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

The Death of a Dream by Devon Widmer

Strong implied character building, emotional attachment, and a message worth hearing, all elements of a great story.

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

The End by Alison Carroll

Setting aside the cynicism of the story, as Alison pointed out in her bio, the concept and execution of the story are really strong and vivid. Well written!

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

The Last Day I Wore My Wedding Ring by Guy Preston

We’ve come to expect this kind of quality from Guy. It’s already his third Story of the Week award.

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

Blind Date by Matthew Gregory

There’s so much story told here, almost purely by insinuation and reading between the lines. Chilling.

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

The finalists for October were:

Sea and Sky by William Shaw
Cold Callers by Carol Browne
Life Encapsulated by Jon Nixon
A Fleeting Childhood by Jason Huynh
Mama by Lisa Lysen

The winner of the October 2015 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

A Fleeting Childhood

I love the sense of nostalgia packed into this story, even though it doesn’t directly resonate with my own personal experiences. I can imagine myself feeling the character’s emotions, purely through the strength of this story’s descriptiveness and phrasing. Fantastic work, Jason!

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

Mama by Lisa Lysen

I would have chosen this story regardless, but I was very touched by the news that Lisa’s mother passed away only a few days after this story was published. Condolences, Lisa, as you mourn your mother’s passing.

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

A Fleeting Childhood by Jason Huynh

Jason crafted a potent mix of nostalgia and sympathy, setting a scene I could easily envision with some great descriptive language.

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

Life Encapsulated by Jon Nixon

While it’s always true that you need to get full value out of every word in a 50-word story, this story takes that concept to a whole new level.

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

Cold Callers by Carol Browne

Wordplay and murder; what a combo.

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

The finalists for September were:

One Job From Retirement by Guy Preston
Toothbrush, Toothbrush, Toothbrush by Kenneth Hamner
The Missing Wallet by Katya Duft
One Night Stand by Pat Campbell

The winner of the September 2015 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

One Job From Retirement

The build up of this story is very well executed, and the moment of understanding brings on a flood of emotions. Guy did an excellent job of creating a unique concept and conveying it to the reader.