The story of the week for April 8 to 12 is…
Truth Be Told by Cari Main
All posts by Tim
STORY OF THE MONTH: March 2024
EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections!
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for March were:
The Keen Gardener by Deborah Tapper
We Have Always Played With the Faceless Doll by Joel O’Flaherty
Widowhood @ 72 by Shoshauna Shy
The Monument by Ron Scully
Sólarkaffi by Râna Campbell
Happily Ever After by Susan Gale Wickes
The winner of the March 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
The Monument
Editor: What a strong month! In other months, I could easily have chosen We Have Always Played with the Faceless Doll or The Keen Gardener as a story of the month, but I landed on The Monument because of its layering and strength of delivery. Well done to all of these authors!
BOB THURBER: The Glassblower’s Son
The boy fashioned a tiny bird with arched wings.
Twists and swirls in the glass resembled feathers.
He placed the bird in his father’s calloused hands.
The old man, who was blind, held the bird without looking.
He pressed two fingers to the glass, as though feeling for a pulse.
Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.
KEN GOSSE: Try to Remember in Coldest December
To remember new words every week
is a small task for any word geek,
but as I get older
my bloodstream gets colder,
my brain starts to leak
and words start to sound Greek.
With no paddle to shoulder,
my thinking will molder
as I drift downstream in this creek.
Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.
STORY OF THE MONTH: February 2024
EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections!
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for February were:
Time is No Thief by Chelsea Utecht
Early Spring by Kai Wang
Out with the Old, In with the New by Carol Tymann
A Puddle on the Bathroom Floor by Nico Calvanico
The winner of the February 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Out with the Old, In with the New
STEPHEN TILDEN: Ancient Instincts
When I returned with my tools, I noticed the posting: “Caution. Any attempt by the user to modify or tamper with this world is a breach of the Terms and Conditions. Improper alterations can cause catastrophic destruction. Violators will pay deeply and forever; repeat offenders will be shown no mercy.”
Stephen Tilden tinkers responsibly in Brooklyn.
Editor: Stephen wrote this story as a follow-up to New Stars.
RAYMOND SLOAN: Game Over
It wasn’t how you bossed and owned the wizard pinball machine, smashing my high score in the process. It wasn’t your jubilant peck afterward, before Becky and Steph enveloped you. It was your sassy walk-off through the clang of the arcade, was the moment I knew I’d marry you.
Raymond Sloan lives and writes in County Down, Ireland. He has previously been published in Blink-Ink, 101 Words, Nanoism, Potato Soup Journal, and 50-Word Stories.
STORY OF THE MONTH: January 2024
EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections!
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for January were:
Toys by Tim Boiteau
Reverie by Yash Seyedbagheri
The Trip of a Lifetime by Giulietta Nardone
Emergency Contact by Addison Hammond
A Ring and a Letter by Deborah Tapper
The winner of the January 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Emergency Contact
SHERRI BALE: The Flower Thief
The Demolition Pending sign went up only days after the old lady died. The bulldozer was already waiting nearby. That night I snipped the sunset- and dusk-hued hyacinths blooming in her yard. She would have wanted that. I thought they would smell like Spring but they were tainted by death.
Sherri Bale loves using the fewest words possible to tell a good story. So why the heck has she just drafted a novel that stands at 387 pages?
LYNN KOZLOWSKI: The Physician’s Plans
He thinks it sheepish after all, without religion as he is, to plan to store the ashes of his body in an urn, but he knows too well the smiling piecemeal passing of parts on med school anatomy tables. He will not have his hand in theirs—his science notwithstanding.
Lynn Kozlowski’s writing has appeared in such places as 50-Word Stories, The Quarterly, The Malahat Review, Poetry Breakfast, and failbetter.com. He has a volume of short pieces, Historical Markers.