Narrowing down a field of 1170 entries is a monumental task. Over the last 3 1/2 months, our judges have given so much of their time to finding tiny, rare narratives that feel larger than the space they occupy. The micro is so deceptively slight. Thank you to all the SmokeLong staff who worked on The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2024. We’ve read a lot of competent prose.
The list below represents a group of narratives deserving of publication. Some of them have probably already been published. The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest is open to previously published as well as unpublished work, regardless of whether the micro was published in a small, gently read journal, in an internationally recognized competition, or never published at all. We provide an equal playing field for everyone.
Our judging process is anonymous as it is with our general submissions. If judges recognize the micro, they recuse themselves. We insist on anonymity, and anonymous judging is ongoing. Specifically, entries are assigned to two judges. If one of those judges votes MAYBE, a third judge is assigned. If that judge votes MAYBE or YES, the senior editors are assigned. We then discuss the entry/entries for weeks and seldom agree unanimously on anything (as always). All of our judges are experienced writers and editors and are well acquainted with the art of micro fiction.
We hope to have our list of finalists by December 5. All finalists will be published in the December issue of SmokeLong.
The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest — The Shortlist
-, -,___________________
asking for our uncle’s blood to red
Birth Control is For Sluts
Eulogy of Henry Rowley, 1961-2024 (Notes)
Going to be Like Miss Marple
Help Me Out Here
I See You
In War, Daughters Bury Their Fathers
Obit
Only You Can Prevent Wildfires
Our Girls
Strangers
strangers breathe air into you
The Browder Net
The Shell
the sky didn’t slip inside
Tuesday
violence inside us
Congratulations to everyone on this shortlist! Please feel free to share your success on social media, but please do not identify your work. Anonymous judging is ongoing.
