About the Editor
My Story
In first grade, I wrote a picture book about pandas. In third grade, I started my own newspaper. In fifth grade, I submitted an op-ed about SF’s homeless issue to The New York Times. It was rejected.
But that was just the beginning. As the years went on, I fell in love with writing. Or, more specifically, I fell in love with the way writing allowed me to share a piece of me with others.
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During middle school, when a global pandemic struck the world, I of course wrote about my experiences. I pitched my essays to The Washington Post, Bon Appetit, The New York Times (again). But they “weren’t looking for something like that at the moment.” Translation? The nation’s largest newspapers didn’t have space for the musings of twelve-year-olds.
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So, I spent a lot of time researching “youth opinion writing.” I had words in my mind, words I had written, words I wanted people to read. But, as I quickly discovered, there was no place to put those words.
Finally, in 2022, I founded The New Courant. The New Courant is a non-profit publication for youth opinion writing. It is the publication I always wished I could have had; it is a publication born from a simple desire to share my words and help others share their words, too.
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The world wants to hear our stories.
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Anne Rong