Flash Monster prize winners,

come on down!

This may be our sixth annual Halloween contest, but that doesn’t mean it gets any easier. Once again, carving down this bevy of quality entries to a Top 10(ish) was brutal. 

Once again, we were thrilled by the international turnout. In addition to the States, we read work from writers stationed in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, the U.K., and the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

But you’ve got Halloween shenanigans to prepare for, so let’s get on with it. 

The following writers had stories that made it through several rounds of cuts, but didn’t quite squeak into the Top 10*.

Close-but-no-cigar shortlist shout-outs go to:

John Adams
Jonathan Baker
Edward Barnfield
Clark Boyd
Michael Carter
Amy Casey
Nancy Dassy
Andrea DeAngelis
Mitchell Duran
Donna Greenwood
Christina Harrington
Eric Hayward
Abi Hennig
Robin Jeffrey
David Klose
Nick Lachmund
Rachel Abbey McCafferty
Brett Milam
Chris Milam
Tiffany Promise (2)
Patrick Rexroat
Aeryn Rudel (2)
Trevor Ruth
Daniel Scamell
Chelsea Stickle
Adam Trodd
David Tromblay

The Top 10* (yeah, that’s right, it’s actually 11—a Halloween miracle!) that you’ll find below will be published in our forthcoming Flash Monster 2019 mega-issue, which will drop on Halloween. They will also be included in a future Prize Winners Anthology print issue.

10th Place – “Climate Change” by Jan Kaneen / “Ice Window” by Jonathan Duckworth

9th Place – “The Farmhand” by Gareth Durasow

8th Place – “Naught but Shadows Walking” by Levi Krain

7th Place – “Inheritance” by Joanne Withers

6th Place – “What Happened to John” by Najla Brown

5th Place – “It Wasn’t a Black Dog, It Was Never a Black Dog” by Anika Carpenter

4th Place – “There Was a Curse Upon Them” by Benjamin Woodard

And now on to the three stories that really made a splash.

3rd Place ($75)

“Our Dream Town”
by Laila Amado

2nd Place ($125)

“Happy Is He”
by Christina Harrington

1st Place ($250)

“Dead Man from the Ocean Floor”
by Neil Clark

Congrats to the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who participated in our Flash Monster 2019 contest! 

Check back tomorrow for the Flash Monster mega-issue.