The story of the week for October 7 to 11 is…

No Returns, Exchanges, or Refunds by Maria Cargille

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

The finalists for September were:

Upside-Down by Hadley Leggett
Roman Holiday by Maura Yzmore
Decay by Lisa Alletson
Immortal Moments by Seth Pilevsky
Create by Isla Elizabeth
Super, Dad by Robert Hoekman

The winner of the September 2019 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

Create

I can’t say for certain, but I think Isla is the youngest ever winner of a 50WS Story of the Month award! The theme of her story will resonate pretty effectively with this site’s audience, since I know many of you are writers (and submitters!) yourselves. But even leaving the wise choice of topic aside, Isla’s story makes great use of language and imagery, doing exactly what the story describes and creating a world for the reader to fall into. Bravo, Isla!

The story of the week for September 30 to October 4 is…

Mother Always Asked Uncle Art to Babysit by C. Christine Fair

The story of the week for September 23 to 27 is…

Super, Dad by Robert Hoekman, Jr.
and
Create by Isla Elizabeth

The story of the week for September 16 to 20 is…

Immortal Moments by Seth Pilevsky

The story of the week for September 9 to 13 is…

Decay by Lisa Alletson

The story of the week for September 2 to 6 is…

Roman Holiday by Maura Yzmore

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

The finalists for August were:

When the Dark Rain Blew Away Our Home by Michael H. Brownstein
The Mark by G.B. Burgess
The Lucky One by John B. Sinclair
Breathing Space by Dini Armstrong
Discordant by Lisa Alletson

The winner of the August 2019 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

When the Dark Rain Blew Away Our Home

Michael made a creative use of the 50-word format, using his words to set the scene and create the characters in an unconventional way. The format feels impersonal to me, like an interview on the evening news, or an aid worker interviewing people rapidfire in a temporary shelter to check if they need immediate medical attention or if they can be left alone for now in the corner. We know, academically, that we should feel sympathy for this character as a human being, but she is just a nameless face that represents the news story. And then the final line hits, and the humanity of the character gushes out with her breath. It’s a great effect, and makes for a great story.

The story of the week for August 26 to 30 is…

Upside-Down by Hadley Leggett

The story of the week for August 19 to 23 is…

Discordant by Lisa Alletson