Announcing the 2019 Short Fiction Winners

Co-judging the annual fiction competition with Suzanne Freeman is a little like being each other’s plus-one at a silent auction. We independently review the wares that are displayed on a virtual table, offerings as distinct as intricate necklaces and catered dinners for twelve and bulky Irish sweaters. You never know what you are going to come upon next. Suzanne and I look and re-look and then rank those manuscripts that speak to us most.

Then we compare.

While one woman’s masterpiece is another’s Ikea instruction manual, there is always overlap. Which is so interesting. Are there unspoken objective measures to a subjective exercise—or is it coincidence? Whatever it is—we are always grateful for the chance to read the entries.

And hope to publish more of them down the line.

In the first place story, Eureka, Bill Bruce deftly lifts the curtain on a relationship—via text messages. The second place story, What Do You Feel by Julia Ballerini, is a comedy of manners skewering a group therapy session. And K.E. Ogden’s third place story, For Sale on eBay, introduces a family through an internet ad.

Read them as they are rolled out — and enjoy!

Erika Raskin

Necklaces with pendants of different shapes
Photo by Alex Chambers on Unsplash

Erika Raskin
Erika Raskin is Streetlight‘s Fiction Editor. Her recent novel, Best Intentions, is a medical thriller and a finalist for the 2018 Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award. Her first book, Close, was about family therapy. On TV. Check out more of her wry world view at erikaraskin.net and @erikaraskin on twitter.

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