The Saturday Evening Post: Great American Fiction

 

I am pleased and honored that one of my short stories received honorable mention in The Saturday Evening Post: Great American Fiction Contest. The coordinators of the prize--Steven Slon and Patrick Perry (editors of The Saturday Evening Post magazine)--have compiled the top selections and assembled them in one collection entitled, Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest 2016

My story, "Affentity," which is featured in the collection, takes place in 1922 and is about the relationship between an impressionable young girl and her bootlegging, spiritually challenged grandfather.

To learn more and to order the anthology link HERE

Happy Reading...Enjoy!

Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest 2016 Edited by Steven Slon and Patrick Perry

The Saturday Evening Post Society, $3.99 ebook, B01A05K7RU, 402 pp

Publication Date: December 29, 2015

To order this book link HERE

Short Story America : Volume IV

I am pleased and honored that one of my short stories was a finalist for the Short Story America Prize. The coordinators of the prize and T.D. Johnston (writer/editor) have compiled 33 notable entries and gathered them in one amazing collection.  

In my story, "Revival," a second wife goes to great lengths to help her dying husband. I wrote this story--a story I treasure--during a very challenging time. It was my way to escape the "drama" of my own life.

To learn more about the anthology and to order the volume, link HERE

Happy Reading...Enjoy!




Short Story America (Volume IV): 33 Great Contemporary Short Stories
Edited by T. D. Johnston
Short Story America Press, $25.00 Paperback, 9780988249783, 285 pp

Publication Date: October 1, 2015

To order this book via INDIEBOUND link HERE

NEWS: Contest Winner

I'm pleased to announce that one of my short stories has won the Ramsfield Press Award for Short Fiction. 
(Ramsfield Press is an independent book publisher based out of the Chicago, Illinois area; William "Bill" Moser is the editor.)  The contest dealt with stories centered around the themes of cooking and food - two of my favorite pastimes! 

In this piece, entitled "B.B.," a young girl tells a tale of the summer she spent with her food-obsessed Southern Grandmother.   

To read the story and learn more about Ramsfield Press, link HERE.

Bronze Medal

When it comes to contests, who doesn't want to win?  But if you don't win, can you still feel a sense of pride and accomplishment if you at least make the winner's podium?

Such was the case for me in the MAUREEN EGEN WRITERS EXCHANGE AWARD, an honor bestowed via Poets & Writers magazine.  I recently learned that a short story of mine (actually a self-contained  excerpt from a novel of domestic fiction, in-progress) garnered second runner-up. 

Each year, poets and fiction writers from one state, who have never published a book (or no more than one book), are invited to apply for the award. Winners are selected by outside judges based on individual manuscripts. This year, the annual prize, which introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community, was awarded to a writer who resides in the state of New Jersey.  While I am disappointed that I didn't win first place, I was very pleased to learn that Nahid Rachlin served as contest judge.  I have long admired her beautiful prose and how her work successfully conveys the complexities of family relationships. Therefore, I appreciated her comments about my piece, which included, "This story effectively conveys issues of betrayal and family loyalty." 

You can't win them all, but a word of encouragement from an accomplished writer always helps when you return to your writing desk, roll up your sleeves and once again, try to wrestle words down onto the page. 

Congratulations to the winners! Link HERE to read their work.