Who has arrived?

Here at Molotov HQ, we’ve only used a tank-and-half of gas since March. So reading through these journey-oriented stories really felt like an escape from that wicked case of 2020-ness that seems to be going around lately. We asked for flash fiction that takes us places, and you didn’t disappoint. The apocalyptic tone of our previous contest seemed to linger a bit here, and we couldn’t be happier about the bleakness of that, while we also reveled in the occasional offbeat glimmers of hope that poked through the blanket of dark. 

Fittingly for this contest, we had another strong international turnout. We were thrilled to read entries from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Ireland, New Zealand, Peru, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the USA (not to mention from those disembodied folks who only provided their e-mail addresses). 

But what’s the point of rambling on and on with words that aren’t your name or the title of your entry? Some of you will find just that below, and for everyone involved, thank you so much for taking us on this journey.

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:

Bailey Bridgewater
Jeff Burd
Ashley Burnett
Michael Carter
Korie Conyers
Jane Copland
Sam Crain
Zachary Davis
Amanda Dawson
David Decorte
Andrea DeAngelis
Daryl Farmer
Karen George
Stephen Ground
Hannah Hoare
Richard Holinger
Noreen Hyde
Justin Jahnke (2)
Sharon Kretschmer
Emily Livingstone
MJ Lucke
Rachel Abbey McCafferty
Neil Moran
Sarah Hall-Murphy
Toni Jelso
Christopher JH Lambert
Rosaleen Lynch
Clara Mendoza
Juan Carlos Orozco
Dan Reilly
Aeryn Rudel
Erin Schallmoser
Linda Shapiro
Richard Shury
Alan Sincic
Jack Somers
Sophia Wallat
Alpheus Williams
Maura Yzmore

The Top 10 that you’ll find below will be published in our forthcoming Flash Odyssey mega-issue, which will drop within a week. They will also be included in Vol. 6 of the Prize Winners Anthology print issue (incidentally, Vol. 5 was recently made available here).

10th Place – “Anglers on Cannon Ridge” by Jiksun Cheung

9th Place – “Frequent Flyer” by Maura Yzmore

8th Place – “Island” by Jamie Cooper

7th Place – “The Absorber” by Emily Livingstone

6th Place – “Through a Hole in the Floor” by David Klose

5th Place – “Any Other Way” by Alex Sobel

4th Place – “Following Walls” by Chris Panatier

And now on to the three stories that really reached for the gold…

3rd Place ($75)

“Summer Hand”
by Jacquelyn Kraut

2nd Place ($150)

“The Bottomless Well”
by Alex Sobel

1st Place ($300)

“Toward the Sun”
by Aeryn Rudel

Congrats to the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who participated in our Flash Odyssey contest.

Check back by week’s end for the Flash Odyssey mega-issue.