We are proud to announce the semi-finalists in the fourteenth annual Write Michigan Short Story Contest. About 1,000 Michigan writers from all over the state entered the contest.
Winners will be chosen by public voting through the WriteMichigan.org web site or by using this link: https://tinyurl.com/WriteMichigan through January 23 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 announced the end of January.
All winning stories (including three published finalists in each of the three age groups) will be published by Chapbook Press using the Espresso Book Machine. Copies will be available in Spring 2026.
Semi-finalist Stories:
ADULT
What Can't Be Buried, Kathy Sisson, Grand Rapids
Student of Dreams, Joy VerHoef, Grandville
Game Over, Melody Schmidt, Grand Rapids
Installing Empathy, Branden Smith, Midland
End of Summer, William Teets, Waterford
She Has Your Eyes, Marina Walker, Grand Rapids
Bildungsroman, Sidra Elvey, Grand Rapids
Present Tense, Jill Hinton Wolfe, Walker
Boundaries, Cathy Lazar Nelson Williamsburg
The Lantern's Diary, Gretter Luis De La Moneda, Royal Oak
TEEN
The Smell of Who I Used to Be, Sundos Hejazi, Portage
Before I Forget..., Charlize Sitto West Bloomfield
Split, Gabriella Bolek, Wyoming
The Frozen Soul, Jordan Fletcher, Ada
Dust, Ava Schmidt, Ada
The Colors He Left Behind, Adalyn Khon, Armada
Apparition Forest, Bonny Garlets, Kalamazoo
Everlasting Sunflowers, Alex Oleszkiewicz, Grand Rapids
The Spirit of Venus, Rosie Naranjo, Grand Rapids
The Other Side of the Oak Tree, Harper Mervau, Lowell
YOUTH
Manager Mayhem, Nolan Grayburn, Ada
The Oasis, Evan Kaltz, Ada
The Creature, the Magician, and the Cabin, Delilah Nicholl, Grosse Pointe Woods
The Gorilla, Calder Sundberg, Grand Rapids
Just Try, Juliet Einfeld, Grand Rapids
Surviving the No-Tech Challenge, Araya Taylor, Detroit
Olive and Her Magical Cotton Candy, Olive Davis, Detroit
The Ink and the Pencil, Avery Beard, Grand Haven
The Hero of the Tales, Vivienne Ostoich, Kentwood
He Who Falls in Love with Melancholy, Brasen Chinua, Grand Rapids
Add a comment to: Congratulations to the Write Michigan Semi-Finalists