1st Place ($200) — Janet Alcorn – “Walk Me Home“
Janet Alcorn is a librarian who launched a lifelong dream by Googling, “how to write a novel,” on a slow afternoon at work. Since that fateful day, her short stories have been published in the 2021 Deathlehem anthology, the Storyteller Series podcast, and the Arizona Authors Association annual literary magazine. When she isn’t wrangling cantankerous fictional people or earning a living, Janet gardens, listens to 80s rock at ear-bleeding volume, and hangs out in Tucson with her husband and son. She’s lived in 5 states and 3 time zones, the majority of the time in Northern California (where she was born and raised) and Portland, Oregon. Learn more about Janet at janetalcorn.com or follow her on Twitter (@ja_alcorn) or Facebook (facebook.com/authorjanetalcorn).
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2nd Place ($100) — David Simpson – “Picture Me Dead“
David Simpson is a newly-retired attorney (40 years is enough) and aspiring fiction writer (even if some opponents might accuse him of having written fiction for decades). His legal-themed short fiction has been short-listed and published elsewhere. His wife is a huge supporter and is delighted he has something to do in retirement other than ask her: So, what’re’ we doing today? He’s completing his first novel, The Other Jury.
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3rd Place ($75) — D.R. Ransdell – “Free Fall“
D.R. Ransdell lives in sunny Tucson but grew up in Springfield, Illinois, under the shadow of the third largest U.S. bell tower. This led to her travel novel, Carillon Chase. Her moonlighting in a mariachi group led to a series about violinist Andy Veracruz. In Brotherly Love he confronts his biggest challenge so far: teaching high school students! D.R.’s newest mystery, Party Wine, takes place in her cousins’ small village in Northern Italy. The villagers make their own wine, but why do they store it instead of drinking it? www.dr-ransdell.com
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Honorable Mentions
Laurie Fagen - "Three Strikes"
