The long wait is over: We’re excited to share that Glenn Lester’s “Take Warning: The Ballad of Sammy Slug” has won our inaugural Novel Excerpt Contest! Lester’s excerpt was chosen by Dan Chaon from an overwhelming pool of quality submissions. We were blown away by the number of excellent novels-in-progress that are out there. Keep working, folks, and come back in the fall to read the finalists and submit your excerpts to our next contest!

Winner

“Take Warning: The Ballad of Sammy Slug” by Glenn Lester

Second Place

“Hakuri” by Jessica Cavero

Third Place

“The Slapjack (excerpt – chapters five, six, seven)” by Alan Sincic

Honorable Mention

“Red State” by Allie Torgan