We had a big, interesting year in 2016, filled with hundreds of great 50-word stories. It’s almost time to crown the best story published on 50WS in the past 12 months!
Here are the 12 Story of the Month winners for 2016.
JANUARY: Waiting to be a Good Samaritan, by Paul Beckman
FEBRUARY: Unicorn Heaven, by Brenda Anderson
MARCH: Luck, by Viv Burgess
APRIL: The Shrimp Farmer, by Alexandra Keister
MAY: Alien Nature, by Patrick Yu
JUNE: There Be Monsters, by Eva Lucien
JULY: Aunt Peg, by Jennifer L. Freed
AUGUST: Five minutes until ‘I do’, by Mark Farley
SEPTEMBER: Moving On, by Mark Farley
OCTOBER: Audition, by Magda Knight
NOVEMBER: Palindrome, by Pontius Paiva
DECEMBER: My Fortune, by David Rae
The winner, as chosen by editor Tim Sevenhuysen, will be announced on Saturday, January 14!
The prize for the Story of the Year winner will be:
- $50 (Canadian)
- Enshrinement in the 50WS Hall of Fame
Which finalist was your favourite? If you could nominate a story that didn’t earn Story of the Month, which would you pick?
Throwback: In 2015, Bob Thurber won the Story of the Year award with his piece The Mapmaker’s Calligraphist Daughter. In 2016, Guy Preston took the prize with One Job Away From Retirement.
All good. Especially the palindrome, which blew my mind. But my favourites are both of Mark’s. Always look forward to reading his work.
I love them all, but especially “Unicorn Heaven.” I say, It’s the winner,
Ditto.
Twelve stunning submissions here, I’m finding it incredibly difficult to choose between them–certainly don’t envy your job here Tim! If I had to choose a single story, I would lean towards Mark’s “Five minutes until I do”, but any story from this bunch would be a worthy winner in my eyes
“The Shrimp Farmer” was a sharp story with a healthy smattering of dark humor, and “Moving On” had some serious impact crammed into a very small space. They would be my picks.
My favorite is “Audition,” although “Palindrome” is also extremely cool.
I love “Moving On” but “Just Keep Skimming” was my favorite! I was sorry it didn’t make the list. http://fiftywordstories.com/2016/10/21/mark-farley-just-keep-skimming/
Great selection, Tim. I don’t envy you narrowing it to 12 or choosing from among them. Good luck finalists!
A bunch of impressive pieces here. Certainly “Palindrome,” by Pontius Paiva is cooly crafted and extremely clever, but pound for pound the emotional impact of Jennifer Freed’s understated “Aunt Peg” tips the scale.
Congratulations to all the nominees. And to all contributors here.
(I don’t know how you do it, Tim…)
– BT