This spring, Short Fiction Break is partnering with The Write Practice to host a writing contest in which everyone gets published.
SPRING 2022 WRITING CONTEST
This spring, we invited all writers to write a new story inspired by the theme of our contest; workshop it in The Write Practice Pro, our partner writing community; and submit it for publication here at Short Fiction Break.
The theme of this contest was Happily Ever After.
WINNERS OF THE SPRING WRITING CONTEST
We received hundreds of excellent submissions. After much deliberation, our judges selected the following winning stories:
Grand Prize:
Hearts and Stitches by Soleah K. Sadge
Runners Up (alphabetized by author):
Happily For Right Now by IJ Guertin
Rewired by Alice Neilson
Honorable Mentions (alphabetized by author):
High Hopes by Gary Little
The Dinner Date by Jennifer Palmer
The Holy Instant by Joanna Dunn Samson
The Chains That Bind by Michael Zeit
The Win by Lisa M. Washburn
SHORTLISTED STORIES
There were so many good stories in this contest, the judges were hard-pressed to narrow their selections to just a handful of winners. While the following stories didn’t win a prize, the judges noted them as some of their favorites.
Suppression by Eva Adair
Dark Night Press by Jamie L Biggs
Race You by Candice Burnett
The Proposal by Hannah Coleman-Zaitzeff
A Raggedy Ending by Tonya Colson
Happily Ever After by Aaron Delaine
Beezlebub’s New Beginnings Bingo by Alicia Doyle
Chanda’s Moon by Sana Fayyaz
The Mitt by Michelle Glassley
Happily Never After by Emilee Dianne Goodwin
The Foundation of Happiness by Kristine MacMillan
One-Man Band by Sarah Meredith
The Intruder by Christopher Pate
The Forever Attraction by Kerr Pelto
Freedom by Mellissa Roos
Hot Science by E.C. Sullivan
The Mason Jar by Laura Porter Taylor
READERS’ CHOICE AWARD
As the judges sifted through the entries, we invited you to vote for your favorite story to win the Readers’ Choice Award.
The winner of the Readers’ Choice Award is “The Reconciliation” by Adam Musah Boribi. Congratulations, Adam!
SPONSORS
The prizes for this contest are provided by the following sponsors:
The Write Practice Pro: The Write Practice Pro is the premier workshopping community from The Write Practice. Contest participants receive six weeks’ access to the workshopping community to get feedback on their short stories, novel chapters, and other writing pieces.
SPRING WRITING CONTEST STORIES
You can find all the stories writers chose to publish in the contest below. If you have entered a story in the contest, we encourage you to read this guide to help you get the most out of publication on Short Fiction Break.
I’m Mirror Mirror, How Can I Help You? by R. AmRi
Seasonal by Paige Aoki
The Only Viable Option by A. J. Aisling
Firsts by Sarah Barrick
Dark Night Press by Jamie L Biggs
Shimmering Horizons by Judy Blackburn
Basil Needs Help by Linda M Blackshaw
The Promise Fulfilled by A. Marieve Monnen
FOREVER HOME by Aletta Bee
THE RECONCILIATION by Adam Musah Boribi
The Weeping Willow by Meg Bracc0
Ridin’ with Suzy by Tammy A. Branom
Raising a Daughter by Nick Brender
Heaven Above, Earth Below by Stephen Brown
Emily by Carlene Shuler Brown
Living Truth by Aimee Parrish
The Miracle of Mariyah Arroyo by Sabrina Bryant
Starman by Graham Buckenham
Race You by Candice Burnett
The Final Question by Robert Burns
The Mistress by Mary Elizabeth Byrd
The Reflection by Scarlett Boleyn
Darts by Michael G. Cashman
The Inevitable Encounter by Deborah Chlebina
The Porcelain by L’Michelle Bleu L’Eau
The Proposal by Hannah Coleman-Zaitzeff
Rapunzel and the Prince by Elizabeth Collins
A Raggedy Ending by Tonya Colson
Finding Happiness Within by Mike Conradt
For Real? by Page Craw
Race to the End by Lawrence Cromwell
Guardian of the Wilds, A Rumpelstiltskin Fairytale by Morticia Autumn Crone
Of Stones and Feathers by Alejandra Cue
Candle by Andrew Dai
After Ever After by M MacKinnon
Unexpected Hero by Kimberly Anne De Jong
Don’t look back by Marius de Kock
Happily Ever After: A Revolutionary Campaign by Nicholas J. Devlin
Movie Magic Moment by Amanda N Dieter
Me, Him and Angel by Tiana Pauline
Beezlebub’s New Beginnings Bingo by Alicia Doyle
Letting Go by Maureen Duffy
Armor for Lancelot by Robert Dyer
Dream (Not Quite) Lover by Rebecca E Van Horn
The Eyes Have It by J.D. Edwin
The Forever Home by Laura Eiras
COLD SILENCE by David Elderton
My Happily by Rae L Ellis
All In by Alfred Esposito
Chanda’s Moon by Sana Fayyaz
H.E.A.R.T. by R.A.M.
Yellow Rose by Shane Fitzpatrick
Unexpected by Jackson Fuller
Suppression by Eva Adair
The Tree of Exposure by Shreya Ganguly
The Red Masque of Covid Death by Jess Gardner
Finding Mental Peace by Tara Elizabeth
A Fortuitous Cup of Tea by Sandra Gharabaghli
It Takes A Village by Iyana
The Mitt by Michelle Glassley
Indigo’s Lovely Place by Emma Gonzalez
Happily Never After by Emilee Dianne Goodwin
Pixie-Dust Dreams by Danielle Grosse
Do you still remember? by Gigi Guan
Palomino by E. Clark
Happily For Right Now by IJ Guertin
Here and Away by James Hardesty
Happily Ever After: Stress-Free Organization for a Happy Lifestyle that Lasts by Francesca Harrell
Life Without Father by Robert Harrell
Bygone Begonia by Amy Harrington
A Letter From A Princess by Joanne Helppie
Till Death Do Us Part by S.F. Henne
The Boy who had His Head in the Clouds by Sharon Hetherington
Haste Makes Waste by Ruth Hochstetler
THE BLUE RIDGE by Roxanne Adams Holcomb
A Hitchhiker’s Surprise by Tim Horne
Told to Wait by K.M. Hotzel
Virtual Connection by Tom Housden
The Angel was Watching by Xi Yuan Hua
The Fruit from a Lime by Lorraine Hurley
Not Your Ever After by Clay Huston
Crow and Chocolate by Vasanthi Jagatha
Northern Sunrise by Stephen James
Colonization by Kathi Jenkins
Desires of Her Heart by Jan Johnson
The God Within by Robin D. Johnson
Another Chance by Chelsea Jones
Spicy Justice by Ameera J
One Leap, Two Leap, Three Leap, Four by Sandy Juker
Come for a Ride in My 1949 Buick Roadmaster by Mort Kantor
Over the River by Carter Elise Key
After the End by John N. King
Until I See You Again by Renee King
Breakfast by Robert Koehler
Private Rescue by Christina Krieger
Family or Soulmate by Ester
Penny For Your Thoughts by Chris LaRoche
Ruby Anne by Diana Lawrence
The Daimyo by Kaleb Lee
Between Darkness and Dawn by Erica Scott Roberts
Strong Day by Susan J Liddle
Horns by Victor H. Limon
Molly by Lorraine Liston
High Hopes by Gary Little
Writing a Wrong by Bonnie J. Lupton
One Chance by Ingrine Lyle
“Happily, ever after…..” by Billi Lynn Holt
Happy Christmas to me by Joan Maccarrone
Becoming Her by Jess MacDougall
The Foundation of Happiness by Kristine MacMillan
The Laundry by Victoria Maddocks
Family Spirits by Vimal Madhavan
The Playwright by John Malnor
D3218213 by Rock Martin
She Knew by Cecilia Masafwa
Everlasting Love by Garfield McAdam
Departures and Arrivals by A.K. McCutcheon
Happily Ever After by Jane McGowan
Beyond the Crossing by Darrell Eugene McGuire
What If…. by Anita Meiszies
One-Man Band by Sarah Meredith
The Locket by Tania Miller
A Sign by Samantha Mistretta
The Happy Dance by Pretty Til Dawn
HEvAN INC. by C. W. Murphy
Black Pickup Truck by Olivia Murphy
Seeing Things by Colleen Murphy
Rewired by Alice Neilson
Reality Check by Elizabeth Nettleton
Soulmates-In-Arms by Stephanie Newbern
Happily Ever After Life by Janet Newborn
Flatline by LJ Newlin
Doppelganger by Deborah Nicholas
You Ain’t No Riter by Mark Nicholson
My Greatest Wish by Jennifer Horgan
After the Storm by Sally O’Grady
My King and I by Marien Oommen
Café Paris by Melina Paisio
Special Delivery by Phil Palmieri
The Intruder by Christopher Pate
The life line. by Dhara Patel
Finding My Happily Ever After by Manju Patnaik
The Forever Attraction by Kerr Pelto
As If He Felt Apologetic by Ashley
All’s Well That Ends Well for ME by ROSS PERKAL
Katharsis by Richard Peterson
Little Red House by Nancy Pezdek
SHELTER STORY 2022 by Nancy H. Pressley
Betrayal by Sergey Pronin
The Fairy Tales Lied by Rizza Corella
The Country House by Denise Regga
The Quiet Place by Jacy Richardson
Fish Aplenty by Kathy Roberts
Tommy’s Offering by Maria J. Rodero
Freedom by Mellissa Roos
A Dream Realized by Karen L Russell
Hearts and Stitches by Soleah K. Sadge
The Holy Instant by Joanna Dunn Samson
Love Bug by G. Sanders
In the eye of a tornado. by Eva Saunderson
The Father-Daughter Dance by Arlo Sharp
Rescued by Laura Short
Altogether Now by Jeanne Franc
Galloping Granny by Tina Smith
Forever After by Barbara Spencer
A Difficult Decision by Kathi Stait
Happy Trails by AW Stewart
Hot Science by E.C. Sullivan
My Beloved Bentham by Tess Rianne Sullivan
My Happily Ever After by ginger A. Summers
Worst Mothers’ Day Ever! by Elizabeth McGrath
What’s In A Name? by Jem Rogers
The Mason Jar by Laura Porter Taylor
For a Moment, Anyway by John Thayer
Bliss Division by Michael Thupayagale
The Stallion and the Mare by Joseph Gabriel Topp
Blinded In Time by C. M. Townsend
A Bird called Hope by Annerie Troskie
Twisted Fate by E. J. van der Velde
Stuck Together by Mike Van Horn
The Chains That Bind by Michael Zeit
A Song for Elise by Avery E. Walker
Baking or Baked by Gloria Waryas
The Win by Lisa M. Washburn
Happily Ever After by Aaron Delaine
Four Leaf Clover by Denise Weiershaus
Proposal for the Birds by Dale S Westervelt
The Funeral by Miranda Westphal
Not Another Fairy Tale by Joya Williams
Pearl by Heather Whitney-Williams
The Eagles by Elisabetta Wilson
Antisocial Intelligence by Jo Winwood
Happily Ever After by Tanya J Wojtowych
Finding Hope by Alexandra Wollny
A Fairy Godmother by Gayle Woodson
Another Step by Ann Worthington
An Eternally Beautiful Battle Stone by Samantha Wray
Meg by Anna P. Wright
Tell Me by Miguel A Zamora
Apple Pie, Like Always by Koa Zan
Congratulations to everyone who entered!