#GWstorieseverywhere

2024

Our winner for November's theme Scrap paper is Kris Knapp: "Lenny scrutinized Sheila’s scribbled answers on the crumpled, discarded sheet. True. False. C. B. His face grew pale. They were doomed. Cosmopolitan wouldn’t lie."

Our winner for October's theme Warped is Arden York: "Both femurs were bowed and the skull was crushed. 'What bad luck,' Detective Kurtz said. She pushed the skeleton aside. 'That was my favorite decoration.'"

Our winner for September's theme Ambition is Rochelle Kochin: "Why is Mama talking to that noisy little gizmo when she should be talking to me? When I grow teeth, I’ll bite it in two."

Our winner for August's theme Carnival is Leslie Bowes: "The little boy who hardly knew his mother sat next to her in the spinning teacup, hating both the centrifugal force and the forced levity."

Our winner for July's theme Weary Traveler is Caitlin McLean: "One more rotation, Neptune thought. I can do one more. Only 48 million, 484 thousand, 848 and a half to go. But who's counting?"

Our winner for June's theme Menagerie is Adyasha Syam: "Even a packed zoo is less unruly than this classroom," my sister bleats at me. "It's rather comforting," I say, watching her polish her antlers.

Our winner for May's theme Neighborhood is Nicole Mermet: Born of different gods, their relatives fight a bloody war elsewhere. In TriBeCa they feel their hearts beating with one rhythm, their perspiring bodies intertwined.

Our winner for April's theme Otherworldly is Julia Clark: Elliot knew he wasn’t the usual candidate, but he persisted and entered the bank, resume in hand and wings tucked carefully inside his jacket.

Our winner for March's theme Ghosted: She sits on the porch waiting for her father. Some mornings she hopes he’ll return, but most days she hopes he won’t. @nightsong74

Our winner for February's theme Cabin fever: Three million souls in this city, and I’m the only one trapped inside a body. @torbataso

Our winner for January's theme Lists: Daily, I ask myself these questions: 1. Why was I born? 2. What’s for dinner? 3. Will my cancer come back? @GuruoftheUES

2023

Our winner for December's theme Mythical: Enough. Her son and boyfriend had become patriarchy fanatics. She packed a few things, turned herself into a nymph, and moved in with a tree. @moritherapy

Our winner for November's theme Wrong address: A midnight notification from my doorbell camera. This time, it’s not my inebriated neighbor trying to squeeze through the mail slot. It’s his cat’s turn. @nattywalks

Our winner for October's theme Doppelgänger: Entering the street, I see it: A haunted, pale face with gray eyes, vampiric lips. Shuddering, I pretend it’s not my dead ringer. @rumorsofmyfeet

Our winner for September's theme Feeling nostalgic: Friday afternoons, we’d burn our fingertips reaching for the crispy fries at the bottom of a grease-stained brown paper bag. I miss his salty touch. @morphstevens

Our winner for August's theme Instability:
He could never close anything he’d opened: doors, negotiations, cereal boxes, windows, loops, letters. Her heart at an Irish wake. @ZVSaratoga

Our winner for July's theme Mirage:
Fariba, at 98, stepped back onto the first piece of land she’d ever owned in America, a gleaming-roofed cape cod with white picket fence. @xclair

Our winner for June's theme Halfway:
The waves smashed over our tiny, makeshift boat, as my mother gripped me tight. I asked if we were close. Yes, my father lied. @RichardShury

Our winner for May's theme Where am I?:
On the highest step, the newcomer blinks away the subway's darkness. She is oriented instantaneously: a victory. Emboldened, she jaywalks across 14th. Any local would. @emilyjaneoneal

Our winner for April's theme Rainy day:
He was a sinner to some, a saint to the rest—yet it’s only this rain that will determine the turnout for his funeral. @SullivanSaysSC

Our winner for March's theme Outrageous fortune:
If I sued, they’d blacklist me. Could I trust my husband to keep his vows? Later, we bickered over the TV remote. I won. @SculptorLaurenB

2022

Our winner for December's theme Bookmarked:
Cleaning out his saved pages, he noticed one he didn't recognize. He clicked. A rush of memories on his screen. Happier times. He smiled wistfully. @JCW_Writing

Our winner for November's theme Reunited:
Julie stood in silence beside the store’s liquor section, noticing only the flickering of a fluorescent light above her and her heart’s chaotic rhythm. @tjmallay

Our winner for October's theme Behind the mask:
Since joining his ward, she’s only ever seen his eyes. Maskless, his smile is a startling sight—stiff and permanent. “You can rest now, Doc.” @ericathj

Our winner for September's theme Transition:
As a child, she’d misheard her daddy complaining that “the transition” in their car was “going bad.” Then he’d left them. And in that car. @LucKy_Nobody

Our winner for August's theme Dream:
He considered the headstone a mere title for her most recent performance, convinced that she’s now dreaming up the next act. @SullivanSaysSC

Our winner for July's theme Kid stuff:
Daisy yawned at the dollhouse, electric car, and life-sized stuffed giraffe. Hours after she disappeared, her parents found her in the garden, playing with lizards. @susmitabythebay

Our winner for June's theme Camp:
Beneath spire-like pine trees, my first kiss tasted of marinara sauce and spearmint bubble-gum, something I wouldn’t write my mom in my weekly letter home. @morphstevens

Our winner for May's theme Perfection:
When I squint, the red ink and cramped cursive resembles drops of blood. An author vanquished to Editor, living in the margins. @tallymims

Our winner for April's theme Outsider:
I watch the actors act. I watch the singers sing. I unlock doors. Clean the coffee pot. Someone needs to turn on the lights. @mizkelle

Our winner for March's theme Hidden treasure:
Slicing through clods in a new garden bed. A spring morning. A screen for rocks. Dreams of straight carrots. Metal clangs metal. Different yield?@CarolynSperry1

Our winner for February's theme Freezeout:
Anything for theater ticket money. There I stood doing inventory in the freezer of the local fish market. Can you freeze your sense of smell?@writer_delaney

Our winner for January's theme So delicious:
Gloria buys a cremation plan at one of those free dinners in town. Made their pitch after dessert. Banana flambé. Got her right there. @PaulLevine

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2021

Our winner for December's theme One last time:
I'm three shots in on karaoke night and already writing my New Year's resolution, but it's Mariah. That note will be hit tonight.

Our winner for November's theme Wrong address:
Santa admired the flickering menorah, then frowned down at his crumpled list. Those damn elves transposed the numbers again! Back up the chimney he went. @AmyZambetti

Our winner for October's theme Stolen:
Her magnificent symmetry gripped him. His gaze plucked the bloom right out of her and he tucked it in the dark pocket of his mind. @JoshuaL47003058

Our winner for September's theme Loophole:
Dracula had one fang due to gingivitis, so theoretically Mina was just half a vampire, and this loophole allowed her to eat garlic smothered fettuccini. @carparelli22

Our winner for August's theme Forgiven:
The yelp vanished as quick as my step. His tail, however, was now permanently priapismic. My sorrow-drenched face cleansed by a spongy tongue. Canine absolution. @JoshuaL47003058

Our winner for July's theme Staycation:
My couch is an all-inclusive resort. It has crumbs, loose change, your body’s fading imprint. The drinks are strong but there’s no ocean, just grief. @cararothenbergg

Our winner for June's theme Split second:
Poor Maud Bell protected the children by boiling out the arsenic in flypaper. Special morning tea dispatched that lazy, good-for-nothing husband. @RalphLa38932941

Our winner for May's theme Long distance:
My son waves at the moon. I told him Daddy took a rocket there. Sounded better than the truth. Space is cooler than Death Row. @tracydavidson27

Our winner for April's theme Red light:
Framed in her neon showcase, Mihaela shifted in ill-fitting stilettos. She stared past leering faces with a fixed smile, thinking of her daughter in Bucharest. @ingridtruemper

Our winner for March's theme Wake up:
It’s 4:11 AM and my neighbor’s blasting ‘Losing My Religion’ for the fifth time. Puts a whole new spin on “REM” cycles. @CawinaCawina

Our winner for February's theme Unforgettable evening:
In her sleeping bag beside me, my daughter screamed in terror as the sharks circled overhead. The sleepover in the aquarium had been a mistake. @RuralUnease

Our winner for January's theme Who am I?:
Planned to make a clever connection to a 1997 Alanis Morissette song. Searched far too long, confused. Turns out it was Meredith Brooks instead. @KileyOrchard

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2020

Our winner for December's theme Mother's advice:
A raised eyebrow was a lecture, her folded arms a scolding; a secret code that had me listening to every word my mother didn’t say. @Michaelgbro2

Our winner for November's theme Metamorphosis:
My instructor decreed, “Time for you to fly solo.” I took off, landed safely, and emerged from my metal chrysalis, a confident, ecstatic pilot. @ReidAllin

Our winner for October's theme Good deed:
Frank strained in the blazing sun to change the stranger's flat tire. "They never go unpunished," Frank thought as the 18-wheeler bore down on him. @ingridtruemper

Our winner for September's theme Escape:
We trapped Edgar inside the grand piano and he wouldn’t come out until we sang Memory from Cats. The can of tuna didn’t hurt either. @carparelli22

Our winner for August's theme Daring move:
Family dinner. All the aunties and uncles come. Mom's acceptable topics of conversation exhausted, Mike can bear it no more. He cracks a political joke. @igrewupinnarnia

Our winner for July's theme In the attic:
Duffle bag shrouded by cobwebs, stuffed with videos - Romeo and Juliet, Venus and Adonis, Taming of the Shrew. Never knew hubby liked Shakespeare. @LeonaCross15

Our winner for June's theme Prayer:
I always bowed at the door in the morning. Grandpa expected perfection in ritualistic pursuit, so I followed his words, even after death. @TheBorkLord

Our winner for May's theme Otherworldly:
Lee went off to college. We stayed behind. Years later he returned, showcasing his diploma, dapper suit and high-flying career. Our very own alien landing. @brieflywrite

Our winner for April's theme Rejuvenation:
In the hall closet, I find my Yankees cap mysteriously filled with sprouting daffodil bulbs. I add soil, water and order a new cap. @LuciannePoole

Our winner for March's theme I dare you:
Week one of self-isolation: Bangs grow. Kitchen scissors gleam. Fingers twitch. Snip, snip, chop. Week two: Health returns. Tufts remain. @LuciannePoole

Our winner for February's theme The state you're in:
We met in Michigan, two maelstroms dancing. Florida was a badly sealed pressure pot. By Alaska, it was over. Like an ice calf, she drifted. @gloriamundii

Our winner for January's theme Let it go:
He always needed to have the last word, so we buried him with a hammer and chisel beneath a blank stone. @ZVSaratoga

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2019

Our winner for December's theme Overstayed welcome:
Our crusty professor clutched the lectern with dead-knuckle hands. “For the final,” he guffed, “gimme a thirty page sequel titled Waiting for Godot to Leave.” @ZVSaratoga

Our winner for November's theme Last date:
Blind date. Coffee. Really clicked. Second date. Lunch. Definite chemistry. Third date, met his family. At his wife’s funeral. @Meikle_Fraser

Our winner for October's theme Abandoned:
Half-blind, he barely sees traffic. Half-deaf, he misses his master's voice. He's a good boy, everyone's always said so. They'll come back... eventually. @tracydavidson27

Our winner for September's theme Unfamiliar:
He handed us a bottle with unfamiliar writing (cyrillic?) and disappeared into the desert night. Army never found out. So much for a dry country. @DosPassosII

Our winner for August's theme That one summer night...:
That night, we were delayed, diverted and deposited in New York. Motorbikes spat out hate. Theaters closed. The final scene cut. It was almost us. @annettejwick

Our winner for July's theme Shenanigans:
He got the biggest kick out of saying, "here comes Shannon-again," whenever I'd show up, until I cut the brake lines on his car. @ZVSaratoga

Our winner for June's theme Stolen:
The day I took his Mickey Mouse watch, I hid it in a church pew. 18 years ago. He doesn't even remember - but I do. @ThoughtzDumb

Our winner for May's theme Emergency:
"Hurry!" she cried. I hurried. Zipped in and out of traffic. Horns blared. Baby couldn't wait. He arrived at 7th and Broadway. A born showman. @tracydavidson27

Our winner for April's theme Duped:
Her crimson skirt enveloped my sight. She twirled around me once. I lost her before I sensed my empty pocket. Flamenco is not free. @ashrgoff

Our winner for March's theme Feeling green:
Wheat-grass shots in the morn, coconut-oil face masques at dusk. Just trying to die of natural causes. @melpuff

Our winner for February's theme First encounter:
Several pence clinked down onto the pavement from my unzipped wallet. “You’re hemorrhaging coins!” exclaimed the American stranger. He paid for every meal together. @m_ordv

Our winner for January's theme Slippery slope:
A chain reaction sparked by spontaneity under the cloak of traveling alone, I started smoking again. Worse things have happened in Vietnam. @melodyjmoulton

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2018

Our winner for December's theme Photo album:
The album’s tattered leather binding is not as worn as the shoes depicted therein, from days spent herding sheep and delivering milk. @m_ordv

Our winner for November's theme Unpleasant relative:
Uncle Leonard smacks his prodigious lips and flings saliva while chewing. A wooden chair creaks beneath his massive hindquarters. He didn't even wash his hooves. @natty__walker

Our winner for October's theme Skeletons in the closet:
Ribbon lighting, gliding shoe shelves and mahogany paneling inlaid with his skull. She always said she’d kill for a custom closet, but he never listened. @ThatCatKelly

Our winner for September's theme Epiphany:
I used to want a pony. Now all I desire is a different timeline with advanced space programs and science education. @helsinkian

Our winner for August's theme Hot Date:
Coffee meets bagel. Sugar cubes melt in the tall dark cup of French roast as cream cheese melts between the curves of the poppyseed beauty. @kate_scarpetta

Our winner for July's theme Dear teenage self:
Parents mostly toss around figures of speech to sound clever. "Don't play with matches" is not a figure of speech. And eyebrows grow back. @ZVSaratoga

Our winner for June's theme Pandemonium:
The radio crackles. A tinny voice gives the address. Sirens on. We’re howling, flashing through traffic. Nobody saw the motorbike. Suddenly, we’re the crime scene. @alexandra_km

Our winner for May's theme Moving in:
“How’s the paint?” he asked, admiring their brand new walls. “Beautiful,” she gushed, thinking they’d be more beautiful if they weren’t closing in on her. @herpenname

Our winner for April's theme White lie:
The first time she missed her confirmation she told the nuns she'd overslept. The second time she told them she had morning sickness. @Flirtyburtie1

Our winner for March's theme 4 AM:
I slip out of bed at the beep of the coffee machine. Mama works a double today, and I won't get another kiss until midnight. @The_Great_Y

Our winner for February's theme Stupid Cupid:
His pickup line: "You're short. Can I measure your feet?" Thirty-five years of marriage later and he still hasn't gotten around to it. @bjgreville

Our winner for January's theme Something lost:
The first twinkling light in the evening sky appeared. The boy waved his flashlight back and forth in acknowledgment. “I miss you too, Daddy.” @banjopickindoc

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2017

Our winner for December's theme Nightmare:
Ana races along the desolate shoreline. Crashing waves muffle her screams. The ocean is vast, and her boy is but a speck. @LLMadridWriter

Our winner for November's theme The invitation:
Stained, greasy envelope, half a stamp left. Moments of time travel. I was invited to my grandparents’ wedding in 1937. @helsinkian

Our winner for October's theme Risk:
Behind the wall they hid a secret that could get them both killed: a Jewish boy of six who I would one day call Grandpa @N_Kay123

Our winner for September's theme Biggest fear:
Fame achieved by dying stupidly: "Sadly, she choked to death on a tiny live fish." @caligretchen

Our winner for August's theme The last straw:
She lost her shoe, her virginity, and her driver’s license. Thank God she didn’t lose the address of the AA meeting. @JSouthDunn

Our winner for July's theme First kiss:
She gave it her all, but the Leonardo DiCaprio poster just refused to kiss back. @kelseyskennedy

Our winner for June's them Serendipity:
He was scanning Missed Connections to find the girl from the Q train, when he tripped and spilled coffee all over her. @VOFranzese

Our winner for May's theme Sunday:
I missed a plane one Sunday afternoon. It crashed into the sea midflight. Always punctual, you boarded early. @bonbon7

Our winner for April's theme Voyeur:
As a little girl I'd walk my street looking in lit windows. I'd watch families gathered at the table and I'd pretend. @meyouandthesea

Our winner for March's theme Broken promise:
Gwen plays with her 30 day sober coin, tosses it up, and downs her tequila shot; heads or tails, either way she's lost. @shadowprancer

Our winner for February's theme An old flame:
A love letter, the last one you wrote me. I rip it into bite-size pieces and chew, to have you inside me again. @lita_bush

Our winner for January's theme Starting over:
This time it will be different, He said. First, no damn snakes. Then, instead of luscious apples, brussels sprouts. @jlhuff_huff

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2016

Our winner for December's theme Gift gone wrong:
On the first day, it made mewling noises and came with a pretty red ribbon. On the second day, it learned to open doors. @skofri

Our winner for November's theme Breakup:
I left a note in the cookie jar. It included instructions for landing the spaceship. She'll find it eventually. @laurentmatson

Our winner for October's theme An amazing sight:
Dramatic clouds, I like to call them. Never blue, never red, but plain old greys dancing out my father's mouth. @Anyato__

Our winner for September's theme What happened in school today:
He learned to forget everything, so he could stay at school forever. @juanvassallo

Our winner for August's theme Vacation gone awry:
Lost his luggage. Filled out the wrong paperwork. Became a refugee. @carladgray

Our winner for July's theme A revolutionary act: I ate the last cookie. In the closet. Because I wanted to hear myself chew. @krisdkeith

Our winner for June's theme Superhero:
My hero wasn't in the news in a cape. Instead, he lay beind a sterile glass box. Breathing, fighting, two days old. Mine. @JessWinn26

Our winner for May's theme Saying goodbye:
He caught their baby's last breath in a jar & under a full moon, watched the tide take it out to sea. @imruthwalker

Our winner for April's theme It happened in the shadows:
She stares at her tall,grownup shadow. Someday she will be more, she thinks to her little self. She tiptoes,trying heels.@millicent71

Our winner for March's theme Surprising encounter:
His sign read "Stranded. Spaceship broken." I pressed a dollar in his hand & said: "My brother's spaceship's broken too." @carolhillson

Our winner for February's theme Romance gone wrong:
Riding a wave of passion, it was suddenly inside me, filling me, completing me. Definitely worth the extra 1.80 for guac. @jordynrsmith

Our winner for January's theme Ticking clock:
5 losses, and #6 starts with bleeding and bed rest. Fear never leaves, but dissipates slightly in a flutter of tiny kicks @MClareWright

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2015

Our winner for December's theme Frantic shopping:
Victorious after tackling and slapping a woman for a tv, she drives home lamenting the lack of Christ in Christmas. @dahldahl

Our winner for November's theme Strange relatives:
That Thanksgiving I was 10 with a broken arm & Uncle Al was between wives. Sympathy over pie: "Broke mine during S-E-X."@GracieBingham

Our winner for October's theme Monster:
I track the muddy footprints from the cemetery to my front door. It seems my wife still knows the way home. @kristispin

Our winner for September’s theme What happened in school today?:
I had to write “I must not be vociferous” on the blackboard 50 times. I stopped at 10.@JKsSnazzyPants

Our winner for August's theme A dog's life:
We spend Sundays at the park, not because I need the exercise, but because he still thinks men meet women this way. @GMargaritax

Our winner for July's theme Torrid affair:
Say you felt like a movie. Playing uptown. Way uptown. Say it’s starting. Seem sad. Say it’s a shame he won’t make it. @jdschwartzman

Our winner for June's theme Water:
I pulled into the station to fill up. The flat screen flashed 6/30/23, Regular $1.29, Super $1.43, Water $9.35. @jklevy6

Our winner for May's theme A dangerous turn:
Had I gone right I'd have picked up my dry cleaning and gone home to Indian takeout. I went left and found his knife.@Vale1217

Our winner for April's theme Encounter in the rain:
His $50 umbrella protects me from the pouring rain while I try to open my $5 umbrella. That's how I met Gregory Hines.@Paula65writer

Our winner for March's theme Tall tale:
The excitement of learning she was taller than she thought soon deflated when she realized the extra inch was her shoes.@Pamsmanley

Our winner for February's theme Through a window:
Staring straight ahead, I see his thumb raise. I reciprocate. It is the only way he knows I'm alive inside this ambulance.@Abranyc

Our winner for January's theme Tough choice:
Biology textbook in her lap, she sits alone in the clinic waiting room chanting softly, "It's only an embryo, only an..." @ReneeRHD

Our winner for December's theme Someone you recently met:
Ran into each other at intermission. His aftershave hit me harder than an arms race. Decided to make up our own 3rd act. @geheimsness

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