The Stone Soup Book of Sports Stories

Stone Soup is the international literary magazine and website publishing writing and art by young people under the age of 14. Founded in 1973, we have published more creative work by children than any other publisher, selecting the very best from thousands of submissions every year.

The stories and poetry in this volume were written by authors between the ages of eleven and 13, selected for publication in Stone Soupmagazine. Since its beginning in 1973, Stone Souphas published art, poetry, and short fiction springing from the imaginations of young writers and artists. Much of that creativity is focused on activities that challenge or bring pleasure to their lives; it’s no surprise that sports tend to be a recurring theme.

Through sports, the authors featured in this collection explore all sorts of ideas. Many of the subjects are exactly what you might expect from stories about sports: how it feels to win or to lose, whether alone or as part of a team; who gets picked to play (and who doesn’t); how competitiveness might express itself, and what that might mean for a friendship. Through surfing, baseball, soccer, swimming, diving, rock-climbing, and more, these stories reveal the pleasures of excelling at something, of overcoming adversity, of trying one’s best and still needing to try harder, and the closeness that can come from participating in or supporting a sporting endeavor. Join our young writers to experience the highs and the lows of the mental and physical exertion that sports represent.