Thirteen— a bakers’ dozen, the number of lunar cycles in a year, the jump in my soul from childhood to the teenage years. In numerology, thirteen is considered sacred, said to bring good luck and success.

Welcome to our thirteenth year of personal stories written by students in the Young Writers & Leaders program. Young Writers & Leaders is a free, nine-month, afterschool, literary arts education program for high schoolers with international and multicultural backgrounds.

This anthology evokes emotion and brings the reader on a ride through the lives of its thirty authors. You’ll visit basketball courts, a rowdy dodgeball game, a laundry room, a soccer field in Cape Town, a West London neighborhood, the train tracks at Old Orchard Beach, and many other fascinating places along the way.

CHAPBOOK | $17.99 | Paperback | 2023