Mona's Secret Songs - The Arts Incubator

Mona’s Secret Songs

When friends weaponize a music app, Mona fights back with a secret playlist of kind songs. Can her hidden melodies silence the hate and inspire a better harmony?

The Arts Incubator - Winnipeg 15 Oct 2025

Short Stories from The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners Collective

What if your friends started a secret online campaign of cruelty, and you were too scared to stop them? That’s Mona’s agonizing dilemma when her popular friends, Barb and Jess, discover ShareNJam, a music app that allows anonymous playlist contributions. Their first creation? “BILLY’S LAME TUNES,” a playlist designed to mock and shame a quiet classmate, Billy, who has no idea he’s being targeted.

Mona knows it’s wrong—a cowardly act of digital bullying that twists her stomach into knots. But speaking up against Barb, the group’s leader, could turn the tables on her. Trapped between fear and a burning desire to do what’s right, Mona must find a way to challenge the meanness without revealing herself. Can one girl, armed with nothing but secret songs of kindness, turn the tide and remind everyone of the dignity every person deserves?

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About the Author

Tony Eetak is an Inuk youth artist and musician whose creativity knows no bounds. Originally from Arviat, Nunavut, he finds his voice on the piano and keyboard. An avid composer, Tony translates the world around him into melodies and harmonies, crafting music that speaks with a quiet and powerful beauty. He enjoys promoting Inuit culture through story and song. Tony is a long time volunteer with Global Dignity Canada and is a founding member of The Arts Incubator Winnipeg.

ISBN: 978-1-0698063-8-3

The Arts Incubator - Winnipeg

Administrator

The Arts Incubator - Winnipeg is a participatory arts collective and living lab, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. It's a space where innovation and creativity thrive. It's latest iteration was launched in 2021 with funding and support from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. Today, working with students and faculty from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, we fuse traditional and participatory media arts with artificial intelligence, music, storytelling and community-driven, land-based artist residencies to cultivate new voices and bold ideas. Whether through collaborative projects or immersive experiences, our small but vibrant community supports creators to explore, experiment, and connect. Join us at the intersection of artistry, technology, culture and community—where every moment is a new opportunity to create.

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