Short Story Winner: ‘Immaculate’
Nellie Downer’s story checks every box on the list of attributes guest judge Bryan Washington appreciates in short fiction: “stories with distinct voices, a keen sense of place, and a palpable intimacy.”
Texas Observer Short Story Contest
Announcing the Tenth Annual Texas Observer Short Story Contest
This year's judge is Bryan Washington, author of Lot.
Short Story Contest Winner: ‘Dear Mr. Gottlieb’
Alan Sincic’s story is a searing indictment of corporate America.
Short Story Contest Finalist: ‘The Prize’
In this dreamlike tale, a struggling poet sabotages the contest he’s judging.
Short Story Finalist: ‘The After Party’
In Jess Smith’s tense and troubling story, a wedding party turns dark.
Short Story Contest Finalist: ‘Liquid Gold’
Breast milk is sometimes prized so highly that it’s called “liquid gold.” In Shannon Perri’s harrowing story, it takes on a literal meaning.
Announcing the Ninth Annual Texas Observer Short Story Contest
We want your stories!
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Ink Upon the Furrows
In this year's Texas Observer Short Story Contest winner, Daniel Zima, publisher/editor of a Czech-language newspaper, delivers papers to his elderly neighbors in a nursing home while awaiting a buyer he suspects will never appear.
Short Story Contest Finalist: ‘Repeater’
In Jenny Staff Johnson’s “Repeater,” a woman tries to make sense of a murder-suicide next door.
Announcing the Eighth Annual Observer Short Story Contest
Send us your stories, writers!