2023 winners

April’s Fool by Darla Drendel
Bad to Worse by Ralph Waine Hoy
Beyond Us by Shaughn Cameron
Boo by Laura O’Keefe
Britt Johnson by Peter Bloomquist
Chivalry by George Alexanian
Cotton by Jim Rothman
Cover Story by Ryan Cooke
Crossing A Border by Maike Schlegel
Dice by John Elkin
Driverless by Jesus Gonzalez
El Gato by Gil Henry & Gillian Henry
Fear the Dark by Lewis D. Taylor
Fire Academy by Terence Brody
Gramps vs The Vamps by Joseph Parisi
Grocery Wars by Steven LaFlamme
In Frames by Darla Drendel
Jefferson Between Revolutions by Louise Gantress
Just One Inch by Georgette Skolnick
Kartel Babylon by Gerald LaRouche
Knocked Off Stride by Robert Hamm
Lanes, Amerika by Sean Ryan
Le Train by William Swanson
Lil Buddy by Melinda Wick
Logan’s Peak by Graeme Ratcliffe
Lost Cause by Garrett Rowe
Love in the Times of Robots and Aliens by David Aslan
Love is Simple by Nick Perlman
Me v. Me by Jamie Wingler
Montezuma’s Treasure by Holger Streckert
Mute(d) by Robert Fernandez-Ferreira
New Columbia by Anders Lee
Nightmares From A Past Life by Wallace Wang
Off Guard by Paul Lind
Petite Warrior by Ashok Ambardekar

Picture Us in the Light by Justin Brenneman
Portal 40 by Jamie Wingler
Predator by Stephanie Moore
Psychic Spy by Brus Messinger
Sanctuary Row by Philip Girault
Slaves to the Rhythm by Terry Connell
Tango of Hope by Mikhail Bogomolny
Tardigrades in Space by Jonathan Anderson
The Embassy by Christopher Datta
The Heavy by Devin Manson & Zane Crowley
The Hunchback of Notre Dame High School by John Woodard
The Last Call by Mike Ross
The Last Set at the Vanguard by Diana Cobbold
The Mayor of Castlebridge by Philip Fenlon
The Music That Greets You at the Gates of Heaven by Jeffrey J. Smith
The Road to Lattimer by Diane Dusick & Virginia Rafferty
The Song of the Cottonwood Tree by Nora Hillendar
Time’s Past by Niven Kruidhof
Touch by Phil Krampf
Uncontacted by Jacob Levy
Undue Influence by Antoinette Nalle
Valhalla by Blake Posey
Vampires Everywhere by Molly Hale
Vivian by David Woll
War in the West by Casey Quinn
Whiskey Mountain Days by Bill Walker
Wildcat and the American Boredom by Zach Grossman
William Tell – Son of Lugh Long-Arm by Silvan B. Schmid
Witch Hunt by Valerie Burnham
Yule Regret This by Lauren Kent

A Bellevue Love Story by Michael Wolfe
A Fine Line by Frank Hurford
A Hero Complex by Dillon Dowell
A Moon in the Wrong House by Frank Victoria & Rob Melnyk
A Motherless Child by Helen Louise Nahoopii
A Soldier and a Clown by C. J. Walworth
A Visit From My Teenage Self by Megan Denny
Adult Onset by Daniel Rehnberg
Anatony of an Upset by Rich Gallagher & Anthony Guilianti
Any Child by David MacLean
Anything Serious by Francisco Castro
Apache Echo by David McCartney
Appearances by Guy Castonguay
April’s Fool by Darla Drendel
Aria by Michael Reisinger
Asylum by Craig Nobbs
At The Gates of Hades by Polykarpos Parioritsas
Atheophobia by Michael Gilcrease
Atlanteans by Mark Abriel
Away Tournament by Jack Copland
Bad Bottom by Alex Diehl
Bad Messages by Lily Merley
Bad to Worse by Ralph Waine Hoy
Bahamut by Alfred Dunham
Balm of Rectitude by Laura Bollinger
Bar Hop by Zach & Sasha Grossman
Barry’s Body by Kasi Brown & Brandon Walter
Beacon Beyond the Bay by Bryan Regan
Becoming The One by Giulia Eve Flores
Bed & Broke Me by John Sancandi
Behind Locked Doors by Brandon Brawner
Behind the Metal Door by Adrienne Toghraie
Behind the Veil by Gene Gwynne
Being With Cows by Gaylene Barnes
Beneath the Surface by John T. Rice
Beyond Us by Shaughn Cameron
Bikers and Scientists by Steve Kampwerth
Bingo Hollabouth by Francesco Capussela
Bitch-Fi by Emily Rodriguez-Kaufman
Bits of Rage by Albert DaSilva
Black Rabbit by Joey Ciofalo
Blood Horse by Christopher Thomas
Blood of Gansbaai by Frank Sturman
Bloodbath by Patrick Tierney
Boo by Laura O’Keefe
Boricua by Tony Barone
Break My Fall by Tanya Carleton-Lovrics
Brisket by Joel Karlinsky
Britt Johnson by Peter Bloomquist
Broken Compass Ranch by Sarah B. James
Buried Alive by David J. Markese
Bush League by Robert A. Palmer
Car Wash 2 by Tony W. Bennett
Cate Starr vs The Giant Space Squid by Holden Weihs
Change by Charles Mabey
Charisma by Dallas Faulkner
Chasing Kate by David Van Hooser
Chasing Zane by Paul S. Bradford
Cherries by Matt Sadowski
Chivalry by George Alexanian
Citlalli and the Destroyer by Brad Blake
City of Steel by George Robertson
Clay by Ren Lexander
Code Name Lily by Julien Ayotte
Coke Bottle Syndrome by Scott Ross
Cold Lies by Paul Rathbun
Collision of Duty by Jermaine Jones
Comin’ Thru by Patrick Wier
Corrie Willis by James Rishe & Michael Trissell
Cotton by Jim Rothman
Counterfeit by Joshua M. Kellerman
Cover Story by Ryan Cooke
Cowboys and Indians by Tejal Desai
Crab by Pouya Pirhosseinloo
Crossing A Border by Maike Schlegel
Crunkillmatic by Max Gaspard
Cuckoo and the Destiny by Audifac Ignace
D.B. by Kevin Ward, Scott Ward & Jason Ward
Dance of the Fairies by Mary LaMont
Dancing With Gravity by Jane Kelly Kosek
Dancing With Van Morrison by Vicki Dennis
Daniel Morgan by George Archibald
Dasher by J. D. Miller
Dead as a Didgeridoo by Kieren Duncan
Dee-Light by Billie Harris
Denali by Zachary Matek
Desert Lines by Liam Sharpe
Dice by John Elkin
Dick 2.0 by Henry Sarwer-Foner & Noel Baker
Divine Rapture by Glenda Ganis
Don’t Call Me Hero by M.A. Elliott
Don’t Look Back by Daniel Sunley
Dormant by Mark Arament
Dough, Ray, Me by CK Eastman
Dream Big by Gregory Houghton & Steve Straka
Driverless by Jesus Gonzalez
East-Side Boulevard by Juan Winzer Canero
Echo Lake by Lindsey Ruggles
Edelweiss by Duane Graves
El Gato by Gil Henry & Gillian Henry
Elle’s Odyssey by Wylie Rush
Elmer’s Saucer by Tom Miller
Emergency Contact by Matt Parker
Ends Meet by Samuel Bombara
ESP and Me by Patricia B. Cheron
Fade Out by Michael Uva
Falling Stars by Rhonda Burnaugh
Fear the Dark by Lewis D. Taylor
Fellow Man by Eleni Sennoia
Fight Like A Girl by Joe Villanti
Final Appeal by John Thibault
Final Exam by C. J. Ehrlich
Fire Academy by Terence Brody
Fish Sauce, An Act of Kindness by Hung Duong
Flying Fast and Low by Brian Alexander & Carie Gross
Follow Me by Jordan Schiff
Forbidden to See Us Scream in Tehran by Farbod Ardebili
Fort Good Hope by Kas Khasali
Freedom’s Captives by Kareem Noori-Fox
Freewalker by Kristin Swenson
God, War and Turkeys by Candler Proffitt
Gramps vs The Vamps by Joseph Parisi
Gravel Road by Sandra Hendrickson Esch
Grocery Wars by Steven LaFlamme
Grow Home by Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan
Guilt by Craig Heiting
Gulf of America by H.V. Rhodes
Half Backwards by Jay Glickman
Half Life by Kate Metroka
Half Past Six by Lesley Kim
Happy Jack by Jay Hodgkins
Harrower Beach by Horace Wilson
Hate at First Sight by John Lundquist
Hearing Deer by Jim Stansberry
Henchmen Academy by Schuyler Sasano & Cathy Sasano
How to Disappear Completely by Adam McLean
Hugging the Cactus by Darryl Timm
Hunt for the Sacred Soul by Sloan Young
Hutchinson by Joey Welsh
I Wish I… by Mayra Triano
In Frames by Darla Drendel
In Lieu of Flowers by Ryan Logsdon
In the Absence of Angels by Max Pock
Incident at Graves Manor by Don Erlandson
Infamy ’89 by Clint Jefferson
Innocence by Georgina Fitzgerald
Insects by Tom Aimbane
Invasion Supreme by Mark Gerber
Itchaka’s Tome by Trevor Tocco
Jack Hammer by Greta Henley
Jefferson Between Revolutions by Louise Gantress
JezeBelle by Amber Harris
Just Gone by Justin Daab
Just Kids by Margo Rosenberg & Joan Noroff-Katz
Just My Luck by Michael McCallin
Just One Inch by Georgette Skolnick
Ka-Razy, Man! by Harry Kelley
Kabaddi by Sean O’Brien
Kartel Babylon by Gerald LaRouche
Keeper by R. L. Hooker
Knocked Off Stride by Robert Hamm
Kore by David Hutchison
La Befana by Annika Dawson & Brando Benetton
Lady Seraphim by Jermaine Jones
Lake by Ian Bonser
Lanes, Amerika by Sean Ryan
Le Train by William Swanson
Let There Be Bread by Gary Victor Awad
Lie Tzar by Max Whilom
Lil Buddy by Melinda Wick
Little Red Cap and the Forest Monsters by R. Stiglic
Logan’s Peak by Graeme Ratcliffe
Look and See by Patrick J. Timpone
Looking Through You by Elisa Manzini & Valeria Sanna
Lord of Cruelty by Maura Pierce
Lost Cause by Garrett Rowe
Lost in America by Travis Baechler
Lottery Logix by Kathleen Hof
Love and Loyalty by Janis Elayne Hepburn
Love by Christopher Dauer
Love in the Times of Robots and Aliens by David Aslan
Love is Simple by Nick Perlman
Love, Interrupted by Melvin Medero Moore
Machiavelli and Mona Lisa by James Russell High
Magically Wed by Andrea Q. Verde
Magus by Holden Weihs
Male Grooming by Ava Cotton
Manifesting My Soulmate by C.S. Torres
March of the Boulder King by Alexander Yew
Marked by Sandra Campbell
Marlboro Men by T. Camponeschi
Marty and Me by Hans Petersen
Marty’s War by Robert Roe
Mass Grave by Mark Rosen
Masters of Purgatory by James Cone
Matchstick Canvas by Lauren Leslie Sakon & Thomas Sawyer
Maybe Before New Year’s by Jeff Hupp
McBride Country by Lawrence Kane
Me v. Me by Jamie Wingler
Meadows Town by Nick Quinn
Mega-Bowl by Tim Mathis & JaDarrel Belser
Mill Town Murder by Frank Beacham
Millions in Manila by Jeffrey Milne
Mind Seed by Jeff Williams
Monstera by Kat Sandler
Montezuma’s Treasure by Holger Streckert
Mute(d) by Robert Fernandez-Ferreira
MVP by Sarah McGuire
My Only Everything by Gillie Perkins
My Superior Me by Rob Moss
My Whale’s Tale by Edwin Turner
Mystery Girl NYC by Linnea Sage
Nemosyne Springs by Kieren Duncan
Neutrals by Julia Bergeron
New Columbia by Anders Lee
Nightmares From A Past Life by Wallace Wang
Nine Dead Cats by David Huante
No Good Deed by H. Farlinger
No Hero by David B. McEwan
No Knights in Hell by George Bradley
No Matter What Forever by Terry Hensley
Noctis by Jeoff Hanser

North to the Future by John Rischmiller
Nothing Worth Watching by Mark Torlone
Off Butterfly Wings by Sidney Flack
Off Guard by Paul Lind
On the Corner of Eden and Grace by Marsha Rosenzweig-Pincus
Once Upon A Time in War by Matthew Domenico
One for the Road by Anwen Bull
One Hit Wonderland by Jack Caswell
Only You by Glenn Millican
Oslo by Michael Winfield
Out of Water by Madi Stine
Outrage by Guy Polin
Paathaala by Akash Gandikota
Pacifica by Ava Barry
Pardon Me, Dad by Janet McGinn
Parenting 101 by Matthew Tolbert
Parma Heist by Beth Ford
Pet Sounds by Iain Anderson
Petite Warrior by Ashok Ambardekar
Pharaoh by Dimitri Devyatkin
Picture Us in the Light by Justin Brenneman
Pigcat by Steven Bogart
Pine Tree State by Michael Bliss
Playing With Dolls by Kevin Brunner
Portal 40 by Jamie Wingler
Possum Man by Eddie Yaroch
Postcards from Betrayal by Jessica Mando
Postmark: Havana by Matthew Doherty
Predator by Stephanie Moore
Primus by Paul Julian
Psychic Spy by Brus Messinger
Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody & Chris Insana
Rag Doll by Jo DeMarco
Rain by John Rivera
Rainmaker by Heath Miller
Recovery by Robert Cosci
Red Mercury Rising by Keith Johnson
Retiring Santa by Gloria Holmes
Retribution by Ken Molloy
Revenge by Marcella Oakley Wallace
RevolverLadyz by Kai Uwe Wedel
Rewind by Steve Becos
Right Beside You, Dear by Scott Honea
Right On by Cameron Moquin
Ripples by Jaime Valdueza
Round Robin by Karla Droege
Ruwans by Hank Hobby
Sacked by Martin Leigh
Sam Gets a Concussion by Patricia Parisi
Same As It Ever Was by Rennie Blalock
Samhain by Jonathan Clancy
Sanctuary Row by Philip Girault
Santa’s Little Helper by Joshua Heaton
Save Me From Myself by Amy Garcia & Allison Sullivan
Saving Milk by David M. O’Neill
Scheherazade by George Chatfield
Schwinn Varsity by Richard Eschenroeder & Andy Smith
Seascape by Horace Wilson
Set Up Man by Jack Neary
Sex on the Wrong Brain by Ard Falten
Shades of Survival by Jennifer Crocker-Villegas
Shadows of the Past by Caroline Koivisto
Shards by Shane S.Y. Kang
Shelby Kane by Bridget Bell McMahon
Silver Belles by Renee Davis & Nancy Farnsworth
Silver or Lead by Timothy Driscoll
Simon Son of Star by Ronen Tregerman & Jack Snyder
Sisters in Time by Ian Greenham
Skulk by Revis Call
Skylift by Trevor Stevenson
Slaves to the Rhythm by Terry Connell
Sleight of Mind by Marc Edelstein & Julian Cohen
So Long Sweet Life by Richard Kuntzevich
Soar by MDA3
Something For West by Glenn Cutler
Song of Kosovo by Christopher Gudgeon
Soul Mate by Paul Rothbart
Spectacle by Carlos Pleitez
Spy Catcher by Madeleine Vessel
Stage 4 by Brian Horgan
State Colony by Charels Carroll
Stiff Griff by Alden Pernell
Still by Kevin Di Biasio
Stone Woman by Veronica Tabares
Stones by Adrienne Thorne
Sugarhouse by Frederick Jones & Shirlee Wilson
Sulfur Acid by Erik Hedding-Reijrink
Swoosh by Al Titkemeyer
Tales from the Quarantine by Tom McMahon
Tango of Hope by Mikhail Bogomolny
Tardigrades in Space by Jonathan Anderson
Taste the Road, Jack by Stefan Alexander & Eric Williford
Ten Cent Beer Night by Matt McCarron
Terp by Henry Hughes
The 24th by Alison O. Hamilton
The Alchemical Wedding by Andres Zorrilla
The Barbary Menace by Benjamin Roussey
The Battles of Birdtown by Christopher Shank
The Beginning of the End…Or? by Nimrod Kreed
The Bone Maze by Ian Adrian & Samara Adrian
The Book of Bronzeville by Austen Lott
The Burning Man by Geno Scala & Solange Ritchie
The Chancer by Fiona Graham
The Chetnik by Jeffrey Stone
The Couple at the End by Cliff Ryan
The Cuddlers by Sean Michael Gloria & Mike Allario
The Dead End Job by Renee Lukas
The Dream Factory by Murray Suid
The Embassy by Christopher Datta
The Enemy Within by Debbi Mack
The Fake Fischmans by Dan Amernick
The First Love by Margie Walker
The Flid Show by Richard Willett
The Flight of Souls by Guy Quigley
The Gates by Laura West
The Getaway Guys by Robert Cosci
The Great Sausage Machine by Ronald Flowers
The Happiness Angel by David M. Hinds
The Heavy by Devin Manson & Zane Crowley
The Hotel Golgonooza by Sean McPharlin
The Hubrid by Shiva Sawyer
The Hunchback of Notre Dame High School by John Woodard
The Infamous Patriot by Jay Natelle
The Irish in Them by Richard Ehrenreich
The Jesus Tree by Matthew Hutchinson
The Keys to the House by D.C. Fairhurst & Adam Liberman
The King in Yellow by Darrin O’Connor
The Last Call by Mike Ross
The Last Road Trip by Hal Schneider
The Last Set at the Vanguard by Diana Cobbold
The Left Hand of the West by Omar Iturriaga
The Lift by Rick Mallett
The Magic Apples by Greg Stelley & Jon Beauchemin
The Magic Hourglass by Joel Karlinsky
The Many Lives of Mona Lisa by Amanda Quinby
The Marchosias Event by Robert Cosci & Don Erlandson
The Mayor of Castlebridge by Philip Fenlon
The Messiah Machine by Thomas Mercer & Penny Perkins
The Mistress by Tony Ralph
The More Loving One by Adrianna Ducassi
The Music That Greets You at the Gates of Heaven by Jeffrey J. Smith
The New Road by Michael Raymond
The Nickel by Cynthia Meryl & Ted Agress
The Olympic Deception by Adrian Harris
The Other Boy by Jocelyn Osier
The Pazzi Conspiracy by Frank Artrage
The Piper by Murray Suid
The Power of Silence by Allen O’Reilly
The Prepper by Bethan Gibbs
The Psychic Linebacker by George Kral
The Red Zone by Terry Luke Podnar
The Restaurant Man by Donald Boudreau
The Road to Lattimer by Diane Dusick & Virginia Rafferty
The Sanctuary Jury by Lisa Woods
The Secret of Axum by Robert Milius
The Seer by Gary Blackwood
The Sirens of Frank by Gabe Shelly
The Song of the Cottonwood Tree by Nora Hillendar
The Thingy by James Kerner
The Ticket by Dave Davlin
The Titanomachy by Mikael Holcombe-Scali
The Unkindness by Nick Fletcher
The Walk On by Billy Mitaritonna
The Way of the Vulture by Cole Scott
The World by Lachlan Pirie
The Write to Die by Robin Tobin
The Xena Chronicles by Edward Horodyski
Therapy & Drinks by Aaron Hillner & Frank Hillner
These Broken Wings by Yolanda Cummings
Thieves by Tina Sacco
Those Who Wander by David Neal & Oscar Sanchez
Threefold by Meree Nicolaou
Thrust by Tom Degoni
Thug by Jeremy Ma
Tiger by David C. Jaundrell
Time’s Past by Niven Kruidhof
Tippy by Michael Uva
Tomas by Robert Bedick
Tonya’s Ghost by Clinton Green
Touch by Phil Krampf
Trash Baby by Jacy Mairs
Trawl by Michael Schatz
Treasure from Thirteen Heavens by Joseph Martarella
Trick of the Eye by Dennis Haseley
Turtle Island by Yair Avivi
Twinks by Keith Soforic
Twins by Jermaine Maxwell
Two Guys Roofing by Lance Lars
Ugly by Darla Drendel
Ultimate Battle Gems by Alex Shifman
Ultimate Control by Gary Stephen DeMoss
Umbra by K. Evans
Uncontacted by Jacob Levy
Under the Gun by Irin Evers
Undoubted by Charles A. Honeywood
Undue Influence by Antoinette Nalle
Unleash Your Inner Psycho! by David Amito
Unraveled by Ray Wells
Until We Pass This Way Again by Alan G. Thompson
Unwritten Bureaucracy of Dying by Reza Mohammadzadeh
Valhalla by Blake Posey
Valley of Bones by Craig Cosgray
Valley of the Sun by Rick Montoya
Vampires Everywhere by Molly Hale
Verbatim by Anthony Clifton
Viator by Angelina Fluehler
Violet’s Code by Julian Paulsen
Vivian by David Woll
Walker’s Juju by Gary Towner
Walking Catastrophe by John Pepin
Walter by John Anthony
War in the West by Casey Quinn
Wave That Flag by Don Gibson
We Did Love by Miracle Davis
We’ll Never See by Elian Keil
Welcome to Orangeburg by Frank Beacham
Westbound by Mark Latino
What Did You Dream by A.M. Rawlins
Whatever Happened to Tiki Kula by Eddy Barrows
When Once We Played Ball by Ignacio M. Garcia & Melissa Sue Lopez
Whiskey Mountain Days by Bill Walker
White Ghost by Nathan Liu
White Washed by Navdeep Bains
White-Out by Tim Grady
Wildcat and the American Boredom by Zach Grossman
William Tell – Son of Lugh Long-Arm by Silvan B. Schmid
William Tell by Silvan B. Schmid
Wind by Jeffrey Dunbar
Witch Hunt by Valerie Burnham
Working Title by David Abernethy
Wrench in the Plan by Jay Shirtz
You Never Know by Alan Levy
Yule Regret This by Lauren Kent
Zipper by Debb Westlund
Zombie Apocalypse by Jack Polo