The story of the week for October 27 to 31 is The First Time I Gazed Into My Wife’s Eyes by Bob Thurber.
This is Bob’s third story of the week award, and he’s earned this one with a marvelous piece of poetic prose. The thing that really sealed this selection for me was the closing metaphor of the kite: what a beautiful image! Bob stretched the limits of what can be done within the tight confines and restrictions of a 50-word story, and I think he did so quite successfully.
The story of the week for October 20 to 24 is Footsteps by Barry O’Farrell.
Footsteps uses its central metaphor to communicate the character’s mental and emotional state in a really powerful way. Great job putting this story together, Barry.
The story of the week for October 13 to 17 is Snowbound by Ruby Ray.
There’s a lot of art in communicating an idea indirectly, the way that this story implies a discussion of beauty and gender roles/expectations without actually bringing them up directly. This is a story that is larger than itself, and that’s always a mark of success in the 50-word format.
The story of the week for October 6 to 10 is The Mapmaker’s Calligraphist Daughter by Bob Thurber.
It’s a great world-building piece with awesome characterization. The story absolutely goes beyond the 50-word limit to communicate setting, character, and plot. Great work, Bob!
The story of the week for September 29 to October 3 is Creation by Pavarti K Tyler.
There were a few really strong scene-setting stories this week, and this one stood out to me. I love the eerieness and the implied world-building.
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month. The finalists for September were:
Guess Who by Kymberli Roberson
The Talking Fingers of My Great Greek Grandfather by Bob Thurber
Summer Learning, 1975 by Jennifer L Freed
Assertive by Philip Zunzuncito Sequoia
Hector Heard God by Shark Trager
The winner of the September 2014 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Summer Learning, 1975
Congratulations, Jennifer!
The story of the week for September 22 to 26 is Hector Heard God by Shark Trager.
It’s powerful to mix emotions in a story, when it’s done right, and in this piece there’s a great mixture of several emotions. Well done!
The story of the week for September 15 to 19 is Assertive by Philip Zunzuncito Sequoia.
The tone of this story is so different from what we generally see on the site. It earns a great reaction (or at least it did from me and my wife!). Well done, Philip!
The decision for story of the week was literally too close to call. That’s why I’m setting a potentially dangerous precedent by selecting two stories as story of the week for September 8 to 12! Those stories are The Talking Fingers of My Great Greek Grandfather by Bob Thurber and Summer Learning, 1975 by Jennifer L. Freed.
Great work on both of these, Bob and Jennifer!
The story of the week from September 1 to 5 is Guess Who by Kymberli Roberson.
This story makes a great transition from strangeness and tension into lightheartedness and then suddenly back into strangeness, with a bit of creepy factor thrown in. The emotional setup and payoff are really strong, and that’s why I selected it.
Congratulations, Kymberli!