We are so thrilled to announce the winners of the 2020 SmokeLong Award for Flash Fiction. Each of these stories is a winner and so good in its own way that deciding on one “winner” seemed a ridiculous task. We have been discussing these stories for weeks, some for months. What they all have in common is solid craft at the sentence level, a sense of purpose, and heart. Congratulations to all the talented writers on this list. We are so grateful you sent your work to SmokeLong, and we are proud to share your work with the world. Our results are as follows:
Grand Prize
To Pieces by Abby Feden
Second Place
All Your Fragile History by Jasmine Sawers
Third Place
*69 by Leonora Desar
Finalists
Cupola by Jiksun Cheung
Four Lies by Ashley Wilson Fellers
How to Build a Bunker by L.M. Brown
Search Party by Rebecca Turkewitz
This is How You Give a Baby CPR by Kyra Baldwin
Waiting by Jemimah Wei
What is Ours by Meg Walters
Why I think of you every time I bruise by Madeline Anthes
Zero by Emily James
In its third year, The March Micro Marathon will be, as usual, a prompt-a-day whirlwind for 24 days. You’ll exchange drafts of micro fiction, non-fiction, and prose poetry in small groups and gather for a series of online events (all recorded for participants unable to attend live). We’ll finish with 3 competitions, and participants who are not already in SmokeLong Fitness will be invited to workshop with SmokeLong Fitness until the end of April!