You’re maybe tired of hearing me say this, but we are truly SO PROUD of every single person who enters one of the writing contests. Entering a writing contest feels fun and exciting for some, but scary and vulnerable for many others. We’re proud of all of you!

A big thank you to Tessa Emily Hall, our final round judge this time. You guys made her life HARD, but here are her selections:

Honorable Mention: Amelie Johnson

This might be difficult to hide. I squeezed my eyes shut as she walked towards me, shoes clicking on the floor. Closer, closer. I ducked my head into my locker, willing myself to disappear. The shoes stopped behind me. “What are you doing?”
My knees shook as I pretended to search for something, but I forced myself to stay upright. “Uh, hi.”
“I can’t hear you with your head in your locker.” Gently, she pulled on my arm. “Come on.”
I gave up and allowed her to extract me from my metal hideout. “Hi.”
Janna’s hand flew to her mouth. “What happened to your face?”

Tessa says: I love the way the writer didn’t provide the reader with backstory or info-dump; instead, they dropped the reader right into the action of the story. The pacing of this entry is perfect, and the way it ends frustrates me–but only because I am so curious to know what happened to her face!

Third Place: Isaiah Myers

This might be difficult to hide.
I ease the stopper against the glass of the bottle. Celia lies slumped over the table, her head against the darkened oak, hair sprawled over the lacquered wood in an auburn orbit. The bottle sounds dull, glass heavy against the shelf of the open cabinet as I set it inside. To rest, I think, until I need it again. Now to Celia, she’s a different story. The poison wine I can simply set aside, put it in the cabinet and seal the brass lock. But with a person there’ll be questions. There can’t be questions. I’ll bury her by dusk.

Tessa says: I love how the writer included descriptive details without slowing down the action of this story. The writer has also raised questions in my mind, about the poison wine and the secret death of Celia, and I would love to keep reading in order to understand more of the backstory.

Second place: Rachel Evans

This might be difficult to hide.

Pain shreds through me. My ribs expand, my spine lengthens, my skin stretches. I press my palms against the bathroom stall, trying to steady my shaking limbs. My fingertips lengthen, sharpen. I jerk away, but the claws leave jagged scratches on the wall.

Senses overwhelm me: the sticky tiled floor, the minute cracks in the ceiling, the leather shoes of the boy in the next stall, the tangerine taste of the air freshener, the first lyrics of “A Thousand Years” in the ballroom.

I drag a furry hand over my beard. This cannot be happening. Not on prom night.

Tessa says: What an interesting and creative premise! This entry dropped me right into the conflict of the story and it has me wondering, who is this creature and what’s happening to him? Will he be able to remain hidden? The writer did a great job at weaving in descriptive details as well without slowing down the pace of the story.

First place: Malachi Watkins

This might be difficult to hide. Tristan pulled off the ragged baseball cap to scratch at his head. Debris scattered the land around him, patches of grass sending up curls of smoke as they burnt beneath the heat of the twisted metal. But below him, at the bottom of the grassy knoll he stood on, was the main crash site. That portion of the ship resembled nothing more than a piece of cheese, melted and collapsing. Blue flames licked at what used to be the cockpit. Could anyone have survived that? It didn’t matter. His job was to make sure there wouldn’t be evidence, or survivors.

Tessa says: The writer did an amazing job at establishing the imagery of this scene by showing rather than telling. The voice is natural, and the writer provided just enough descriptive details to paint the scene. I felt like I was right there with the character. I am also so curious to know more about this crash and how Tristan is connected to it. Great job!

Once again, congratulations to all who participated! What a fantastically creative community we’re in!