Here are the twelve finalists for the 2024 Story of the Year award!

JANUARY: Emergency Contact by Addison Hammond
FEBRUARY: Out with the Old, In with the New by Carol Tymann
MARCH: The Monument by Ron Scully
APRIL: My neighbor is the second coming of Jesus Christ by Nina Evans
MAY: Dot-to-Dot by Joanna Norland
JUNE: Bracing For Impact by Lesley Warren
JULY: Surprise Ending by Bob Thurber
AUGUST: The Case of Upside-Down Carassius Auratus by Rachel Hapanowicz
SEPTEMBER: Marooned Notebook Entry by Bob Thurber
OCTOBER: Whispers by Angela Carlton
NOVEMBER: Secret Regret by Matthew Eichenlaub
DECEMBER: Lovely Greece by V.A. Wiswell

The winner, as chosen by editor Tim Sevenhuysen, will be announced on Sunday, January 26!

The prize for the Story of the Year winner is:

• $50 (Canadian)
• Enshrinement in the 50WS Hall of Fame

Let everyone know your favourite story in the comments!

Throwback: In 2014, Bob Thurber won the Story of the Year award with his piece The Mapmaker’s Calligraphist Daughter. In 2015, Guy Preston took the prize with One Job Away From Retirement. The 2016 winner was Jennifer L. Freed, for Aunt Peg. In 2017, Constellations by Jonathan Kosik won the award. In 2018, Bob Thurber won his second Story of the Year award for The Summer of Sweet Mary (circa 1972). In 2019, Evan McMurry won the Story of the Year for After the Water. The 2020 story of the year was Your Pills by Jennifer L. Freed, for her second win. For 2021, N. West Moss won Story of the Year for A man (not her husband). The 2022 story of the year was Cherry Blossom by Tim Boiteau. In 2023, Jonathan Kosik won for the second time with Desert Blues in a Minor Key.