Luke Whisnant
Winner

In the Debris Field

Luke Whisnant’s fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have been published in over 50 different journals and anthologies in the USA, the UK, France, and Portugal. He is the author of four books: two poetry chapbooks, Street and Above Floodstage; the story collection Down in the Flood; and a novel, Watching TV with the Red Chinese, made into an independent film in 2012. Whisnant is Professor of English at East Carolina University, and is a two-time winner of his department’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Since 2006 he has edited Tar River Poetry, a nationally ranked magazine of verse. His website is lukewhisnant.com

Jack Remiel Cottrell
Runner-Up

Latter Day Saints

Jack grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, before studying psychology at Otago University, and journalism at Massey University. He works in Auckland as a content creator (a job title that covers his many sins) and usually writes what he’s told to. Jack has been writing flash fiction since his father took a blue pencil to his primary school homework; but only recently realised it had a name and that people were doing amazing things with it. He mostly tweets opinions about sport from @basinbrat and forgets to tweet microfiction from @thricenamed.

Victoria Melekian
Runner-Up

A Slow Boat to Finland

Victoria Melekian lives in Carlsbad, California. Her poems and stories have been published in Monkeybicycle, Mudfish, Literary Orphans, Atlanta Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, Word Riot, and other anthologies. Her story ‘What I Don’t Tell Him’ aired on NPR. She was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has twice won a San Diego Book award. For more, visit victoriamelekian.com.