Though our school is simply next door to the School of the Arts, that does not mean that there is not a wealth of creativity to be found here at Magnet. As covered by previous articles, this school had a multitude of winners in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards – one of whom was freshman Freya Lawrence, winning an honorable mention for a full novel she has written as only a ninth grader. Many young creative writers have dreamed of having their words come to life in the form of a novel, and in her freshman year of high school, Freya has managed to make that happen. Luckily for us, she was willing to answer some questions about her process.
Freya’s novel Mysteriana was inspired by what she cites as “a particularly peculiar dream,” as is the beginning of most other great novels of our time. She decided to turn this dream into a novel during a family trip to Utah, which she found quite memorable.
When asked for a summary of her novel, Freya described it as follows:
“Imagine discovering that we, as Homo sapiens, are not the sole human inhabitants of this planet. Consider the profound implications of discovering that many early subspecies of humans are not extinct but have been living in secrecy for generations. Now, picture yourself as Pelia Antigia, a teenage girl of Homo sorces descent who has, quite happily, been living inside the shelter of a mountain with her family and friends. Until one fateful day when her life is changed forever. The day she found her father bleeding out on the side of a ski trail.”
The concept sounds very intriguing, and I can’t wait for the day that we get to see it on the shelves at our local bookstores. Speaking of which, Freya discussed publishing in our interview, saying that she is currently in the final stages of editing her novel. She says there’s still so much to learn about the publishing process – in the meantime, she has been weighing the benefits of finding a literary agent versus self-publishing. There are pros and cons to both, and it can take a very long time to decide.
Upon learning of her recognition in the Scholastic awards, Freya was both excited and a bit surprised. She described the sensation every author longs to feel after the long and arduous process of writing, whether you’re writing a novel or procrastinating on an essay: relief that all the hard work has paid off, and happiness that her writing was able to resonate with someone.
Overall, Freya’s accomplishments are nothing to scoff at – after all, not many people would have the dedication to write an entire novel at such a young age! I wish Freya good luck with her publishing journey, and cannot wait to read the final version of her novel, as well as any future exploits she chooses to take on.
