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

The finalists for December were:

My Fortune by David Rae
Choice by A. Elizabeth Herting
Buried in the Meadowlands by Bob Thurber
Pieces in Place by Raphael Bastek
The Weight by Kimberly Edwards

The winner of the December 2016 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

My Fortune

There was so much reality, art, and message packed into this month’s stories. I honour and appreciate Bob and Kimberly, especially, for sharing their hearts with us. At the end of the day, I’m awarding David for his brilliantly executed anticlimax and character work.

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

If… by Kamalinii

The reflective nature of this story is a good fit for starting off a new year. Have a great 2017!

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

A shared honour between:

Pieces in Place by Raphael Bastek
and
The Weight by Kimberly Edwards

Both Kimberly and Raphael painted character portraits of individuals striving to gain control over the details of their lives, in very different ways. Thank you both for sharing.

The story of the week for December 12 to 16 is…

Buried in the Meadowlands by Bob Thurber

The ever-present poetry of Bob’s words is well formed here. Standing entirely alone, this story is worthy of being singled out. But Bob also shared a comment after the story’s publication, which I’ll reproduce here:

Our fearless leader and hardworking editor, Tim, had no idea of the odd coincidence of publishing this particular story today, December 16th. A friend this morning assured me its publication is “no coincidence.” And I’ll admit it’s certainly a serendipitous publication. On this date six-years ago, a chain of bizarre events unfolded that led to the shooting death of my daughter, Sarah Kate, mother of two young children. The loss of Sarah Kate marked the members of her family with permanent tattoos. I imagine all parents who lose a child carry this deep, invisible scarring, and continually, often wearily, balance its authority and its great weight, and experience the breathlessness of moments, the persistent gasping that disregards whatever the length of time, whatever the lull between heartbeats.

Good wishes to all.

BT

Our thoughts are with you and your family, Bob. Thank you for sharing so much of your art with us.

The story of the week for December 5 to 9 is…

Choice by A. Elizabeth Herting

Death and dying are very rich themes, often explored darkly through the lens of loss, pain, and fear. It’s refreshing to see death approached as an adventure and a positive choice, because it leads us, as readers, to think about the context of death and where our fears truly come from.

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

The finalists for November were:

The Multiverse Says Hello by Stephanie Selander
Fortune Teller by Candace Kubinec
Carry On by Debra Pascarella
Palindrome by Pontius Paiva

The winner of the November 2016 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

Palindrome

The technical achievement of this story is almost worthy of the prize on its own. Its artistic merit adds a whole new incredible layer.

The story of the week for November 28 to December 2 is…

My Fortune by David Rae

I’m always impressed when a writer can pack this much complexity into a 50-word story. David made excellent use of symbolism and simile and nursed tons of meaning out of every word.

Recently, 50WS was honoured by Feedspot as one of the world’s Top 20 Short Story Blogs.

I think that’s pretty cool, and it’s all thanks to the wonderful writers who send in their work each month, and the readers who keep coming back to enjoy the stories and leave comments.

Here’s to all of you!

The story of the week for November 21 to 25 is…

Palindrome by Pontius Paiva

If you’d asked me whether it was possible to write a 50-word story that was mirrored around the centre, in palindrome fashion, I’m not sure I would have said yes. And yet here we are. Fantastic work!

The story of the week for November 14 to 18 is…

Carry On by Debra Pascarella

Relationships are a tricky business, full of mixed emotions. Debra has captured those complexities well, demonstrating one of the most important functions of art.