Summer 2026 Writing Contest

Writers from across the world wrote new stories inspired by the theme of our contest, workshopped them in The Write Practice community, our partner writing community, and submitted them for publication here at Short Fiction Break. While the judges consider the entries, we invite you to read the stories below and vote for your favorite story to win the Readers’ Choice Award. Voting closes July 21, 2026.

Meet the Judges

Learn more about the judges below and consider hiring them to help with your next writing project.

Hannah Wolfe Hannah is excited and proud to be a member of the Write Practice coaching community. She received her Bachelors Degree in English with a Small Press Publishing minor from Southeast Missouri State University. She is passionate about helping writers find their best voice and publish their works. Hannah's favorite genres include Children's, Young Adult, and Poetry, but she is happy to work with anyone from any genre. Hannah offers a wide variety of services from the very beginning of the writing process, all the way to designing your novel as a final product. Work with Hannah Wolfe.

Kyle Cisco Kyle is a Write Practice Certified Editor that specializes in helping Science Fiction and Fantasy authors in bringing their world to life through compelling worldbuilding and his vast knowledge of history. He is a disabled Air Force Veteran, utilizing his discipline and attention to detail as an aircraft mechanic to check the structural integrity of your story. He is a writer working on a flintlock fantasy thriller series and horror story anthology. He has three kids, three dogs, a wife that supports his dream job of editing books, and a love of reading that can never be sated. Work with Kyle Cisco.

Writing Contest Stories

Huge congratulations to all the writers who entered the contest. You can find all the stories writers chose to publish in the contest below.

• As Only Strangers Can by Scarlett Boleyn
• The stranger by Tumanani
• A Birkin 35! by Karl Tucker
• A DISPERSING OF ANGELS by Daniel Sayre
• A New Man by Nicole Rebentisch
• A Stranger Was My Hero by Mort Kantor
• A-D-N-A-M by Mick Walker
• Among Strangers by Karen Guth
• An Dulra by Catherine (Cat) A. Menz
• An Evening Walk by Mike Conradt
• An Italian Stranger by Liz
• Anne with an E by Ruchama Burrell
• Around Four by Sarah Berry
• Becoming a Stranger by DeAnna Shae
• Burdens by Olivia Lazore
• Champion Stranger by Gigi Guan
• Date Night with Candy by Barton K Mann
• Driving Blind by Agnes Shanley
• Education by S. Callahan
• Excelsior's Dream by Nicole Beeman-Cadwallader
• Faceless by Victory Jo
• Faith in a Stranger by John N. King
• Familiar Stranger by Trish Nyman
• Faydite by Cara Bailey
• Friends Forever by Ken Snyder
• Headed North by Darcy Kate
• Hero by C.M. Bishop
• Hope on Unique Drive by Jennifer Heilman
• I'm David...Dont You Remember Me? by Sally Husch Dean
• I, the Dream-Weaver by Murphie Mirike
• If Sleeping Beauty Were a Prince by Carmella T. Penny
• Inasmuch by Marlys Harper
• It's So Hard to Tell by Sanna Benson
• Jimmy's Window by Peter Leslie Watson
• Karma by D.L. Jones
• Knight in the Clearing by Ian Coles
• Meeting Miss Imogen M. Coates by Stefanie Low
• Moon Boy by Tatyana Dalpethado
• Never Trust a Businessman by Leah Goldstein Moses
• Nevereverland by Laura Oviedo
• Night 3,814 by Vanessa Martin
• No Mercy by Phyllis Brandano
• Our Mother's Chains by Steven C Cochran
• Page 15 by Jasmine LaMothe
• People we meet at Bus Stops by Miriam Obafemi-Ajayi
• Petty Plastic Vengeance by LA Petrie
• Pills by Steve Bunting
• Preservation by Christopher Cunnane
• Pretty Little World by Kellie Ogawa
• Reaching Around You by AB Holden
• Remember Me in Paradise by Tim Plamondon
• Sanctuary by Joe Beam
• School uniform by Junko Nakamura
• Sentinel Adrift by J. M. Gil
• Set'm Up Joe by Gary Little
• Soul Strangers by Sara Pehrsson
• Stacy by Suzanne Langlois
• Standards by Lori Paradis
• Strange Words by Sandra Elliott
• Stranger among Strangers by Quentin Weber-Seban
• Stranger at the Funeral by Darlene Elder
• Stranger in Alaska by Stacey Hamiton
• Stranger or Grandma by Charm Harris
• Successor by Don Tackett
• Tell me something by R.AmRi
• Ten Thousand Miles by Fernanda Gassi
• Terminal C by Joanna Dunn Samson
• That's Never You by Afton McRae
• The Blindside by Stephanie Newbern
• The Box by Emily Courte
• The Check by Jeffrey Campbell
• The Choosing by Tilda Wolf
• The Clock is Ticking by L.V. Voss
• The Cyberstalker by Iris Lau
• The Distance Between Names by Lasya Kolla
• The Fourth Scene by H. Karsten
• The Girl in the Corner by Kristi Kennedy
• The Guardian's Hand by Cecilia Masafwa
• The Guide by Nicole Whitton
• The Janitor by Mark Shields
• The Last Scene by Lili Kupper
• The Longest Days by Koenraad Kwakkenbos
• The Longest-Running Couple by Artemis Baker
• The Mall of Mortuary MacGuffins by A. J. Aisling
• The Meeting by Rose Lores
• The Merman's rose : a folk-tale by Viviane Cattane
• The Message by Kristin Helms
• The Most Handsome Little Boy She Had Ever Seen by Errol Brown
• The Only Armour He Had by Christina Pristopher
• The People I Know by Sapaya
• The Price of Staying Alone by Koa Zan
• The Prophecy by Nijah
• The River by H.E. Bullock
• The River Rules by Debbie Wolinsky
• The Seance by Elizabeth Ford
• The Slow Work of Strangers by Artemis Baker
• The Stranger by Anne Jacobi
• The Stranger in the Shop by Marilyn Hoobler
• The Stranger's Stop by Martina Kranz
• The Things We Tell Ourselves by Kade Zulueta
• The Visitor by Victoria Mitchell
• The Wish by [email protected]
• The Witching Hour Oasis by John Ford
• This is just a test by Test author name
• Transference Day by Sarah Walden
• Treading Water by Eric Thomas
• Trike by Bernadette Conroy
• Two Trout and a Campfire by Bonnie J. Lupton
• Unforeseen Complications by Nalla OrLong
• Valley of Strangers: Between Here and There (Σ [Ø]) by Jeanne Andrea Di Grazio
• Vermillion Paradise by Alejandra Cue
• Virgin Territory by David Elderton
• Wendel and Mr. Puffins by Andromeda Grey
• What the Soil Kept by Bonnie Bowden
• Whatever It Takes by Noelle Alana Intal
• Who am I? by Miguel A. Zamora
• Widow Undone by Karen S. Barnett
• With Us by Samuel Kruse
• Yard of the Month by E.J. Murray

If you 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.