To continue to celebrate the release of Watch Us Rise, we were so pleased to offer an interview with Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan.

We’re thrilled to help celebrate the publication of Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan’s fabulous new YA novel “Watch Us Rise.” Renée and Ellen were kind enough to share some outtakes from the novel with us. Take a look — and go find this book!

[…]Look at me. No, no—don’t turn away. See all of this.  All this fat girl curve, this belly, these hips. See me. […]

We wanted to highlight some of the new YA novels some of our fantastic alums have released in 2018. Perhaps one of these would be perfect for someone on your holiday shopping list!

YARN alum Elizabeth Maria Naranjo offers up a wonderful creepy, bittersweet tale, which was one of the runners-up chosen by Rin Chupeco for last year’s Halloween Contest. Enjoy! 

He’d never been to the ocean and didn’t know what the waves sounded like when they broke against the shore, but Timothy knew they didn’t sound like the voices of girls.

With many thanks to our judge Nisha Sharma, we present our winner to you, “Tequila” by YARN alum Laura Gonzalez!

In all my seventeen years, I have always been second. Rosa, my twin, was twenty-two minutes older, and she has held those twenty-two minutes over me for our entire life.[…]

One of our wonderful Humor Contest Runners-Up, “Citrus and Ash.”

Geoffrey lifted the knocker and brought it down on the witch’s door. Three short authoritative raps to get the job done.[…]

Two poems by teen writer, Nandita Naik

Paleontology

In a nightmare, I mend my sutures //
with wildflowers, kneel by the river //
and drink. […]

Two poems by Taylor Fang

anatomy

your faceless blue shadow //
mauled on the water, //
yawning in the waves, //
makes me wonder […]