Writing is hard. Blank pages and screens intimidate with their endless possibilities. As authors, they must summon the courage and inspiration to share their stories, thoughts, and hearts with the world. Or at least with their high school.
Quote courtesy of Thomas Mann.
Hello, my name is Abby Arthur and I am 18 years old. I have grown to enjoy writing short stories and using my imagination. I also like pushing my limits with writing to see how creative I can be as a writer. If you are given the opportunity to read any of my stories, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did writing them :)
Find her short story "Where She Waits" here!
Hello! My name is Becca (she/her) and I am a junior at South. I enjoy lots of different forms of art, especially photography and writing, of course. I have a bit of an obsession with art that’s inspired by science, which influences a lot of what I write.
Find her poem "Do you ever wonder" here!
My name is Gordon Blackburn (he/him). I am 16 years old, a sophomore at BHSS. I enjoy writing short stories, but I have written scenes for a few longer stories I hope to write in the future!
Find his short story "The Allavine Isle: The King and Queen" here!
My name is Arwen Hwang (she/her). I'm a sophomore. Other than writing, I also love to do band, theater, make music, watch movies, and read. I'm usually writing fiction stories, screenplays, poems, and personal essays.
Find her poem "Do you ever wonder" here!
My name is Christine Daae (she/her). I'm 16 and a sophomore at South. I love reading, nature, cats and, singing.
Find her poem "Sun Kissed" here!
My name is Deetya Erusha (she/her). I'm a 15 year old freshman at South. I like being creative and I find inspiration in everyday life, nature, and the connections between people.
Find her essay "What Does It Mean to Grow Up?" here!
My name is Adriana Heim, I also go by Ana (she/her). I am a freshman, play flute in the school marching band, am in Winterguard, enjoy drawing, and creating short stories in my freetime. I enjoy writing because it gives me a distraction from stress in my life.
Find her poem "Hope" here!
My name is Addison, I am 15 years old, my preferred pronouns are She/Her, and I play golf at BHSS. I enjoy writing short passages people can relate to and/or pull advice from.
Find her short story "The Secret Reasons He Left" here!
My name is Theo June and I’m a junior at BHSS. I really love writing and photography and nature really inspires me.
Find their poem "Zooxanthellae" here!
My name is Kenji Kitano (he/him). I am 15 years old and a freshman at Bloomington High School South.
Find his poem "We the People" here!
My name is Clara Knieriemen (she/her). I am currently a sophomore at BHSS. I love orchestra and color guard. I enjoy writing weird poems to share with people.
Find her poem "Lost Matter" here!
My name is Bee Oliver. I’m a Sophomore who has never really written anything before, but I wanted to support the club.
Find her poem "Nails" here!
My name is Maisie Robinson (she/her), and I'm a sophomore at South. When I'm not reading, you can find me doodling all over my math homework or down in the B wing, up to my elbows in clay. I also play soccer and compete on South's speech team.
Find her poems "These Days" here and "Of Witches and Flames and Voices and Games" here!
My name is Addison Swisher, also known as the floor goblin. I enjoy writing and sitting on the floor.
Find her poem "How - Phantom Phoenix" here!
Hello! I'm Ari (he/they), the co-editor of The Scratchpad for 2024-2025. Submitting my work, approving it myself, sending myself the submission email, and uploading my own info onto the site is definitely an experience... but I thought you guys might enjoy previewing my portfolios!
Find his essay "From Invisible to Visible: Reimagining Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man Through the Lens of James Baldwin" here!
I’m August. I’m 16 and I enjoy drawing and getting validation from said drawings. ^-^
Find his poem "Tips for Approaching Displaced Tigers" here!
My name is Maddie (she/they), I am 17 years old and a junior at BHSS. I really enjoy drawing, especially when it comes to my own characters and stories, and I also like creating stories with a different story every time.
Find their poem "Dandelions and Violets" here!
My name is Chelsea Johnson (she/her). I am a freshman at Bloomington High School South. I enjoy pole vaulting and running with my friends and writing poems occasionally.
Find her poems "Thoughts Untrue," "Surrounded by Sound," and "A Restless Mind"
My name is Yuka Cheng (he/him). I am a 17 year old junior at BHSS. In my free time, I like to play violin and piano, fold origami, and of course, do creative writing! I really don't discriminate in terms of genre; I enjoy writing and reading all genres, including fantasy, mystery, horror, supernatural, sci-fi, and modern!
Find his short story "Demon of Inenard" here!
My name is Anya Figert; I am a junior at BHSS. My main passion is music, but I am an unofficial writer and artist in my free time.
Find her poem "The Sound of Water" here!
My name is Maia, and I'm a senior at South. I enjoy inventing monsters (and their ecological relationships), reading (especially anything by Tolkien), and doodling sea serpents / dragons (instead of paying attention in boring classes). My current magnus opus is an epic poem about the character in "Goldenhair," but it remains unfit for human eyes.
Find her short story "The Farmer's Daughter" here!
Find her poem "Goldenhair" here!
My name is Siddhu McLeod. I am a 17 year old junior at BHSS, and enjoy writing.
Find his poem "The Wealth of Erudition" here!
My name is Emily Phillips (she/her). I am a 15 year old freshman at BHSS. I play clarinet in Advanced Concert Band, Pep Band, Marching Band, Jazz Combo B, and other musical programs on the side when those aren’t going on. I try to express my strong emotions through my art and writing, and I have a deep passion for music and art.
Find her poem "Ember" here!
Hi! I’m Anson. This year, my submission is based off Roald Dahl’s writing style in his short stories “Skin” and “Lamb to the Slaughter.” I recommend that you skip reading my story and go straight to his!
Find her poem "Ships At A Distance Have Every Man's Wish On Board" here!
My name is Kristine Richardson, I'm 15 years old, my pronouns are she / her, & I love writing horror-fantasy stories. My WIP novel / book series is called Other Lights, & it's about the conflict of insect species influenced by their gods, who are at eachothers throats. The novel is to teach about the duality of good & evil, & the ideas of what can be the right choice when perspective is in existence. I also make music under the name スパイラル - ギャラクシー. Unfortunately, It's only published on YouTube, not Spotify.
Find her poem "The History of Calamity" here!
My name is Lilith. I am a 15 year old writer. My pronouns are she/they. I like writing about more hard and personal topics such as social justice. I want to change the world through my actions.
Find her article "The Moving Line: LGBTQ Hatred and Trans Women in Sports" here!
My name's Jonathan Staten. I'm a senior, a singer, something of a grammar pedant, and a phonetics nerd. I like to write HTML, poetry, and short nonfiction, and I'm co-head editor for the Scratchpad.
Find his poem "Ode to Cubic Béziers" here!
My name is Hunter Tabor (he/him). I write occasionally and inconsistently when I get bored of doing nerdy things like reading and studying philosophy & theology, running cross country/track, performing magic, and singing during my every waking hour. I have an underdeveloped passion for writing poetry and short stories that I enjoy exploring when I get the chance.
Find his poem "Ode to the Divine Tongue" here!
Find his short stories "Peonies from the Florist" here and "The Rock That Didn't Cry" here!
My name is Gabriel. I am a 15-year-old freshman at BHSS. I manage for the football team, run track, and enjoy books, music, and ceramics.
Find his poem "A Journey Within" here!
And special thanks as well to our anonymous contributors!