The semi-truck blared its horn, whisking Libby’s hair and skirt as it sped past. She wrapped her coat tighter around her, the broken zipper causing the icy chill to creep across the strip of exposed skin on the nape of her neck. It was too small for her anyways—a child's large—but it was the only warm garment under five dollars that she could find at the thrift shop back in Colorado.

I spent four years in college fiction workshops being told — gently, academically — that the things I cared about were not “serious.”

When I moved to New York alone, I thought the loneliness would be temporary. A tax. A rite of passage. Something you endure quietly before the city lets you in.

In late 2022, luxury fashion house Balenciaga became the center of a global controversy after releasing an advertising campaign that drew immediate backlash. Published in November, the campaign featured young children posing with teddy bear handbags styled in bondage-inspired harnesses.

I remember the day my sister was born. Her hands were impossibly small, the kind of small that makes you hold your breath without meaning to. Her nose looked like mine — a detail I didn’t expect to matter but somehow did.

Every culture has a story about a rabbit that leads you somewhere you can’t return from.

There are a lot of myths about diabetes. That it’s caused by eating too much sugar. That it’s the result of laziness or weight gain. That it’s manageable, even trivial, if you just “watch what you eat.”

When my mother texts me now, she doesn’t ask how I am. She asks if I can send money for groceries.

She moves in to kiss me. It isn’t that I don’t want to kiss her back, it’s that I can solely focus on the stench of her breath. It isn’t necessarily a bad stench, as we had gone to a nicer restaurant, one she picked out and I paid for, and we both steered away from garlicky flavors. She ordered a Caprese salad, dressing on the side, with extra croutons. I ordered the lobster.

I couldn’t hear him scream. I think that’s the worst part—the idea that his pleas for help went unnoticed by the world.

Visual narratives hold a unique power to captivate young audiences, with illustrated children’s books serving as a gateway to the world of storytelling. Adorned with vibrant imagery, these books play an essential role in shaping early literacy and imagination. However, the journey from an author's desk or illustrator’s studio to a child’s bookshelf is not without its challenges. Effective publicity is critical to ensure these works reach a broad and diverse readership. There