fiction, poetry & more

FLASH FICTION PRIZE RESULTS

“THE BIG TOP”
John Blair

“There was no return address. She set it gingerly back in the mailbox and telephoned the police as she’d been instructed.”  MORE

“‘I haven’t had sex in eight years,’ Shelley said. ‘Is that something we should drink to, or lament?’ This was not what I …”  MORE

HONORABLE MENTION

“DOMINIC’S SHOES”
Michael Golder

“I remember enjoying the weight of Henry, all cozy and warm, pressing me into the narrow mattress just hard enough that …”  MORE

“As her last communication with the world, it had to be just right. After many drafts Irène had whittled her note down to a single perfect word: ‘Enough.’”  MORE

“THE KOREAN VASE”
George L. Spaeth

“Nurse Barrett knocked on the door to room 105.  She wasn’t required to do this, but she liked the little bit of extra dignity it …”  MORE

“PATREETHIA’S CHORD”
Geoffrey K. Graves

“As her last communication with the world, it had to be just right. After many drafts Irène had whittled her note down to a single perfect word: ‘Enough.’”  MORE

MORE NEW WORK

POEM

“one summer”
Paula Brancato

“He looked satisfied that his job was done and laid down in my lap. Ninety pounds of Giant Schnauzer mix. He stayed with me while I cried.”  MORE

PROSE POEM

“HAIR”
Yong Takahashi

“Lying in bed, the girl felt sick./ She glanced at her alarm clock. 2:34 AM, 41 hours without food./ She felt excess stomach acid …”  MORE

FROM THE ARCHIVES

“PERSONAL FOUL”
Don Riesett

“The last taste of campus celebrity. The fleeting perception of being a big shot. The hard reality of taking a cheap shot.”  MORE

“She was a ghost, she was a/cannibal banshee/stinking of J’Adore./She was the south wind rising./Cats did not try for her attention and dogs learned too late.”  MORE

CONTEST ARCHIVES

Cover photo by David A. Bright at Pronto’s Fresh Mexican Grill, San Pedro, California