Short Forms Contest Winners

Our 2018 short forms contest was judged by Jane Eaton Hamilton. Here’s how they describe the winning works:

Shared First Place (alphabetical by title):

“A Good Molar Is Hard to Find”

Laugh-out-loud funny, unexpected, subversive; makes me long to know where Steve came from, why he fits in her mouth, how she comes by the teeth she arranges in smiles. And then why the chiropodist is so OK with everything.

“Sissi Barra: the way of smoke”

This short forms piece was drawn from photographer Joana Choumali’s project “Sissi Bara” (“Smoke Work”), fourteen photographs of women harvesting charcoal in Côte d’Ivoire, Africa. Using stunning, economical language, it tells a complicated, heartbreaking story of poverty and loss.

Honourable Mention:

“Patchwork”

This fresh, surprising story tells the story of a grandmother who has trichotillomania and lives a secret queer existence in her marriage. She looks at one of her granddaughters with recognition.

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who entered. Read “Sissi Bara: the way of smoke” and “A Good Molar Is Hard to Find” next, and read the honourable mention, “Patchwork” by Justina Elias, at roommagazine.com.