We were thrilled by the response to this year’s Grand Micro Contest, now an annual competition. Our judges—twelve of them from all over the world—read more than 1300 entries, and we are grateful for the care they’ve shown each entry. This year, as every year, The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest is open to previous published as well as unpublished micros 250 words or fewer. These works of compressed art can be fiction, CNF, narratives that lean poetic, and/or translations (we’d love to see more work in translation).
A bit about our editorial process: Each micro is read by two judges. If even one of the judges votes maybe, another judge is assigned. If this judge also votes maybe, the entry is sent into the second round of judging with all eight senior editors being assigned to the entry. The list below represents the top 25 entries, a purely coincidental number despite its tidiness. All entries are read anonymously. If judges recognize the work and can identify the author, these judges must recuse themselves.
Very important: If you see your work on this list, please feel free to celebrate on social media but do so without identifying your work. Anonymous judging is ongoing.
The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest Shortlist
“All Socks Turn to Raspberry Jam on My Feet” by Ed Moorman
“Baby” by Sarah Seidel
“Bodega Migraine” by Alan Michael Parker
“Catch and Release” by Rosaleen Lynch
“Gender study; gestalt” by KT Herr
“Good Father” by Francine Witte
“Here Comes Your Man” by Amy Allen
“Hollow” by KJ Stevens
“Is It Yellowface If I’m Yellow Too?” by JQ Carratello
“Love ; Sigh” by Claire Guo
“Long Distance Relationship” by KT Herr
“Nairobi, after Independence” by Bede Yolland
“On Family Movie Nights We Watch The Video of My Father’s Colonoscopy” by Sumitra Singam
“On Silent Hill 2 and Losing Him for the Last Time” by J Buentello Benavides
“Party Song” by Vaneeza Sohail
“Safety Bucket” by Aaron Sandberg
“Signal:Noise” by Max Steiner
“Submariner” by Lindsey Pharr
“The Claw Machine” by Nadia Born
“The Night Chorus” by Lindsey Pharr
“the sentence tree” by Nadia Born
“The Sleeping Girl” by Esther Ko
“This Side of No” by C.K. Liu
“What Belongs to Us” by Ash Alpert
“Window Seat” by Valerie Hughes
Congratulations to everyone on this list! We’ll be announcing our finalists soon!
Christopher Allen
SmokeLong
