Contest | Celebration

A Note on Prizes

The only thing more fraught than waiting for the results of a literary prize submission is the responsibility of judging said group of incredible writers.

If I could give you a window into the process, you would see writers championing writers, editors explaining their own experiences and emotions — pleading, cajoling, regrouping. If you were concerned that every contest is a numbers game, I can assure you, our meetings were as sanguine and garment-rending as a remote staff can manage (though no pockets were harmed in the process).

Our 2023 (One Hand in My) Pocket-Sized Fiction Prize winners were the ones that met us — humans just like you — where we are in our individual and collective journeys. A different group of judges would have selected an entirely different group of winners, as is reflected in the general submissions process. All this is to say that those not selected are not any less worthy of celebration, but simply stories we didn’t as intimately connect to at this time and place in our lives.

Entering any contest is an act of embracing the self-assurance and confidence to know you’ve said something worth saying. As judges, we deeply respect each and every writer and each and every entry. We would like to thank all our entrants for the opportunity to read and revel in your work. Thank you for being a part of this journey of celebration.

Congratulations to our winner, Kik Lodge, for her bone-rattling flash, “On the off-beat” and all of our runners up. We’ll see you next year.

Read all our prizewinning stories here.