Harmony Ink Press - Young Author Challenge

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Celebrate with Harmony Ink Press as we recognize the talented winners of our first annual Young Author Challenge. This anthology showcases the LGBTQ genre’s best up-and-coming-authors between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one.

The transition from childhood to adulthood is never easy, and growing up presents unique challenges for LGBTQ youth. Confusion, bigotry, and struggle transcend time and place, but fortunately, so does love. Travel with these exceptional young authors from country cottages to big cities, into the past and the future, from fantastic lands of magic to the recognizable landscapes of our world. Regardless of the setting, the characters in these stories, along with families, friends, lovers, and allies, fight to claim their places in life. Their identities and situations are different, but the young people in this collection share the strength and courage to succeed, sometimes against great odds, and they invite you to join them on their journeys.

Cigar, Parasol, Star by Laura Beaird
Counting Stars by L.A. Buchanan
The King of Dorkdom by Avery Burrow
Happy Endings Take Work by Morgan Cair
Tess by Becca Ehlers
Our First Anniversary by Trisha Harrington
The Dragon Princess by Eleanor Hawtin
An IRL Love Life by Rebecca Long
On Their Own Terms by D. William Pfifer
Glitterhead by Benjamin Shepherd Quiñones
City Lights Will Carry You Home by Amanda Reed
The Gift of Flame by Scotia Roth
Waiting by Annie Schoonover
Quiet Love by Gil Segev
Paranormal Honor Society by Leigh Taylor

Read more...

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Celebrate with Harmony Ink Press as we recognize the talented winners of our second annual Young Author Challenge. This anthology showcases the LGBTQ genre’s best up-and-coming-authors between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one.

The road from childhood to adulthood can be a bumpy one, especially for LGBTQ youth. Travel beside characters of all identities, orientations, and expressions as they search for a place to belong and people to love and support them just the way they are. From cities to the countryside, across diverse nations, and in fantastical realms of imagination, these young people struggle against society’s expectations, judgment from friends and family, and their own confusion—all while trying to enjoy their teenage years. Join them as they find the strength to be the people they’re meant to be and the courage to show their beauty to the world.

Angelicque Bautista—Hummingbird Heart
Alice Blank—I Wouldn't Let You Drown
Erica Engelin—My Friend, My Sister
Melissa Dollison—Home Before the Moon Turns
Shaye Evans—Boarding Discovery
Danielle Eyer—The Love Song of Amalia Savage
Jordan Gillespie—Love in the Time of Figure Skating
Juli Philippo—Ceilings
Zig—The Three Poly Teens
Hannah Irene—Black Rose
CJ—The Pirate and the Princess
Sheila McIntosh—Leucippa
Gabriella Reeb—Just a Little Bit Late
S. A. Star—Chance Encounters
Sara Stark—Stardust
Laura Swogger—This Photograph
Imani J. Walton—Three Stages of Agony

Read more...

Harmony Ink Press is delighted and honored to showcase the short fiction of some of the best up-and-coming authors working in the LGBT genre. The stories in this third volume of Harmonious Hearts represent the winners of our Young Author Challenge—a group of talented writers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. 

The stories in this anthology are as diverse as their creators and range from the speculative to snapshots of everyday life for people growing up in a society in flux. They confront many issues facing young adults, and they celebrate the joys of this sometimes rocky period of transition: friendship, loyalty, first love, and learning to feel comfortable in one’s own skin. These experiences are universal, and thanks to the courage and talent of authors such as these, young people of all gender identities, expressions, and orientations are starting to see themselves included. Everyone deserves a story that speaks to them, and in these pages, they’ll find that story.

Dani Anderson—To Lauren

Nick Anthony—Scrapyard Sunsets

Hilda Friday—A Progression of Love

Arbour Ames—You Saw Blue

Chloe Smith—Plenty of Fish

Caleb Andrews—I Am Logan

Sarah Caulfield—Make Mad the Guilty

Xoe Juliani—Loving You Through the Years

Irene Grant—Jordan and A.J.

Latitude Brown—Equinox

Anika Olivo—Melodimensional

Frisk Gillespie—Ten Words

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

Read more...

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Harmony Ink Press is proud to present the winners of the fourth annual Young Author Challenge. This book contains the best of the best in short LGBTQ+ fiction by authors from age fourteen to twenty-one. They represent the future of both our literature and our community, and the future looks as bright as these voices are strong, inventive, and unique. These fifteen stories range from the realistic to the fantastical, and they are populated with characters from all across the rainbow. They explore love, friendship, being different, finding one’s purpose and place, and what it means to grow up—in the modern world or one of pure imagination.

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

Read more...

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Diversity is our strength, and now more than ever, the voices of young LGBTQIA authors need to be heard. Harmony Ink is proud to showcase the next generation of talented writers in our fifth annual Harmonious Hearts anthology. These authors, all between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, are the winners of our Young Author Challenge and represent the future voices of our community. We are honored to showcase these writers, their experiences, visions, and the glimpses into their hearts in these pages. Join them on their journey and help us celebrate their courage, their love, and their unique ways of seeing the world.

See excerpt for full individual blurbs.

Read more...

A Harmony Ink Press Title

For six years, Harmony Ink has been privileged to showcase the very best up-and-coming writers of LGBTQ+ fiction. We are once again awed and inspired by the talent, creativity, and heart displayed by these authors, all fourteen to twenty-one years old. Selected from dozens of entrants, these young people are the winners of the Harmony Ink Young Author Challenge, and they represent the entire spectrum as well as a variety of fictional genres. They are the future voices of our community, and they invite you to take a journey into their rich and imaginative worlds.

See excerpt for individual blurbs.

Read more...