1st Prize: D.R. Ransdell for "Two Ways to Tuesday"
By day D.R. Ransdell teaches writing at the University of Arizona, but at night she does away with whiny students after placing her cheerful, well-traveled protagonists in unfortunate situations. In her mariachi mysteries, Andy Veracruz chases lost musicians rather than learning new songs. In Party Wine, Sofi pretends to enjoy the local reds although she can’t stand them. In Dervla Alarms the Nanas, Dervla realizes she has a superpower but rebels when everyone expects her to use it! Learn more at http://www.dr-ransdell.com
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2nd Prize: Ryan Oakley for "Sheriff of Skid Row"
Ryan Oakley is an attorney for the Department of the Air Force and a retired JAG military officer. Growing up the small town in Imperial, California, he traveled to Alabama for college and law school, and has since lived in four states and the United Kingdom before landing in Arizona. During his 20-years on active duty, he served as a Staff Judge Advocate, prosecutor, Pentagon staff officer, academic instructor, and past editor of The Military Commander and the Law, and The Reporter, a magazine on front-line legal issues.
By chance, he visited the AMW booth at the 2022 Tucson Festival of Books, and decided to (finally) start writing fiction. Last year, he published his first short story, “The Bracero” in Huntingdon College’s literary magazine, The Prelude. Today, Ryan lives with his wife (a school counselor), mother-in-law, four sons, and two unruly dogs in Tucson, Arizona.
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3rd Prize: Conda Douglas for "Sure as Shootin"
A native of Idaho, Conda V. Douglas has lived in Tucson and now resides in Las Cruces, New Mexico. You’d think with that background, Conda would be a natural cowgirl, comfortable astride a horse. Nope. Two of Conda’s childhood experiences were the inspiration for Sure as Shootin’. She’ll leave it up to you to guess which ones.
Conda has published many times, novels, short stories, articles and nonfiction books. But her first and always true love is writing short stories. Her most recent short story publications are Trouble in Tucson, A 2023 Left Coast Crime Anthology and Mild West Mysteries 2: A Dozen Tales of Murder and Mayhem. For more on Conda and her works visit https://www.amazon.com/author/condadouglas.
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Honorable Mention: Zachary Ryan for "The Long Tuesday"
Neighborhood bartender and longtime writer, Zachary Ryan is finally putting himself out there to entertain others. While he’s received more drunken toasts from patrons saluting their favorite drink-slinger (too many to count) than literary accolades (zero), he’s happy to have made it even this far, and sincerely appreciates every reader’s time.
Follow his fledgling Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the_red_novelist/
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