The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for February were:
Gospel by Beverly C. Lucey
Eight Months Later by Jo Withers
Lasting Impressions by Bob Thurber
Sugoi by Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz
The winner of the February 2018 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Gospel
Beverly did a great job conveying character and place with her use of language, and the pairing of music and spirituality came together excellently.
The story of the week for February 26 to March 2 is…
The Garden Path by Sharon Calkin
The story of the week for February 19 to 23 is…
Gospel by Beverley C. Lucey
The story of the week for February 12 to 16 is…
Eight Months Later by Jo Withers
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for January were:
Roommate From Hell by Sarah Krenicki
Advanced Flexibility by Brooke Randel
Promises by Zurina Saban
Chill to Serve by Anna Ascott
The winner of the January 2018 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Roommate From Hell
Zurina Saban deserves strong runner-up recognition for Promises, but I love coming across stories like Roommate From Hell that address completely new and unique scenarios, emotions, and takeaways. Sarah gave us something darkly whimsical with a brand new flavour, and I loved it.
The story of the week for February 5 to 9 is…
Lasting Impressions by Bob Thurber
The story of the week for January 29 to February 2 is…
Sugoi by Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz
The winner of the 2017 Story of the Year, along with the $50 prize and enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, is:
Constellations by Jonathan Kosik
From the first time I read this story, I was fascinated by the magical moment it portrayed, and by how deftly that moment is held separate from the terrifying context it is placed in. The reader is transported into something so very special, this whirling and intimate playtime between parent and child, and then one simple sentence grounds the entire thing. It’s gut-wrenching, and yet it remains beautiful, and the moment continues; the whirling continues. It’s joy and fear; it’s life. What a ride.
Honourable mention to My Father, in Worcester, Massachusetts by Jennifer L. Freed (who won the 2016 story of the year, by the way, and no, that didn’t factor into my choice this year!).
The story of the week for January 22 to 26 is…
Chill to Serve by Anna Ascott
The quantity and quality of stories submitted to 50WS keeps rising, making 2017 an excellent year for our little corner of the microfiction world.
Here are the 12 Story of the Month winners for 2017.
JANUARY: Arte Verborum by Ingrid Jendrzejewsky
FEBRUARY: Over by Joan Trueman
MARCH: Constellations by Jonathan Kosik
APRIL: Window Shopper by Susan Gale Wickes
MAY: My Father, in Worcester, Massachussetts by Jennifer L. Freed
JUNE: Table Manners by Christina Dalcher
JULY: Backtrack by B.C. Nance
AUGUST: Multiple Choice by Tracy Fells
SEPTEMBER: Mutant by Boomer Trujillo
OCTOBER: Surprise by John Fowler
NOVEMBER: The Goldilocks Zone by Viv Burgess
DECEMBER: They Only Ask, What’s Next? by Kara Johnson-Martinez
The winner, as chosen by editor Tim Sevenhuysen, will be announced on Saturday, February 3!
The prize for the Story of the Year winner will be:
Let everyone know your favourite story in the comments!
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. The 2017 winner was Jennifer L. Freed, for Aunt Peg.