The shortlist for the 2021-2022 Winter Short Story Award for New Writers has been selected. The fifteen stories on this list are now in the hands of guest judge Ye Chun who has the extremely difficult challenge of selecting the three finalists for this year’s contest. Narrowing down the submission pool to only these fifteen excellent submissions was a difficult task for our editors, and we thank all of our submitters for trusting us with their work. Congratulations to those on the shortlist, and check back next month for an announcement of our finalists!

Used Scars by Patrina Corsetti

Russian Thistle by Laura Farnsworth

Franglais by Corinne Foster

Whale Fall by CJ Garrow

Primitive Immortals by Eric Geissinger

Abiquiú by Robert Herbst

The Crown Prince of Koi by Daniel Abiva Hunt

Wounded Beauty by Fredric Koeppel

Seven, Something, Nine by Brad Modlin

Laughing Circle by Isabel Murray

What A Body Is Good For by Allison Grace Myers

The Year of the Bird by Conor Quinlan

A Single Mark by Reena Shah

Just Leaving by Kristen Siegel

Creeper by Taylor Sykes