust even in the smallest places, so I didn’t feel comfortable moving. As we approached my grandmother’s house, I felt sad knowing she wasn’t going to be the same. Out of the tinted window, I saw the bright sun shining above my grandmother’s house, covering her house with blinding sunlight. My mom turned the corner into Grandma’s driveway. Slowly out the shadows, came my grandmother, hobbling with a cane. As she waved, it seemed different, her hand was shaking and I felt miserable. “Maria!” called my grandmother weakly as she kissed the top of my mother’s head. As she slowly walked toward me, she cried, “Luna!” and she hugged me so tightly I felt my ribs bruising. “Can you both help me move my things?” Grandma asked hopefully. “Of course, Mama,” said my mom kindly. My mom and I walked into the house gracefully. “Luna, can you please start in the attic?” my grandmother asked. “Sure, Abuela,” I replied happily. I loved going to the attic because our ancestors’ stories about their adventures were in there. As soon as I stepped into the attic, I felt a happy lurch of my stomach. I silently crouched down and picked up a shiny gold box, as if it had never been touched before. I stared. I was confused. What 6 was in the shiny box, was it special? I carefully opened the box and there right in front of me was an ancient book with the title, The Cipher Sword. Chapter 3: The Mission I was puzzled, what is The Cipher Sword? I cautiously opened the book and turned to a page that had a sword with symbols and encryptions. I curiously started reading about the sword. I learned that several of my ancestors died because they tried to find the ancient sword. I intriguingly read on and learned that there is a hidden key behind a waterfall and if you find the key, it unlocks a room holding The Cipher Sword. The encryptions on the sword are some kind of code, which means the word “cure.” If you try to unlock the code and get it wrong, you meet a deadly fate. If you get it right, a secret door opens that leads to a potion that is labeled Cure for Cancer. I thought about my grandmother. Could I really cure her disease? I thought about my ancestors who had died trying to fulfill this mission. Finally, I came to a decision. Even though this mission was filled with danger, I was determined to succeed. Chapter 4: The Waterfall The following Saturday, I headed into the woods. I was navigating from a map I had found in the back of the ancient book. Finally, after what felt like three hours, I saw a sparkling waterfall. I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me, since it looked exactly like the picture in the book. The key must be hiding behind the waterfall. I really didn’t mind about all the water. I didn’t care if I got soaked. As I approached the waterfall, I could hear the loud crashing of the water. Next, a big splash crashed on my body and made me feel cold and refreshed. I walked out of the waterfall and into a rock cave. It looked deserted so I moved several steps inside, then lying there on a gold podium was a glistening key.