Eleven-year-old Effie Hu of Katy, a sixth grader at Beckendorff Junior High, received honorable mention recognition in the May/June 2025 Cricket League story competition in “Cricket” magazine, the publication told the Katy Times on September 5.

For this contest, readers were invited to submit original stories on the theme “Weather Woes.” Effie’s name is listed in the Cricket League section of the September/October 2025 issue, and her story "Turbulence" is posted at cricketmagkids.com/contests. In her story Effie recalled the windy sensation caused in the air, making airplanes lurch and seem like it is rotating in the air.

Effie loves reading and writing and wrote many poems and stories, and to keep her enthusiasm, a parent helped to find writing/publishing contests online and encouraged her to join, her family told the Katy Times in an email interview. “She got interested in writing with an acrostic poem assignment in first grade,” her parents said. “She realized that writing has no boundaries and can be about anything and everything.”

Effie plans to pursue additional writing opportunities, her family said. She has already written poems for the writing contest sponsored by Creative Communication and Wild Wonders USA - A Collection of Poetry and has been published on their poem books. She also tried and will continue with the writing contest by John Locke Institute and Foyle Young Poets. She created a personal webpage for her writing and began exploring Amazon KDP as a way to publish her work, hoping to share her books and ideas with more children and a wider audience.

The budding author has one older sister named Elizabeth and two pet fish. Her favorite hobbies are reading and writing. She also played piano and is now playing cello.

“Cricket” magazine has delighted generations of readers ages 9 to 14 with contemporary stories and classic literature from the world’s best writers, paired with breathtaking illustrations. Its editors thoughtfully curate each issue with the highest-quality fiction, nonfiction, and poetry spanning culture, history, science, and the arts. Every issue also includes a writing or art competition, drawing entries from enthusiastic readers around the world. Winners receive recognition and an official certificate, and top entries are published in the magazine and at cricketmagkids.com/contests.