Featured Stories

2020 Editor’s Choice Award ($1000)

Hot Pink by Susan Mockler

Contest Winners

Every 3 months we run a contest.

Learn More about Our Contest Here

First Place Winners ($500)

Ballad of the Wren by Luis Garcia Romero
Dandelion Ghosts by Jen Knox
Here We Are by Robyn Allers
Regular John by Dustin Walker

Second Place Winners ($300)

A Childhood Ago by Amanda White
Spanish Ham & Cigarettes by Annie Kuster
The Night Chisel by Phoebe Brueckner
How I Learned to Read by Kathryn Kulpa

Third Place Winners ($200)

Kettlebell Kate and Handsome Jake by Elisabeth Giffin Speckman
Mathieu by Stephanie Grella
Donuts; A Piece of an Image or an Image of a Piece by C.A. Coffing
Don’t Move by Barbara Ridley

Best Microfiction Nominations

2022

This year we chose a fantastic selection of microfiction, up to 400 words, to nominate for Best Microfiction 2022. These nominations are judged by award-winning microfiction writer/editor Meg Pokrass, Flannery O’Connor Prize-winning author Gary Fincke, and guest judge Tania Hershman.

Though these pieces are short, they left lasting impressions on our editors.

This Is the Room by Finnian Burnett

Editor Susan Jessen says, “‘This is the Room’ examines the scars left behind from a home where unspeakable horrors happened.”

The Rain in My Chest by Marissa Meche

Editor Sean Cunningham says, “‘The Rain in My Chest’ explores the conflicting thoughts and emotions of a child with a peculiar gift.”

All The Things They Couldn’t Hand Back by Emma Phillips

Editor Susan Jessen says, “‘All The Things They Couldn’t Hand Back’ provides a poetically poignant look at loss as memories of a ruptured relationship haunt the protagonist.”

As Told at the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas by Maxwell Radwin

Editor Rhonda Schlumpberger says, “The story reveals a tale of a grieving wife who enters the U.S. illegally following her husband’s gruesome, unnecessary death. This story will hit anyone who reads it between the heart’s ventricles.”

Pushcart Prize Nominations

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, which was established in 1976, showcases a selection of poetry, short stories, and nonfiction in its annual publication. The included works are selected from those nominated by magazine and book editors.

2021

Becoming Roadkill by James Cato

Editor Susan Jessen says, “‘Becoming Roadkill’ provides an absurdist view of the workplace, showcasing how younger generations are often forced to rely on their chutzpah and creativity to adapt and innovate in order to navigate a world filled with financial worries.”

Candy Eucharist by Michelle Bellman

Managing Editor Keely Gardiner says, “Juxtaposition is what draws you into the heart of ‘Candy Eucharist. It’s a story of frustration, faith and hope that takes place in a public restroom. The journey the reader is taken on feels spiritual and profound. The image of fizzing Necco candies will stick with you and continue to resonate long after reading that final killer line.”

Falling by C.A. Coffing

Editor Rhonda Schlumpberger says, “‘Falling’ tells the tale of friends looking for solutions inside a trailer on a cold night, and one girl, Layla, finds unexpected answers only a horse, the stars, and magic bring.”

Growing Season by Molly Weisgrau

Editor Susan Jessen says, “‘Growing Season’ dissects an intimate relationship much in the same way the male character autopsies mice as part of his research.”

Mall, 2004 by Alice Martin

Editor Susan Jessen says, “‘Mall, 2004’ reminisces about teenaged trips to the mall. Even as time passes and friendships fade, all it takes is a visit to the mall for the feelings of comfort, belonging, and sanctuary to surface.”

The Night Chisel by Phoebe Brueckner

Editor Rhonda Schlumpberger says, “Phoebe Brueckner’s ‘The Night Chisel’ releases Lara’s powerful story of time and its ravages and the battle Lara wages silently in the hands of the master sculptor.”