Fractured Lit Flash Fiction OPEN Judged by Maurice Carlos Ruffin Grand Prize Winner and Finalists

Guest Judge Maurice Carlos Ruffin has chosen his grand prize winner and the 16 finalists! We’re excited to publish all sixteen of these stories starting in January 2025!

Grand Prize Winner: One Minute Thirty-Five Seconds by Caleb Ludwick

Guest Judge Maurice Carlos Ruffin said, “Deftly captures a relationship in the aftermath of a life-changing moment when feelings are too big to describe. With astonishing metaphor and symbolism, this breathtaking story is grounded in true-to-life details and realistic characters. Much more than just a meditation on grief, I’ll be thinking about “One Minute Thirty-Five Seconds” for a very long time. This is what short stories are meant to do.”

1. Dead Things I Gave Birth To by Michelle R. Brady
2. Snow by Mary Elizabeth Dubois
3. In the Path of Totality by Stephen D. Gibson
4. Reel by Diane Glancy
5. White Trash by Emily Hampson
6. The Hunt by Kristin Jensen
7. The Uranium Bird by Dennis Michael
8. The Touch Forecast by Claudia Monpere
9. Heartbeat by Jisun Park
10. Sugar Highs & Lows by Rachana Pathak
11. Sixty, Fifty-Nine, Fifty-Eight by Emily Rinkema
12. Pulse by Bruce Scandling
13. Gizzard by Kristen Skovsgärd
14. Blood-Related by Vanessa Tamm
15. Lines Left by Katie Ten Hagen