Whittling down 365 pieces of flash to one outstanding work for the Editor’s Choice Award is an almighty challenge, especially with the sky high quality of the pieces we published in 2021. We adore every story we publish, so of course we’ve had numerous discussions, several voting rounds, and so much pride in revisiting all the fabulous stories we published last year.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a story for our consideration, to all the authors who worked with Flash Fiction Magazine editors, and to our wonderful readers.
Without further ado, we are thrilled to announce the winner of Flash Fiction Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award, along with the shortlisted stories.
Editor’s Choice Award Winner
“Mall, 2004”
By Alice Martin
“The other side of the mall feels like a secret, like we’ve traveled through a looking glass. We each have a favorite place here: Claire’s for the one of us who likes shiny, nonthreatening earrings and clean, fur-lined pillows; Hot Topic for the one of us who collects pre-ripped T-shirts and easily broken studded belts; Charlotte Russe for the one of us who feels like she could punch a hole in someone’s face with the heel of a stiletto.”
The visceral details of “Mall, 2004” transplanted me back to my own teenage mall-wandering days. Yes, many of us can remember the time we spent at Claire’s and Hot Topic, sweating as we make our way through Macy’s “across the desert of white tile, past Clinique counters and moody perfume ads.” Then Martin executes that skillful flash forward and leaves us with that crushingly beautiful last line. Well done!
Editor, Shanna Yetman
Editor’s thoughts: This story is the epitome of showing the reader how it feels to travel through a looking glass, evoking every sense along the way. As much as it brings us back to life wandering the mall, it also reminds us of that time in our lives, the space between hope for the future but still anchored to our childhood. Excellent work, Alice!
Editor, Ellie Jacobson
Shortlisted Stories
“A Heart for the Lord”
By Betsy Neely Sikma
“Up at the front, her husband was in rare form. Tap dancing up on the platform—red-faced and sweaty—Reverend Hugh Whitley was trying with all his might to win a heart for Jesus. Someone was gonna get saved today. He wanted it so bad, she thought, he could probably taste it.”
Engaging from start to finish, “A Heart for the Lord” was a joy to edit. This piece is an excellent example of compelling narrative voice and subtle tension building that results in a truly satisfying ending. Great work, Betsy!
Editor, Genevieve Allen
A reverend’s wife and their young daughter provide dual perspectives during a church service that goes on a tad too long for their liking. The recurring elements of the wife’s watch and the peppermints provide resonance, while sensory details, such as those related to the taste and texture of the mint residue on the child’s teeth, enrich the world. The story ends in triumph as the child takes the situation into her wee hands, to her momma’s horror and her daddy’s delight.
Editor, Susan Jessen
“Growing Season”
By Molly Weisgrau
“After the mice are pumped full of formaldehyde, he cuts through their skin with scissors as tiny as the ones my mom uses on her eyebrows. Then he opens the ribs pair by pair like a blooming rose and prods the heart and it’s still warm under the filmy coating of his rubber gloves.”
Packed full of vivid and intricate imagery, “Growing Season” is almost visceral in its description, drawing the reader in alongside the narrator as they navigate the pains of a relationship. An exemplary piece of flash fiction. Very nicely done, Molly!
Editor, Genevieve Allen
Editor’s thoughts: “Growing Season” addresses a mother-daughter relationship and desire to find more in life, all within the scope of a romantic relationship framed by science, dissection, and disease. Even when the story ends, it lives on in the reader’s mind because of the questions and thoughts posed within the narrative.
Editor, Allison Renner
“Homeowners Association”
By Claudia Wair
“I get there early, take a seat at the far end of the table, facing the spot reserved for the association president. I know we won’t address my issues tonight. I want him to know that I know.”
The agenda format of “Homeowners Association” keeps the reader at arm’s length, letting you peek into the action of the meeting and get a hint at what’s going on beneath the surface. The narrator’s emotional pain is juxtaposed with business items the neighborhood must agree on, imploring you to look for hidden meaning in everything ordinary. This is an amazing story, Claudia!
Editor, Allison Renner
“Homeowners Association” packs a huge punch into a small piece. There are so many churning emotions underneath the formality of the homeowners’ meeting and such a powerful dynamic between the narrator and the President as they share this space with so much between them left unsaid. A gorgeous story in a very creative form.
Editor, Hannah Yang
“White Painted Walls”
By Alex Rankin
“The day after was a Saturday, and I spent it round at Kiva’s house. I love it there: not a bug in sight, and all the walls are nicely painted white. Her parents asked me questions, but I just made stuff up like how Dad works nights and Mum is staying up north for a while. It’s easier that way.”
This piece is as unnerving as it is achingly poignant. The horror elements and extended metaphor explore themes of depression, obsession, frustration and addiction in an eloquent and unique way. A physical manifestation of what it is to be consumed by something. The innocence and anxiety of the child narrator is the perfect choice. “White Painted Walls” made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle for so many reasons!
Managing Editor, Keely Gardiner
“White Painted Walls” offers a fascinating look at addiction from the daughter’s perspective. By comparing the substance to an ever-worsening spider infestation, Rankin creates a powerful image that shows how the father’s vice slowly consumes him and how bearing witness to this process impacts his daughter. Rankin’s decision to leave the substance unnamed allows the reader to fill it in on their own, which helps strengthen the piece’s resonance. This lack of specificity allows for alternate readings as well, where the spiders are a metaphor for something else, such a depression, which is consuming in its own way. Well done, Alex!
Editor, Caetlin Witbrod
“All the Snakes are Dead”
By Lauren Lang
“I’ve never seen a snake outside of books. They hide in long grass, under rocks, and in trees. They sun themselves on patches of dirt. I’ve never seen grass, or trees, or dirt, only the cement inside the bunker.”
“All the Snakes are Dead” is a perfect example of a killer opening line. Lang immediately pulls you into the narrative’s post-apocalyptic world, drawn underground with the family. The story is painfully claustrophobic and atmospheric. The young narrator’s fear is palpable. Imagining what’s lurking outside is way more powerful than reality.
Keely Gardiner, Managing Editor
Editor’s thoughts: “All the Snakes are Dead” is a phenomenal post-apocalyptic piece from the perspective of a young boy born in a nuclear fallout shelter. His age and lack of experience above ground restrict his ability to fully narrate their lives, but Lang does an incredible job of feeding her readers just enough information for us to understand what’s really at stake, even if the child delivering it is still oblivious. Excellent work, Lauren!
Editor, Caetlin Witbrod
“Becoming Roadkill”
By James Cato
“Drivers skidded, believing that they’d encountered a dead cryptid. Children believed in dragons and fairies again. Truckers ignored me. It was more attention than I’d gotten in years. My blogs tended to notch three or four views, one of them Mom. As roadkill, I earned myself some real exposure.”
“Becoming Roadkill” tackles the need for the younger generations to create their own career paths through innovation. The engaging voice kept me rooting for the protagonist to survive and thrive on their precarious employment journey. This is the second of three stories James has written featuring roadkill, which exemplifies his creativity. The other roadkill stories are “Delicious” published in X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine and “Pattern Seeker” published in Flash Frog Literary Magazine. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful words with us, James!
Editor, Susan Jessen
From the very first sentence, this story hooks you in and doesn’t let you go. At times funny, and at other times disturbing, “Becoming Roadkill” is a strange, surreal story that reveals some deep truths about the current job market and the wider world we live in. Well written, James!
Editor, Hannah Yang
“L’eggs”
By Aileen O’Dowd
“I threw away my bed and replaced it with a nest. I built it myself with many, many, many pairs of pantyhose…”
With its elements of magical realism and a narrative that expertly uses bursts of absurdist humor to navigate the subtleties of grief, “L’eggs” is a story that pulls you in from its opening line and reveals more and more with every read. A truly brilliant piece of flash. Thank you so much, Aileen, for trusting us with your work!
Editor, Sean Cunningham
“L’eggs” is a strange, striking, gorgeous examination of the inner world of a woman who’s recently lost her mother. With each pair of pantyhose, you learn a little more about the narrator’s life and how it’s been impacted by her mother throughout the years. Beautifully written, Aileen!
Editor, Hannah Yang
“Girl-Colored Thing”
By Alyssa Lubet
“Such a word was ‘love,’ and when on the playground one day, Meg unthinking said, ‘I love my new folder,’ the boys, primed to pounce, went deep into the wagon-wheel grooves of their taunt: ‘Then why don’t you marry it?’”
“Girl-Colored Thing” creates a magical world of childhood love and adult complications. At every turn, the piece becomes weirder and more wonderful, interspersing the mundane with the fantastic. At the heart of the story lies choice, and how these decisions come to shape a person’s life. Like Meg’s partner, this story is “a lovable thing and a girl-colored thing and a thing of beauty.” Thank you for sharing your awesome story with us, Alyssa!
Editor, Susan Jessen
Right from the first sentence, “Girl-Colored Thing” grabs the reader with an opening line that the reader can feel. As a former kindergarten-aide I had to smile throughout the story, as that line is echoed across elementary school playgrounds each day, “Why don’t you marry it!” Alyssa, great job on capturing the complication of the word “love” at any age.
Editor, Ellie Jacobson
