FIRST PLACE:
 
Grounded
        By Robert Weisz   (Mainstream)
  
SECOND PLACE:
     
Along For the Ride
        By Eleanor Michael   (Speculative)
  
THIRD PLACE:  
    
Works Like a Charm
        By Gordon Graves   (Satire)
  
  
HONORABLE MENTION:
   
I Hate How Much You Know
        By Josh Prokopy   (Young Adult)
  
The Actor
        By Jim Brearton   (Mainstream)
  
Pomp & Piety (Or, How She Stopped Worrying and Became a Heathen Like Me)
        By Buddy McDougald   (Mainstream)

THE FINALISTS
(in alphabetical order):
   
Lorin Emery, Aleta Hallemeier, Christine E. Schulze and Donald H. Sullivan.
  
        All winners received certificates suitable for framing.  First through Third places received cash awards and donated gifts, a one-year subscription, and publication in Calliope; honorable mentions received mini-subscriptions, donated gifts, and publication.  Cash prizes were distributed:
$25—1st Place; $10—2nd Place; $5—3rd Place.          Also, a Special Bonus Award of $50, donated by an anonymous benefactor, was split between Robert Weisz, Buddy McDougald, and Christine Schulze, for mentioning the “secret words” in their stories: a domestic or wild animal, and/or a musical instrument.
        The Finalists and three non-winning entries have been offered publication in forthcoming issues.
    

         This year’s fiction contest brought 27 entries from 12 entrants, of which 7 were SIG members.  We received mostly mainstream stories, with a few genre and young adult entries.  The stories that made it to the winners’ list best exemplified the artful use of language and the strong characterizations, rhythm and flow that make for good storytelling.
        Robert Weisz’s story, “Grounded,” met the spirit of the theme, and stood out for its economy of language, while evoking a strong sense of place and emotion.  And now—the Winners and Finalists.
 

Congratulations to the winners,
and thanks to everyone who participated!
  
The next fiction contest will be announced in January 2009