2025 Releases YA Set
2025 Releases YA Set
Get the full set of 2025 youth-authored YA releases from Shout Mouse Press, and receive a FREE limited-edition hardcover of When You Hear Me (You Hear Us) with your purchase while supplies last.
This set includes:
Bright Before Us, Like a Flame
A landmark anthology spanning ten years of Shout Mouse Press with memoir, poetry, fiction, comics, and children’s literature from underrepresented youth authors, offering both a retrospective and a call to action for a new generation of writers as well as teachers.
The Light Looks Like Me: Words on Love from Queer Youth
A stunning, affirming collection of poems, stories, art, and comics by queer youth authors that celebrates love, identity, and self-expression in all its forms.
Passing the Mic: Building a Poet-Athlete City
A powerful portrait of Washington, D.C., this collection showcases three decades of DC SCORES poet-athletes who use soccer, poetry, and service to imagine and build a better future.
Books In This Set
Foreword by Elizabeth Acevedo. Edited by Sasa Aakil and Kathy Crutcher.
by the Young Writers of Shout Mouse Press
For ten years, Shout Mouse Press has championed the voices of young writers, publishing their authentic and necessary stories. Now, this landmark anthology of youth writing celebrates a decade of storytelling—and invites readers to pick up their pens and write the path ahead.
Spanning memoir, poetry, fiction, comics, and children’s literature, Bright Before Us, Like a Flame is more than a retrospective—it’s a creative writing resource and a call to action. Taking its title from Langston Hughes’ poem “Youth,” this collection ignites both hope for the future and the power to shape it. Through stories of immigration, identity, social justice, and resilience, young authors confront today’s most urgent topics with insight and empathy. Their words challenge, inspire, and invite readers to add their own voices to the conversation.
What’s Inside:
✅ A diverse collection of youth-authored memoirs, poetry, fiction, comics, and children’s literature, featuring underrepresented voices.
✅ Creative writing prompts and behind-the-scenes insights to inspire students and emerging writers to tell their own stories.
✅ Intergenerational conversations with award-winning guest authors, exploring the role of storytelling in social change.
✅ Discussion questions for middle and high school classrooms, book clubs, and creative writing workshops.
At a time of uncertainty and urgent global challenges, these young authors remind us: Words have power. Stories create change. And the future is yours to write.
Perfect for:
📖 Aspiring young writers looking for inspiration, mentorship, and creative guidance.
🎓 Educators and librarians seeking an engaging, diverse, and inclusive classroom writing resource for middle and high school students.
🎁 Readers who believe in the power of storytelling to spark dialogue and transform communities.
ISBN: 978-1-950807-82-6
Age: 12+
Page Count: 304
By the young writers of Shout Mouse Press
“…a balm for loneliness and validation amid an increasingly hostile political climate for LGBTQ+ Americans…” —Booklife
“The Light Looks Like Me is meaningful, moving, and often surprising as it explores different experiences of queer love.”—IndieReader
“Powerful, affirming, and important reading for young people and the adults in their lives.”—Kirkus Reviews
Amidst a fraught regime where assaults on queer and trans rights are leveraged for political clout, the voices of queer youth are more important than ever. In this anthology, 28 DC-area writers aged 13-24 share their thoughts, feelings and vulnerability through poems, stories, comics, and art exploring love in all its forms. Running the gamut from self-love, to romance, and the love they show to their family, friends, and community, their work will resonate with readers of all ages. With authors representing varied sexualities and gender identities, as well as diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, this tender anthology offers hope and validation to queer young people and cultivates greater understanding in supportive allies. Foreword by award-winning YA author Malinda Lo.
This project was created in partnership with The DC Center for the LGBT Community, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, SMYAL, and Split This Rock.
ISBN: 9781950807833
Age: 12+
Page Count: 192
Published: 2025
By the Young Poets of DC SCORES
TAKE A WALK BETWEEN THE WARDS WITH DC SCORES
Passing the Mic: Building a Poet-Athlete City represents thirty years of poetry from the poet-athletes of DC SCORES. For the last three decades, through soccer, poetry, and service, these young people have made their marks on history, claimed their power, and brought to bear their visions for improving this city’s future. This book honors their pain, celebrates their joy, and crystallizes the many ways in which they grew, both on the field and on the page.
Afterword by poet, activist, and avid soccer player Clint Smith.
“This is a treasure trove of knowledge that I hope everybody will pick up.”
—Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit & US Women's National Team
“I hope folks will pick up this book and learn from these poet-athletes, and support them for the next 30 years and beyond.”
—Ben Olsen, former D.C. United coach and player
“These poems are a beautiful portrait of a city seen through the eyes of its young people.”
—Julie Kennedy, founder of DC SCORES
"It has been a tremendous privilege to witness firsthand the impact DC SCORES has had in our community."
—Briana Scurry, legendary US Women's National Team Goalkeeper
ISBN: 978-1-950807-84-0
Age: 12+
Page Count: 118
Published: 2025
