Time for the big reveal…
Almost as certain as the grim specter of death is receiving a heaping helping of the mad and macabre any time we run a Killer Flash contest. You did it back in 2018 when we first ran this theme, and you’re just as morbid this time around.
We loved seeing such a wide variety of takes on the death theme, from grisly to poignant. That makes for an eerie and eclectic mega-issue, which we’re excited to unleash in the coming days, but it also made for a particularly grueling decision-making process. We could’ve easily had a Top 25, there were so many worthy stories. You certainly don’t make it easy on us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
With such cutthroat competition, just landing on the longlist required clearing quite a few hurdles. 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 shout-outs go to:
Keller Agre
Colin Alcock
Michael Bird
Jody Brooks
Andrea DeAngelis
Elizabeth Fink
William Hawkins
Lindsey Heatherly
Alyssa Jordan
Catherine Kelley
Robert Pope
Harsh Ramchandani
Julia Ruth Smith
Robert Taylor
Abigail Williams
Alpheus Williams
Now, who made the cut?
The Top 10 (okay, 11) that you’ll find below will be published in our forthcoming Killer Flash mega-issue, which will drop next week.
10th Place (tie) – “Omigaa” by Chip Houser
10th Place (tie) – “Holiday Snaps” by Stuart Airey
9th Place – “Hag-Ridden” by Donna L. Greenwood
8th Place – “Feather” by Gaynor Jones
7th Place – “Meet Sam, My Ghost Gun” by Nan Wigington
6th Place – “Endless Mother” by Erin MacNair
5th Place – “Buckets” by Travis Flatt
4th Place – “Black with Ash, Red with Grinding” by Chip Houser
And now on to those three stories that really brought it home.
3rd Place ($100)
“Old Wives’ Tales”
by Colin Alexander
2nd Place ($200)
“The Dream Diner”
by Sylvia Baedorf Kassis
1st Place ($300)
“The Last Little Girl in Ponca City”
by Chris Panatier
Congrats to the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who participated in our Killer Flash 2024 contest! It was a joy to read your work, and we couldn’t host these contests without you. Check back next week for the Killer Flash 2024 mega-issue.
The Molotov Cocktail 