The Tomorrow Project: Award Winners and Launch of Phase 2

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The Tomorrow Project: Award Winners and Launch of Phase 2

[Art credit: "Between Peace and Light" by Ice Blink, YWP]

The first phase of The Tomorrow Project is complete, and sincere congratulations goes to everyone who contributed such exemplary writing and art since the project began last winter! A record 430 submissions were posted to youngwritersproject.org in response to the challenges to write and create visual art around issues of human rights, democracy and ethics, values, community, and climate change. From this remarkable collection, we honor six writers and artists whose work reflects the spirit and intent of The Tomorrow Project. Each award winner will receive a $250 prize and publication in the November issue of The Voice. They are:

In addition to the award winners, The Voice also includes 10 honorable mentions, five writers and five visual artists whose work deserves recognition. They are:

THANK YOU, YWP WRITERS AND ARTISTS!

The outpouring of your powerful writing and art about the urgent issues we face today tells us that The Tomorrow Project must continue! The second phase of the project will run November until May, with monthly contests, new challenges, and opportunities for publication and exhibits. Watch The Tomorrow Project Challenges page for updates — and please join us! 

WRITING AND VISUAL ART AWARDS

"We (Are) The People" by Popcorn

In response to the writing challenge, We the People: The Constitution belongs to "we the people," and collectively we can make it work for us, argues Columbia Law School professor Kate Andrias. "The Constitution’s meaning is not the Supreme Court’s alone to define," Andrias says. "It belongs to 'we the people.' And when we organize collectively, we can change it, even without ratifying formal amendments. The text, structure and history of the Constitution already contain broad commitments to democracy, equal protection and liberty. Collective mobilization can make those promises real." Read her essay, The Constitution Doesn’t Belong to Trump or the Supreme Court, New York Times, Oct. 10, 2025. Share your opinion.

 

We (Are) the People

Who are we? 

Are we men 

in offices, yes, that would still be 

us. 

 

But I think we are also the boy who got a flag from the lady in the parade and waves it because he loves his country

or because he doesn't know any better —

he'll think about it someday, so he's one of us.

 

I think the people on public radio when you're listening on Saturday afternoon while Mom folds laundry,

they're the people,

we the people.

 

The kids who go to classes and try to push out thoughts of the future because it's not looking great, but also try to fight for it because it's what we've got,

they're the people,

and the new robotics teacher, who I haven't met yet,

and the lady who gave me an ice cream sandwich because she was on her way over to the construction workers with them and I said hi.

 

And I don't know

what boxes they checked

in the boxes they went into

last winter.

 

And I don't know

what signs they hold

in the protest of life,

or if they hold one at all.

 

But they're people.

We're people.

We're the people,

all of us,

we the people.

 

We the people,

the new ones,

let's fight for what we believe in,

because we're the people

no matter what they meant

when they wrote, 

"we the people."

 

Self portrait painting

"Who I Am," a self-portrait painted by writerfromva, 17, of Virginia, in response to the visual art challenge, Values: Kindness and empathy are powerful forces. Look around you. Where do you find kindness? In the artistic medium of your choice, share your discoveries. 

Artist statement: "I hope to be someone who embodies kindness. I believe that even the smallest actions have the power to make a difference."

— writerfromva

"And What Must They Think of Our Golden Door Now?" by OverTheRainbow

In response to the writing challenge, Liberty: The Statue of Liberty, originally called "Liberty Enlightening the World," has stood as a symbol of freedom and hope since its dedication in 1886. And now? What is the message the U.S. is sending the world?

And What Must They Think of Our Golden Door Now?

the statue of liberty was brown once, an unprepared American girl blistering in the sun as if our Constitution has torn sharp green papercuts into her skin. 

the statue of liberty does not speak, a silenced American girl who cannot utter even a hello to her people, her lips sealed together by a man she does not know. 

the statue of liberty clutches independence in her left hand and freedom in her right, a heartbroken American girl still holding onto things she no longer believes in. 

the statue of liberty used to long to turn around, a naive American girl wishing to greet the country she was named for instead of the cold Atlantic crashing against shores she doesn't remember. 

the statue of liberty screams silently into the unborn constellations, a terrified American girl trying to save the whole world with only a torch and a poem and a broken chain. 

the statue of liberty walks forward into the night, a tearstained American girl ready to give up all she knows for only the chance of a place where children do not know what it means to live like this. 

and the statue of liberty cries because she is an incomplete American girl who is trying to find the strength to fight for a someday American girl who will not need a copper statue to be free. 

 

"Deforestation and Its Impact on Wildlife" by Sopyus

"Deforestation and Its Impact on Wildlife" by Sopyus. 

In response to the visual art challenge, Climate and Our Earth: Create art that explores the many impacts of the climate crisis and celebrates the wonders and beauty of Earth. 

Artist's statement: With Florida rapidly expanding in population, leading the U.S. as the fastest growing state, I have witnessed the firsthand destruction of wildlife through deforestation. Living near the everglades, many of the lush forests along the road have become barren, paved for uniform neighborhoods for its ever-growing population.

This piece reflects my experience with deforestation, depicting the grim present of human destruction. As a symbol of intelligence, adaptability, and carefreeness, the monkey has been a longstanding species of which people relate to. The monkey, specifically the golden snub-nosed monkey, is the centerpiece of my work as their stoic yet pleading eyes represent their resilience and mind that is understanding of how their home is quickly slipping away. The baby cradled in her arms has a future with little of the natural habitat they would need.

Behind the subject is a background plowing with smoke, occupying the blue sky with gray and a forest reduced into a corner of the piece. This spread of environmental degradation is seen in the artwork by physically taking up the canvas. The fields of wheat emit a golden shine, concealing itself in a fictitious narrative behind the destructiveness of wealth and greed despite the warnings of nature.

The monkey, so genetically similar to us, illustrates that one day, we may find ourselves in the positions of what animals we have displaced.

– Sopyus

"Sparkler" by IceGalaxy

In response to the writing challenge, Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, states the principles on which the government is based. While not legally binding, it is, as Abraham Lincoln said, “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.” It is a powerful and moving document that has inspired people around the world to stand up for freedom and equality. Read the document in full. Write about it, in light of current events.

Sparkler

there is peace in the darkness, an 

alluring sense of acceptance in failure 

closed eyes & open eyes both see the same 

but please 

stick out your hand 

& light a sparkler with me. for a moment 

let us revel in the spark of light 

in your hand, in your control; as is mine 

it is with our hope & fire that 

we will light up the night & no firework 

will hold a candle to our hope. let 

this act of patriotism — dancing sparklers 

through the dark midnight sky — show them all 

that we deeply love our country 

& that is why we are fighting so hard 

to preserve the peace & justice promised to us 

249 years ago 

on this day. 

 

light a sparkler with me & let the 

light illuminate our faces: a trail of

mascara down your left cheek & a trail of

eyeliner down my right cheek, smudged 

by tears of pain & worry laced with

joy & hope. in a world where fear is dominant

& expected of everyone, the most rebellious 

thing that one can ever do is

hope

with a sparkler in their hand

creating their own light.

"Kindness, Accidentally" by swimspotter

In response to the writing challenge, Values: Kindness: Tell a story, real or imagined, in poetry or prose, in which kindness plays a starring role.

Kindness, Accidentally

I did not know kindness isn't always loud, 
not the grand gestures, not the 
throw-the-coat-over-a-puddle, 
because sometimes, 
it is simply someone sitting on the ground 
just because you did, even though 
there's a perfectly good chair 
and they're wearing white pants. 

Sometimes, 
it's the way they swing your hand while walking, no rhythm 
just something they can't help, or it's the way 
someone grabs your arm mid-laugh, 
like the joke was too big for one body,
like joy needed somewhere else to go,

someone spinning while they're waiting for the microwave,
skipping stairs just to feel a second of flight,
swaying in the kitchen with you,
arms around your ribs, like there's music
only you can hear.

It's the breath someone takes at an open window,
like the sky said their name,
the way they pull their chair closer to yours,
not because they can't hear you,
but because they want to,

someone waiting for your laugh before they keep talking,
letting you hum, letting you be,
someone asking if you're okay
when you’re crying on the phone
in the middle of the street,
reminding you you’re not invisible.

It's no big deal, just a hundred tiny things
that say, I see you I see you I see you,
without making it a thing,
and maybe you don’t notice at first
maybe you’re still unlearning how to flinch —
but something in you
starts to relax

and suddenly,
you’re laughing with your whole body,
spinning in hallways,
breathing deeper at windows,
pulling your chair closer too.

Maybe that’s the point.
Maybe kindness isn’t the starring role —
just the reason
the story gets to keep going.

AND

"Common Ground" by swimspotter

In response to the visual art challenge, Community and Housing: Using the medium of your choice, respond to one of these prompts, or explore the topic in your own way.

  • How do you gather support from your community in a challenging time?
  • Illustrate the concepts of home, community, and inclusion. Look around your community. What are its special characteristics that make it feel like home?
  • Is your community working — for everyone? 
"Common Ground" by swimspotter