#341 Echoes of the Past with Lauren Kay

This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with Lauren Kay! This contest’s winner will not only be awarded $250 — they’ll also receive personal feedback from Lauren herself! Here's what she has to say about her takeover:

Hello, writers! I'm Lauren Kay, a published YA author and the founder of Lauren Kay Writes, where I work with writers pursuing traditional publishing and offer my popular online course, Query Bootcamp. After receiving eight offers from literary agents and selling my debut novel, We Ship It, to HarperCollins in a 6-figure, 2-book deal, I've dedicated my career to helping other writers strengthen their craft and navigate the publishing industry.

Throughout my work with hundreds of authors, I've observed that the most resonant stories often grapple with memory and the past. Strong fiction doesn't simply recount what happened — it examines how past experiences shape our characters, how certain moments linger long after they've passed, and how we make meaning from what we've lived through.

This week's prompts explore the way the past intersects with the present. Whether your character is confronting a place they've avoided, uncovering a hidden emotion, or deciding what to hold onto and what to release, I invite you to examine how we carry our histories with us — and what happens when we're forced to reckon with them.

Special Update: The Results 🏆

The top pick for this takeover was "The Fish" by SJ Lamo. Here's what Lauren had to say about it:

With so many wildly creative and beautifully written entries in this contest, choosing a winner was no small task. There were multiple stories that stood out in different ways. But "The Fish" stood apart in a way no other piece quite did.

From the very first lines, the entire story felt like stepping into a dream. The voice was distinct and immersive, and pulled me somewhere quiet and reflective — slightly otherworldly. There’s probably no better way to describe it than this: it felt like a fish dream. And I mean that as the highest compliment!

The concept itself was stunning in its simplicity and execution. A fish returning to the freshwater where it was born could have been a straightforward narrative, but instead, it became something deeply symbolic and quietly profound.

The perspective was handled with such care. The fish is driven by something instinctual, something it cannot name or articulate, and yet we as readers completely understand and relate to the gravity of that pull.

By the end, I was left with this gentle, bittersweet ache. The journey felt both small and enormous at the same time. Somehow, through the life of a fish, the story became a staggering reminder that life is precious — that the changes we undergo, the migrations we make, and the currents we follow all carry meaning, even when we don’t fully understand them.

It invited reflection without forcing it. It was tender without being sentimental. It was creative without being flashy. And long after I finished reading, it lingered.

The author crafted something so imaginative, so thoughtful, and so quietly powerful. "The Fish" truly earned its place as this contest’s winner.

Congratulations to contest winner SJ Lamo and the runners-up, Harry Stuart and Jennifer Skye!