Laura Green-Russell was 13 when her father was killed right before her eyes. Two weeks later, while everyone in her small town obsessed over his grisly death, she embarked on a new horror: 8th grade. As you’ve hopefully heard, it’s one of our favorite times of the year: the 2026 Narratively Memoir Prize is now open for submissions.
We can’t wait to see all the stories that come in from ordinary people around the world. Our first-ever Memoir Prize winner was this incredible story from Laura Green-Russell, who absolutely blew us all away with this piece—the first article she ever published! It’s not hard to see why Laura Green-Russell’s story stood out as the grand prize winner in our first-ever Narratively Memoir Prize.
Discover extraordinary true stories celebrating the diversity of humanity. By subscribing, you agree to Substack's Terms of Use, and acknowledge its Information Collection Notice and Privacy Policy. We're looking for super unique and interesting first-person stories that focus on one moment, one day, one week, one season.
I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. The summer my parents’ marriage was falling apart, my best friend’s two moms saved me—even though my dad said they were going to Hell. It was the halcyon days of social video, eons before TikTok, and one gung-ho idealist had a simple plan to change the world.
His Kony 2012 campaign… © 2026 Narratively, Inc. · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
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