Read the flash pieces at the links below:
1st Place: “Grief Birds” by Sam Moe
2nd Place: “Something’s Still Going Down at the Meijer on Central Ave” by Joshua Jones Lofflin
3rd Place: “A Fish Story” by Jeremy T. Wilson
Finalists: “Still Here” by Matt Barrett and “We Iron Dad’s Underwear” by Kristina T. Saccone
Honorable Mention:
- “Not Nowadays and Never Here” by Patricia Q. Bidar
- “Self-Portrait as Ricochet” by Despy Boutris
- “The Crossroads-Coin” by Wilbur Charles-Wallace
- “Flight to Lithuania” by Gillian Leonard
- “Counting Stones at the Bottom of the Tigris River” by Sarah Sassoon
Here are a few words from Lynn Steger Strong about the winner, “Grief Birds:”
“In flash, what I most want is the feeling that comes from a perfect amuse-bouche, a density and texture, a punch of linguistic pleasure, both confident and intense. I want images and syntax that feel continually surprising coupled with a clarity that keeps the reader on the hook. All three of these extraordinary finalists possessed these qualities. With “Grief Birds,” I found simply that the complexity of its textures left me the most fully satisfied. The rhythms of it offered their own consistent pleasures, its images were specific, conjurable, and alive. It lingered with me longest after having read.”