Out of 200 submissions, a panel of judges has selected 32 semi-finalists. Out of these 32, twelve will be selected to compete in the final round for audience votes and the prize Kindle.
Today, we announced eight more semi-finalists on Facebook and Twitter. As a recap, here they are:
Fiction:
“Ascetic”
Giving up social cola drinking to symbolically support an alcoholic brother is only the beginning of Jared’s legendary powers of self-restraint.
“After”
Giovanni doesn’t see a light just after he dies; he has a hard time seeing anything at all until he learns to focus.
“The Shoe App”
Because she’s 5’10 and loves high heels, Catherine is excited to meet two tall, handsome men in nice suits—and black nametags.
Poetry:
“London Portraits”
“He gazes at the dust-charged sunbeams/ as though they are angels.”
“In Bulk”
An ode to giant jars of Costco mayonnaise, endless desert skies, and other manifestations of Wordsworthian abundance.
“I Teach Six-Year-Olds about Jesus in Sunday School”
You’ve been showered in spit and had your skirt soaked with a little girl’s tears. But you know that this is the world God so loved.
“Red Rock”
“What is it about this place that unwinds the soul, one chink at a time?”
Essay:
“A Lesson in Conversational Slovene”
Two new missionaries struggling to master the language find reliable, if reticent, teachers in a retirement center.