Kent District Library, Capital Area District Library, Canton Public Library, Michigan Learning Channel and Schuler Books are pleased to announce the winners of the twelfth annual Write Michigan Short Story Contest. Over 1,150 writers from across the state entered the contest in three age groups —441 adults, 461 teens and 260 youth.
Winners were chosen by public voting at www.writemichigan.org for the $250 Readers’ Choice award and by a panel of judges for the $500 Judges’ Choice and $250 Judges’ Choice Runner-up awards. Winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in March.
ADULT
Judges’ Choice Winner
Gambler’s Rest, Joshua Boers, Grand Rapids
Judges’ Choice Runner-Up
The Hemlock House, Kelly Selby, Mason
Readers’ Choice Winner
Home, Samantha Engel, Freeland
Published Finalists
11:27pm, Nathan Grajek, Battle Creek
Gristle, Witch Hazel, and the Kickball, Margaret VanHaften, Frankfort
My Sister’s Promise, Heather Picardat, Grand Rapids
TEEN
Judges’ Choice Winner
A House with a Garden, Sonja de Wilde, Grand Rapids
Judges’ Choice Runner-Up
Mist Men, Finn Rice, Milford
Readers’ Choice Winner
Omaha and Fire, Eli Ferguson, Grand Rapids
Published Finalists
I Will Always Eat Burnt Biscuits, Lucy Yoder, Grand Rapids
High School House-Hunters, by Katelyn Messina, Sterling Heights
The People Beside You, by Jordan Fletcher, Ada
YOUTH
Judges’ Choice Winner
A Long-Forgotten Memory, Leyla Koroglu, Ann Arbor
Judges’ Choice Runner-Up
Halloween House, Nora Sportel, Grand Rapids
Readers’ Choice Winner
To You, From Every Ending Cosmos, Elena Hood, Ada
Published Finalists
The Boy and the Dove: A Short Story, Emma Krueger, Ann Arbor
Talons and Thrones, Rylan Day, Brighton
The Seven Principles, Hunter Miller, Jackson