We are delighted to announce that Justin Torres has chosen the winners of our 2017 American Short(er) Fiction Contest.
The first-place prize goes to Claire Robbins, for her story “Arms Out.” Of the story, Torres said, “Everything about ‘Arms Out’ impressed me: the punchy voice, the wayward chronology, the gender troubling. This story is fine and clear and tough and winsome.”
Claire Robbins is an MFA candidate at Western Michigan University where she teaches creative writing, works in the university writing center, and serves as one of three fiction editors at Third Coast. She lives in Kalamazoo with her son, a dog, cats, chickens, a rabbit, and a gecko.
The second-place prize goes to Blair Donahue, for her story “Filament.” “I love,” said Torres, “that ‘Filament’ is so focused, so contained, so compressed and precise—and yet global, cosmic even. The writing is accomplished and the piece is just damn good.”
Blair Donahue is from Toledo, Ohio, where she received her MA in Literature from the University of Toledo and wrote for Toledo Free Press. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is completing her MFA in creative writing from NC State University and working on a collection of stories.
Our deepest thanks to Justin Torres for judging and to all of you for submitting your work. And congrats to the winners! Look out for both stories in an upcoming issue of American Short Fiction!