My mother called my father from the airport to tell him she wasn’t coming home, not that night or the next or the next. When he stopped talking over her, when he finally understood what she was saying, he put her on speakerphone. “You better talk to Colleen, she’s...
The wind keened in the birches as the door swung behind Claire and the house took her in. Ice climbed the windowpanes in delicate ribs. On the mantel, three birthday cards leaned like little doors; all of them were blank inside. “Do you like the house?” Aunt Maureen...
My momma is a professional wrestler. At night, I hear her practicing in her bedroom, stomping around in her sparkly red boots. When I can’t sleep, or all the bumping and grumbling wakes me up, I lie in bed and imagine the matches. In my head, she always wins – jumps...
More helicopters are falling this year. Not the real ones; not yet. These are the papery maple seeds. They float down, spinning on a single feather. They coat the sidewalks, collect in planters, nest in gutters. In the evening, they glow, lit from behind, the sun red...
Another round of difficult decisions to narrow our shortlist to 20 stories to send to Judge Jemimah Wei! Congratulations to the shortlisted writers! We're all wondering who the winners will be! Collective Memory In the Temple of the Ugly Women House of the Minotaur...
by Timothy Boudreau Patricia Q. Bidar’s Pardon Me for Moonwalking was recently released by Unsolicited Press. Get your copy HERE or wherever you buy books. Guest interviewer Timothy Boudreau recently met with Patricia for a lively exchange about the collection,...
Judge Gwen Kirby has chosen her grand-prize winner and the 15 finalists, who we will publish in 2026! Please congratulate these writers and get excited about reading their stories soon! We think these are some of our best from 2025! Grand Prize Winner: Blackboxing by...
Oasis Motel 3:06 a.m. Mandy picks shattered bits of windshield out of her arm. Glass fragments glisten red, stark pinpricks against the yellowed porcelain sink. She looks away from the marred counter. Plinks another shard into the basin. The motel room is dark....
We love how writers interpret and are inspired by this theme and prompt each year! It helps us see our own world through a new lens, and these stories always resonate! Here are the 40 longlisted titles for your review! We'll be back next week with our shortlist, which...
He built a house out of wood in which to lose his grief. To fill the house, he stole crumbs from the lips of strangers as their tongues searched their mouths. He stole the sadness floating in the eyes of the bereaved. He stole the darkness inside their clasped hands....
Ma keeps Nabh home again because he’s still fatigued, and she says he has such heavy bags under his eyes he could go for a month-long trip to India. No fever, though. He’s well enough to be bored. And … he’s going to miss the fire drill today. No big...
Albert Abdul-Barr Wang conducted this conversational interview via email during June and July of 2025. Allison Field Bell was kind enough to discuss her multiple practices in writing and photography, just as Finishing Line Press released her latest chapbook, Without...