Winners Announcement
Greetings, flash fiction friends! We are pleased to announce the winner(s) of Microcosms 213!
This week, we are pleased to continue with “The Karen Cox Prize for Entertaining Short Fiction”, brought to you by Alert Terminal Warehouse.
Announcement
Be sure to check out MC 100micro2 – our first ever quarterly contest! Submissions are open through 31 December 2023.
MC 213 Flash Fiction Contest Winners!
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Without further ado, it’s time to announce the winner of MC 213!
Community Pick
We have a double dipper!
Judge’s Pick
And the Judge’s Pick, and winner of this week’s $25 Karen Cox Prize for Entertaining Short Fiction, is:
Drumroll, please!
Congrats, Jaime! Please contact us for instructions on how to accept your prize and also let us know if you’d like to judge MC 218!
Here’s what judge Vicky Hinault had to say:
“I thought these were really challenging prompts and seeing the varied and original ideas to incorporate them all made for a fun read.
Honourable mentions to Geoff Le Pard and Laura Cooney:
I thought “A Short History Of The Horse’s Elevation In The Pecking Order Of Intelligent Lifeforms” was completely off the wall and hilarious and I really enjoyed it.
I wanted to mention “Statistics Are Everything” as I loved how it created a nice sombre tone at the start and how that transformed with the arrival of the mime. Strong imagery that stayed with me. Nice work!
Ultimate though, “Don’t Be Off Your Guard In A Game Of Charades” (Jaime Bree) is my Judge’s Pick. I liked the way it used dialogue as its main narrative tool and how the short-clipped dialogue added a sense of urgency. The imagery that was created was very rich and this story actively built in all the elements from the prompts seamlessly. It had a funny and surprising ending making it my pick of the week.
-Vicky
HUGE thanks to Vicky for judging this week!
Judge’s Pick Entry
As a reminder, here is the story that won over our judge!
Don’t Be Off Your Guard In A Game Of Charades
238 words
Mime / Shark Attack / Comedy
By Jaime Bree
@jaim_ee_bree
‘It’s a beetle.’
…
‘A donkey?’
…
‘No, hang on, hang on, I’ve got it… your grandma.’
…
‘Ok. Possibly that was offensive. It’s…’
…
‘In the water?… Finally!’
…
‘I don’t get the hand on your head.’
…
‘No. Nope. Still not getting it. Loser?’
…
‘Not you, darling. I meant do you mean loser? Someone is a loser? No? Ok.’
…
‘Water… swimming… hand on head, like a, like… you’re drowning… who am I kidding? I’m drowning here… Er… er… I know. It’s a fin? You’re a fish.’
…
‘Nemo?’
…
‘Blinky.’
…
‘Captain Birdseye?’
…
‘Finger. Fish finger?’
…
‘Piranha?’
…
‘Well you’re gritting your teeth so I …’
…
‘You’re pointing to your watch. Is that part of the mime?’
…
‘More gritting. And snarling… And pointing. Frantic… Saliva… Definite saliva. Pointing. Oh, oh, ok, I get it. We’re running out of time.’
…
‘Well, if you did something that showed me anything about what it is I’m supposed to guess, my love, that would help… your chin? A fin and your chin? And something to do with having a swim?’
…
‘Keep your head above water? No that would be stupid especially if you had your hand on your head. I mean, who could stay above water like that. Idiot thing to…’
…
‘Sweetie? Is the knife part of the charade or…?’
…
‘It’s a slasher movie?…’
…
‘An attack?’
…
…
‘Fuck.’
Please help us congratulate our winners, especially in comments and on Twitter!
See you for MC 215, coming right up!
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