• By Michael Ackerman
• Posted Monday, December 20, 2021

Fall Short Story Contest '21 Winners

The judges of the Fall Short Story Contest 2021 have made their decisions! Members of the Southside Branch Library's Short Story Society read through many remarkable submissions written by children, teens, and adults. It wasn't easy to pick out winners because the stories were all so wonderful. They ran the gamut from funny to scary, from autobiographical to fantastical, from breezy and lighthearted to intensely dramatic. It felt like comparing apples to oranges. However, after much deliberation, here are the stories we deemed the best in each age group.

JUVENILE WINNER: "Astrid and the Floating Hand and the Piano" by Annika Puwanant

Honorable mentions:
• "The Legendary Sword" by Dhruvtej Sayiri
• "Eggs in the Bedrooms" by B. Walkup
• "Annie's Lost Dog" by Ansha Narayan

TEEN WINNER: "The Legend of Leaf" by Alex Williams

Honorable mentions:
• "When I Could Stop for Death" by Cuasi Coords
• "Full Moon Tonight" by TiMarco Peebles
• "The Hallways" by Evan Wilmoth

ADULT WINNER: "Finding Jack" by Deborah Pullen

Honorable mentions:
• "Thunder on the Mountain" by Evan Moore
• "The Many" by Matthew Hunt
• "Something to Live For" by Charles Davenport Jr.

Thanks very much to everyone who participated in the contest this year. We hope to read even more submissions come next fall!