Scroll down to read our winning stories for July, August, and September

“Leaving Kyiv” by Carrie Keyes

Lydia stares out the train window at Vanko. He stands on the platform, his hand on the pane. The train rolls forward; she turns to watch him wave.

After she crosses into Poland, one thing remains: the loops and whorls of his fingerprints on the glass, lingering like a ghost longing to stay.

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53-Word Bio
Carrie Keyes is a former attorney and freelance ghostwriter from Coronado, California, a paradise she shares with her husband, children and mischievous pets. She recently completed a two-year certificated novel writing program at Stanford Continuing Studies. Her manuscripts feature contemporary global issues with a faint rhythmic style, clandestine undertones, and flecks of magic.

“The Last Word” by Beverley Ward

While other men fought about real estate, he didn’t fight at all. But, at Christmas, the fairy was missing a wing. At Easter, decapitated simnel chickens lined the cake box. When my lover opened Monopoly, the top hat was gone. He even took the Z from Scrabble. He always had the last word.

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53-Word Bio
Beverley Ward writes a bit of everything and runs a lot of workshops from her home town of Sheffield where she lives with her two children and two cats. She's the owner of The Writers Workshop, which helps writers make their dreams come true. This is a little dream come true for her.

Note: You can find information on Beverley’s workshops at www.thewritersworkshop.co.uk and/or www.beverleywrites.com

“Lucky” by Zoë Jones

Fingers registered plastic and pulled an army man from the prize bag. Tiny gun clutched, legs crouched, green like grass. Luck’s gift, a faceless totem. Toy came home, found a shrine on bed’s empty pillow. I wrapped him in clay and whispered soft spells, casting my kismet to another soldier buried in sand. 

~~~

53-Word Bio
Zoë Jones is an aspiring writer living with her muse-turned-fiancé in California. When not composing lengthy emails for work, she enjoys experimenting with creative fiction. As a lover of both daydreams and nightmares, she is most interested in exploring that which keeps us up at night and picks loose our tightly knotted emotions.