The opening to my novel A Travelogue for the Wasteland has been longlisted for The First Pages Prize 2021. As suggested by the name, the First Pages Prize is awarded for an unpublished novel's opening pages that demonstrate an eye for craft, originality, the sense of a larger story, and writing that hooks the readers. In Travelogue's opening, a couple flees a campground vigil when it becomes clear the Rapture they were waiting for is not going to happen.
My short story "Diedrick Dodge" was a finalist for the Story Foundation Prize, sponsored by Story magazine. Story has been around for a long time. It was the magazine in which writers such as JD Salinger, Charles Bukowski, and Joseph Heller made their debuts, and it's been a long-term goal of mine to get a story published in Story. Well, here it finally is. "Diedrick Dodge" is the story of a man facing joblessness as the packing plant where he works to support his family prepares to shut down. Though only a finalist, the story will be published in Story's forthcoming Summer 2021 issue, most likely appearing in July.
My short story "Bell" has moved up to the semifinalist level in ScreenCraft's Cinematic Short Story Competition. "Real-Life Experiences," the other story that had reached the quarterfinal level, unfortunately didn't progress. As noted below, the contest is designed to find prose stories with cinematic adaptation potential. "Bell" was originally published in Chautauqua (where it won the Editors Prize), and it's a story from the life of one of Billy the Kid's victims prior to that fateful encounter.
Results Update: Unfortunately, "Bell" didn't progress to the finalist round, but I'm excited that it got as far as it did, which tells me this may be a road worth exploring further....
