A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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Logo Long Story Short Award - Fall 2020
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

Breaking Even

Ben Sheffer

I start the chess tournament by entering the skittles room, which unfortunately, is nothing like a rainbow. The skittles room is just a lounge with a water dispenser and is not a candy dispensary. I ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

A Christmas Story

McKade Kerr

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was still dark outside, and I wasn’t fully awake yet, but I answered my phone and heard a familiar voice. “It snowed over a foot last night! We need you ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

I remember

Harmandeep Swaich

The Forbidden House
I knew what it was. I knew the house on the beach and that I needed to get there. I was there late at night when I knew I had to get away from my mom screaming that the walls ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

Dreaming With Your Eyes Open

Hailey Skinner

I am not, nor have I ever been, an artist.

I am and have always been, a dreamer.

When I was in 3rd grade I had a necklace from Claire’s, which, in plastic silver letters, labeled me as ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

How to Do Your Puzzle

Sophie Cassidy

I love puzzles. It’s calming to know that everything has its place, and that if I look hard enough I will find it. It doesn’t matter how many times I break a puzzle down; with a little effort, I can ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

I, Too, Can Dance

Sarika Chawla

I was in love with the way the dainty pink mouse glided across the stage, her tutu twirling as she pirouetted and her rose-colored bow following the motion of her outstretched arms with every grand ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

Gemma's Hair

Isabella Piacentino

Gemma’s Hair
In sixth-grade, Gemma’s assigned seat was next to mine. My only knowledge of Gemma was that:

1. she played the youngest von Trapp child in our school’s production of The Sound ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

Hearth

Niels Turley

Stretched out between the living room and the kitchen, straddling the fuzzy carpet and cold tile, lies the warm spot—a vent affectionately named for its delightful puff onto a child’s cold toes. I say ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 5 min

The Season of the Moth

Collin Leslie

A dark grey weight pulled down on the city, washing out the color and light. The air was dry, and a suffocating heat wafted between the buildings and over the streets. A reminder that beyond the ashen ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

Jigsaw

Sarah Rowe

Memories are like puzzle pieces – tiny snippets of a bigger picture, meaningless in isolation. One piece might show half of a face; one memory might contain a happy moment. You can’t tell what a ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

The Letter From Hogwarts

Minh Nguyen

“Why am I not a wizard?”
“Why would you want to be a wizard?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Wingardium Leviosa my problems away forever? That would be so much easier than facing them alone with my ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 5 min

Ashes to Ashes

Tyler Slade

I remember visiting Heidi in San Francisco, when I was younger. She was so charismatic in those days, her icy blue eyes glinting mischievously as she lay sprawled out beneath the window, looking like ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

Mornings

Whitney Brown

I went to bed early last night, which is something I only do when I could really use some extra sleep. It was a good plan and an honest attempt to take better care of my body. But at 12:45 a.m., I ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 1 min

Open Letter on a Broken Heart

Adrienne Powell

Dear —,
Here’s my two cents about thieving: if you’re going to steal someone’s heart, you should let them have yours; it’s hard to live without a heart, you know. If they can’t have yours, then ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 5 min

Chippoaks

Taylor Fischer

The radio blares on, playing the latest pop song, a radio game, or a discussion of the day’s traffic. You look over to the red analog letters: 4:30 AM. The sun has yet to wake up, it’s still sleeping ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

My Personal Cheerleaders

Hannah Hardy

A frigid breeze whipped across my face. I, standing on the shore, stared out across a glacial lake of Homer, Alaska. As our tour guide informed us, that glacial lake sits in the mountains full of ...  [+]