At Short Fiction Break, we believe there are two groups of stars in every writing contest. The first group is obvious: all the writers who enter their stories, who bravely offer their writing for critique, judging, and publication.
The second group is less obvious, but equally important: the contest judges, working hard behind the scenes to read every story and select a handful of the very best.
Meet the Judges
In the last few weeks, we’ve celebrated the prizewinning stories and authors of the Fall Writing Contest. Now, it’s time to celebrate the judges who made this contest possible.
Editor Renee Decker
Renee Decker is a Story Grid Certified Editor who got her start in storytelling thrilling her family with renditions of “The Three Little Pigs” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” and has not stopped loving stories since. Her goal is to help every writer transfer the story in their head to the one they want to tell on paper.
In college, as a teaching assistant in the Writing Center at Transylvania University and then later in law school, Renee realized how much she loves teaching others to develop their own skills. She found Story Grid in 2015 and recognized what a great set of tools it provides writers to make their stories the best version of themselves. Now she helps writers of all levels master those techniques to write their best story yet.
Edit With Renee
Renee is happy to work with new editorial clients, and if you’re working on a short story or novel, she’d love to help you write something amazing.
Renee is offering editorial services to our community through The Write Practice. She has a range of services for stories of all lengths.
If you’re working on a novel or nonfiction book, consider hiring her for a Story Grid Diagnostic.
If you’re working on a shorter piece of writing, find the editing package that’s right for you here.
Author Carole Wolfe
Carole Wolfe started telling stories in the third grade and hasn’t stopped since. While she no longer illustrates her stories with crayon, Carole still uses her words to help readers escape the daily hiccups of life.
When Carole isn’t writing, she is a stay-at-home mom to three busy kiddos, a traveling husband and a dog that thinks she is a cat. Carole enjoys running at a leisurely pace, crocheting baby blankets for others and drinking wine when she can find the time. She and her family live in Texas.
Read Carole’s Books
Tasha Gerome tries to find the funny side of her everyday disasters. It’s just about the only thing that gets the single mother of twins through her chaotic life. That and a comfy pair of piggy slippers. But not everyone appreciates her brand of humor.
One thing is for certain. Fixing her legal troubles, getting rid of her ex, and finding a new man will take a whole lot of laughter and a little help from her family.
Get My Best Mistake, the first book in the women’s fiction My Best series, here.
And be sure to check out Carole Wolfe’s writing on her website, where you can download a free short story.
The Judges’ Expert Advice
In each contest, we offer writers the opportunity to hear directly from the judges why their story was or was not selected as a winner and what they can do to take their story-writing skills to the next level.
Together, Carole and Renee wrote personalized, expert feedback for nearly two hundred writers in our Fall Writing Contest.
Didn’t sign up for feedback on your story? There are a handful of common challenges many stories in this contest faced. Check out this article on The Write Practice for the most common weaknesses judges find in contests and how to fix them.
Congratulations, Writers!
Of course, no contest is complete without the writers who enter and the stories that win! We’re excited to celebrate the eight stories judges selected as the winners of this contest.
Winners of the Fall Contest will be announced soon and featured on Short Fiction Break.
Don’t miss out on these wonderful reads!
Want more like this? You can find the stories the judges shortlisted, as well as all the stories published in this contest, here.
More Stories to Come
We had so much fun in this writing contest, and we hope you did, too. Keep your eye out for our next contest, full of more exciting themes, supportive writing community, publication opportunities, and expert judging.
Until then, happy writing!
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