Kent District Library, Schuler Books, Canton Public Library, Capital Area District Library and Michigan Learning Channel are proud to announce the semi-finalists in the twelfth annual Write Michigan Short Story Contest. Over 1,160 Michigan writers from all over the state entered the contest.
Winners will be chosen by public voting at www.writemichigan.org through February 12 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 February 16.
The top five stories in each age category (Adult / Teen / Youth), as chosen by the celebrity judges, as well as the Readers' Choice winners will be published by Chapbook Press using the Espresso Book Machine. Copies will be available in March 2024.
Semi-finalist Stories:
Adult
Gambler's Rest by Joshua Boers (Grand Rapids)
Gristle, Witch Hazel, and the Kickball by Margaret VanHaften (Frankfort)
Six Numbers by Tina Ryan (Grand Rapids)
Home by Samantha Engel (Freeland)
The Hemlock House by Kelly Selby (Mason)
A Flooded Theft by Todd Jeschke (Marshall)
11:27 pm by Nathan Grajek (Battle Creek)
A Duluth Dusting by Dustin Brewer (Mt. Pleasant)
I Want to Forget Her by James Schlorff (Shepherd)
My Sister's Promise by Heather Picardat (Grand Rapids)
Teen
That Last Sky by Cory Roberts (Kalamazoo)
I Will Always Eat Burnt Biscuits by Lucy Yoder (Grand Rapids)
High School House-Hunters by Katelyn Messina (Sterling Heights)
See You in June by Rachel Hagen (Northville)
The People Beside You by Jordan Fletcher (Ada)
A House with a Garden by Sonja de Wilde (Grand Rapids)
Omaha and Fire by Eli Ferguson (Grand Rapids)
Akūpāra Shifted by Pierson Wells (Okemos)
Mist Men by Finn Rice (Milford)
Breaking News: Girl Falls into Portal, Immediately Handed a Sword! by Kaydee Foerster (Grand Ledge)
Youth
The Seven Principles by Hunter Miller (Jackson)
Three Miles of Brown Fur by Zoey Duperon (Leland)
A Long-Forgotten Memory by Leyla Koroglu (Ann Arbor)
A Boy Who Could Dream by Lela Harleton (Ada)
Talons and Thrones by Rylan Day (Brighton)
The Rescue of Avalon by Vivienne Ostoich (Kentwood)
Halloween House by Nora Sportel (Grand Rapids)
To You, From Every Ending Cosmos by Elena Hood (Ada)
The Boy and the Dove: A Short Story by Emma Kruegar (Ann Arbor)
A Vet's Journey by Lillian Freidank (Dorr)
