Category Archives: News

News about the site.

STORY OF THE MONTH: January 2023

News

The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.

The finalists for January were:

The Lost Shepherd by Bob Thurber
Reunion by Ran Walker
Egg and Soldiers by Sumitra Singam
Your Umbrella by Caroline Ashley
Murder in Fairytaleshire by Thomas Malloch

The winner of the January 2023 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

Your Umbrella

2022 Story of the Year Winner

News

The winner of the 2022 Story of the Year, along with the $50 prize and enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, is:

Cherry Blossom by Tim Boiteau

There is immense power and grief in this story, poetically evoked and juxtaposed against the freshness of the scene.

Honourable mentions go to After the Forest Caught Fire by J.S.P. Jacobs, Poor Devilish Me by Bob Thurber, and The Enormity of Small Things by Jennifer L. Freed.

2022 Story of the Year Finalists

News

Here are the twelve finalists for the 2022 Story of the Year award!

JANUARY: Cherry Blossom by Tim Boiteau
FEBRUARY: A Child Overhears by Larina Warnock
MARCH: After the Flood by August Van Stralen
APRIL: My Suitcases by Roya Nouraei
MAY: Bookworm by Stephen Gallagher
JUNE: The Green Goddess by Rosie Douglas
JULY: Poor Devilish Me by Bob Thurber
AUGUST: The Enormity of Small Things by Jennifer L. Freed
SEPTEMBER: After the Forest Caught Fire by J.S.P. Jacobs
OCTOBER: What Dew Felt Like by Sarah Grace Tuttle
NOVEMBER: Nostalgia for a Small-Town Park by J.A. August
DECEMBER: The Dying of the Sun by Swapna Sanchita

The winner, as chosen by editor Tim Sevenhuysen, will be announced on Sunday, January 29!

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).