Winners from January 14, 2011

1st Place: Untitled by Sarah Rodriguez
In this expert example of the micro-fiction genre, Rodriguez captures the tones of danger and promise so intrinsic to the forest as a symbol. The piece relies on imagery and sensory descriptions intended to leave the reader as breathless as the protagonist. The structure of this story is compressed and requires the reader to fill in blanks; it also concludes with an open-ended denouement, which hints at the potential for adventure. The result of such a structure is that readers will ultimately hunger for a longer, more thorough telling.
Download and read What Matters Most.
2nd Place: Dreams and Moons and Trailer Parks by Sara Balabanlilar
This short piece by Balabanlilar will move the reader with its careful selection of adjectives that portray yearning, loneliness, and desire. Here, the forest is not a place of fear but of adventure and promise. The note of fantasy Balabanlilar introduces additionally implies that the forest is another world, one separated from the cares and trials we all endure, one with endless potential.
Download and read to need self-destruction is human.

Featured Publication

A Pilot's Guide to Washington

This book is a guidebook for private aviators in Washington State, or folks visiting the State. Washington State is among the most beautiful and diverse states in the Union. There are flat and dry desserts, stunning basalt formations, towering mountains, rolling grass hills, thick rain forests, island archipelagos, and lakes and rivers and straits and sounds. Well, one sound. And we have roughly a billion airports to visit. (I'm exaggerating slightly.) It would be shame to be a pilot living in or visiting Washington State and not deeply partake of the richness of this opportunity.

Order the book from: Amazon.