Grand Prize Winner

The Last Queen’s Painter by Lindsey Galloway


Finalists

Ashes to Ashes by Rachel McClard
Barrier by Scott Fleishman and Evan Wake
Fireflies by Amanda Keener
Here to Make Friends by Meghan Ross
Kyle Bell vs The Devil by Matt Scott
Moonscope by David Fein
The Last Queen’s Painter by Lindsey Galloway
The Polski Affair by Kenneth Gildin
Timely Strangers by Nathan Cabaniss
Twenty-Five Years Later by Monica Schimmer


Semi-Finalists

9066 by David Case
A Consequence of Honor by Luis Arrarte
A Fine Finish by Sheri Davenport
American Sons by Roger Stigliano
Ashes to Ashes by Rachel McClard
Bad Influencer by Caroline Connolly
Barrier by Scott Fleishman and Evan Wake
Battle Ax by Jeanne Taylor
Big Scary Animals by Andrew William Gilchrist
Billy Budd by Don Thompson
Brotherly Love by Gary Lippman
Butterfly Children by Melanie Schiele
Cabin of Gold by Thomas Sisk
Camouflage and Lipstick by Lawrence Daly
Carmilla by Stephanie Aris
Cuffing Season by Jon Bershad
Desperately Seeking Aubrey Plaza by Johnson Gaines
Elephant in a Safeway Bag by Roderick Stevens
Fireflies by Amanda Keener
Forever People by Adam LeHouillier
Foreverly by Ray O’Conor
Frank Sinatra – Part I by Richard Muti
Frozen Dead Guy by Christian Hammons
Fun City by Gordon Rayfield
Furnace Town by Brenna Kelly
Godfor by Pablo Torroella
Gorby and Ronnie Do Reykjavík by Patrick Connelly
Greetings from the Floodgates by Mary von Aue
Growing up in Public by Kanchi Wichmann
Harm’s Way by Ted Campbell
Hell Camp by Niki Smart
Here to Make Friends by Meghan Ross
Homegrown by Chris Taggart
How to Become a Billionaire in Seven Simple Murders by Michael Kaplan
I, Alice by Duane Piedmont
Into the Mystic by Patricia K Meyer
Just Gone by Justin Daab
Kaleidoscope by Darryl Wimberley
Killing Santa by Heath Houseman
Kyle Bell vs The Devil by Matt Scott
Lenny and I by Brandon Vega
Lola and Em, Again by Claire Aguayo
Love Lies Bleeding by Ellis Ryder
Mendoza the Jew by Robin Russin
Mercy Dearest by Joseph Guerrieri
Modern Persecution by Jennifer Treacy Cole
Moonscope by David Fein
My Friend Death by Josie Kaye
Operation Condor by Jody Hadlock
Otherworld, NJ by Matthew McLachlan
Outlaws by J M Stifle
Pinay in the Desert by Aimee Suzara
Playing Dead by Darko Mitrevski
Poe by Gavin Van Horn
Populous by Christa Butler
President Zappa by Joe Tripician
Quintana by William LiPera
Rainbow Man by Bonnie Culver
Refracted by Roger Thomas
Reunion by John Kim
Sacrilegious by Alexandra Stone
Sarah Comes Home by David Rocchio
SCOTUS by Alan Jenkins
Should It Be This Hard? by Mari Winther
Smithereens 1 by Dawn Brown
South of Normal by Jake Thomas
Super Men by Rob Putnam
The 49th Day by Craig Peters
The Baker of Quaregnon by Barry Chase and Sheryl Needle Cohn
The Box by Kelly Song
The Community by Brenna Kelly
The Devil’s Chasing Me by William Wedig and Zach Brown
The Doe by Andrea Ash
The Drome by Hunter Davis
The Exchange by Mike Pace
The First Michael by Michael Buonocore
The Forest for the Trees by Peter Murphy
The Fourth Psalm by John Martins III
The Girl with the Red Hair by Caitlin Gallo and Brittany Harris
The House of Tang by Lisa Iannini
The Italian Lover by Suzanne Griffin
The Last Deer by Jack Vandagriff and Elaine Liu
The Last Queen’s Painter by Lindsey Galloway
The Magnificent Eleven by Michele Coggiola
The Man Dance by Jerry Perez
The Mortality Game by Ed Vela
The Polski Affair by Kenneth Gildin
The Protector by Kevin J. Howard
The Re-Education of Riley Foster by Aloura Charles
The Sniper and the Tab by Jacob Trask
Third Shift by John Gearries and Rich Baker
This I Know by LaLa Halsema and Carrie Schrader
Timely Strangers by Nathan Cabaniss
Trinidad by Kathleen Gardner
Twenty-Five Years Later by Monica Schimmer
Water Touching the Rock by Michael Angel Johnson
Wheels by Merrit Schmidt
Wilderness by Michael Greenwald
Windgate by Ray Gettman Bush
Youth in Asia by Katie Crone


Quarter-Finalists

$aint Mark’s Eve by Selaine Henriksen
90 Minutes by Sean McConville
9066 by David Case
A Brat Blooms in Bushwick by Judd Schlossberg
A City Clean and Good by Daniel Lin Worthen
A Consequence of Honor by Luis Arrarte
A Fine Finish by Sheri Davenport
Adulting by Stephanie Groff
After America by Jonathan Melenson
Agency of Record by Donald McKinney
Alienated by Bernadette Luckett
Altered Egos by Navid Nobakht
Always, Forever by Lucas Miller
Amazons by Kathryn Orwig
American Sons by Roger Stigliano
An Obedient Wife by John and Joshua Binder
An Underappreciated Dictator by Tim Vanvilla and Timothy Mason
Apache by Adam Seidel
Apache Echo by David McCartney
Ashes to Ashes by Rachel McClard
Athelstane, the Very Brave by Bryan Howell
Atom Burn by Scott Nabat
Atomic Nights by Mario Mabe and Ryan Williams
Autonomous by Valentina Reiken
Bad Influencer by Caroline Connolly
Band Freaks by Jeff Hupp
Barrier by Scott Fleishman and Evan Wake
Bastards of Baghdad by Cem Aydogan
Battle Ax by Jeanne Taylor
Believers by Bill Marmor
Best Life Ever by Tina Gandhi and Sarah Weale
Big Scary Animals by Andrew William Gilchrist
Bikini Blues: My Summer at Fat Camp by Christina Lopez-Hidalgo
Billy Budd by Don Thompson
Bison Man by Michael Rhodes
Blackbirds: Volume 1 by Andre Coleman
Blessed by Jim Cushinery
Bleu Dream by Jared Bratt
Blind Justice by Ramona Taylor
Blowback by Eric Murphy
Bog Water by Jonathan Weisbrod
Boo by C.M. Soto
BOSS LADY… The Legend by Meshall Shumate
Breaking Peace by Suzy Miller
Bridges by Joe Becker
Brotherly Love by Gary Lippman
Bullet Proof Money by David Healy
Burma Hell by Theodore Soderberg
Burn Pattern by Laura Kemp
Butterfly Children by Melanie Schiele
By the Time I Got to Woodstock by Jeffrey Massie
Cabin of Gold by Thomas Sisk
Caine and Able by Dev Ross
Camouflage and Lipstick by Lawrence Daly
Carmilla by Stephanie Aris
Cesar and Max by Susan Klos
Charles Darwin in Charge by Ben Gottlieb
Charley’s River by Ron Horton
Chasing the Dark by Mike Bencivenga
Cherries by Matthew Sadowski
Chikamatsu Endgame by Federico Sanna
Cloud to Ground by Ellen Lent
Clownfish by Justin Nishioka
Colter’s Hell by Robin Russin
Comfortably Numb by Joseph Armario
Cooties by Frank Longo
Coyote Winds by Helen Sedwick
Crazy in Love by Marcus Stricklin
Cuffing Season by Jon Bershad
Dancing with Plato by Icela Nahyr Ruiz
Dark Dust: The Glow by Lee Burgess
Desert Star News by Robert Haus
Desperately Seeking Aubrey Plaza by Johnson Gaines
Destiny by Scott Cox
Dibble and Dabble by Alasdair McMullan
Dirty by Christopher Craig
Disposable by Will Berry
E. Bunny by Dayle Dodds
Elephant in a Safeway Bag by Roderick Stevens
Ellie’s Tale by Rhonda Deskins
Ethics of the Heart by Brian Jay Nelson
Even a Just Man Falls by Mark Christopher Boyd
Everybody Knows by Rangeley Wallace
Eyeful by Howard Fridkin
Faithful by Thomas Franey
Falmouth by Danielle Havrilla
Fear by Peter Jang
Filthy by Lisa Cole
Finance Bros by Miriam Akhavan-Tafti
Fireflies by Amanda Keener
Fires of Saint Sebastian by Tomek Chenczke
First Lady by Jason June
Flags by Jade Shine
Fly Girls by Richard Whitley
For Better or for Worse by Clara Bijl
Forever People by Adam LeHouillier
Foreverly by Ray O’Conor
Frank Sinatra – Part I by Richard Muti
Friendship, Honor, and Murder by Giacomo Giammatteo
From the Darkest Place by Thom Egelston
Frozen Dead Guy by Christian Hammons
Fun City by Gordon Rayfield
Furnace Town by Brenna Kelly
Future Tripping by Brian White
Gemini by James LeJeune
Gingers!! By Nick de Luca
Girl in the Window by Candace Hilligoss
g-Men by Walter Bauer
Godfor by Pablo Torroella
Good Humor by Erik Fetler
Gorby and Ronnie Do Reykjavík by Patrick Connelly
Grand Theft Post-mortem by Linda Jane Butler
Grass Snakes by Danny Katz
Greetings from the Floodgates by Mary von Aue
Gristle by Heidi Hornbacher
Group SOS by Bonnie Culver
Growing up in Public by Kanchi Wichmann
Guns of Perdition by Jim Spivey
Harm’s Way by Ted Campbell
Haunted Heart by Mike Bencivenga
Hearsay by Gannon Kenney
Helen of Sparta by Dana Cowden
Hell Camp by Niki Smart
Hellfire and Pronoun by John McCarney
Here to Make Friends by Meghan Ross
Heroes of Sector 6 by Paolo Mazzucato
Homegrown by Chris Taggart
Hot Garbage by Navid Nobakht
How to Become a Billionaire in Seven Simple Murders by Michael Kaplan
How We Really Won the Space Race by Zach Jansen
Hubris+Paranoia by Phil Connell
I, Alice by Duane Piedmont
Icewater by Bo Bigelow
In the Shadows of Dogs by Christopher Gallegos
Inheritance by Varun Raman and Tom Hancock
Inspector General Barry by Timothy Boissey and Sara Dahmen
Into the Mystic by Patricia K Meyer
It Lurks by Tegan Hickey
John H. Watson Crime Doctor by Timothy Liebe
John Wicklebaumhausen by Jeff Walkley
Jonesy, the Sitcom by Caledonia Hanson
Julie and Romeo by Lyn Pinezich
Just Gone by Justin Daab
Kaleidoscope by Darryl Wimberley
Kandlestick Men by Frank Monteleone
Killing Santa by Heath Houseman
Krandyland by Keith Allan
Kyle Bell vs The Devil by Matt Scott
Kylie Can’t Quit by Meg Ryan
Le Bon Temps by Eileen Dennehy
Lenny and I by Brandon Vega
Lethal Weapons by Adam Hopwood
Life During Wartime by Mark Bowes
Life on the Curb by Ty Strange
Lola and Em, Again by Claire Aguayo
Lost Treasure by John McCarney
Love Lies Bleeding by Ellis Ryder
Madam Ching Pirate Queen by Brad Farris
Maestro by Robert Ripley
Makwa by Johnny Cole
Man Brush by Shawn Nolan
Mango Mysteries by Jessica Curwen
Mary, Mary by Amira Richler
Master Race by Joseph O’Driscoll
Max! by Scott Boxenbaum
Meet Me in a Dark Alley by Jessy Lauren Smith
Men of Color by Mike Kearby
Mendoza the Jew by Robin Russin
Mercy Dearest by Joseph Guerrieri
Mescalero by Anderson Boyd
Mid-East Blues by Fareed Abdelhak
Minister Speer by Sven Anarki
Minnesota Nice by Miriam Stark
Missing Girls Club by Rebekah Covington
Modern Persecution by Jennifer Treacy Cole
Monster Party by Kelly Song
Moonscope by David Fein
My Boyfriend the Drag Queen by Abby Cohen
My Friend Death by Josie Kaye
No Man’s Land by Rachel McClard
Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave by Caleb Samples
Nobody’s Heroes by Michael Elliott
Northward Damned by Bryce Vails
Nothing Left to Lose by Robert Ripley
Operation Condor by Jody Hadlock
Otherworld, NJ by Matthew McLachlan
Outgrossed by Bremer Davis
Outlaws by J M Stifle
Outta the Rough by William Horneck
Pet Project by Jimmie Pelyhes
Pinay in the Desert by Aimee Suzara
Play Date by Jessica Wei
Playing Dead by Darko Mitrevski
Poe by Gavin Van Horn
Popcorn Alley by Dillon Magrann-Wells
Populous by Christa Butler
President Zappa by Joe Tripician
Pride of the Magi by Christopher Harris
Protector of the Emerald City by Kevin J. Howard
Putting Love on the Menu by Andrew McGivern
Quiet Noise by George Basiev
Quintana by William LiPera
Rainbow Man by Bonnie Culver
Refracted by Roger Thomas
Reluctant Caregivers by Sandra O’Donnell
Return of Blackbeard by Douglas MacLeod
Reunion by John Kim
Rev by Lawrence Jacobs
Reverend Went Walking by Gary Allison
Rezcoin by Brett Bowker
Righteous One by Jeffrey Sabini
Roaring Twenties by Tristan Strecker
Sacrilegious by Alexandra Stone
Sam Gets a Concussion by Patti Parisi
Sammy Superhero by Michael Gavino
Sarah Comes Home by David Rocchio
SCOTUS by Alan Jenkins
Second Chances by Ashley Fraley and Jason Fraley
Shecky the Shaman by Evan Schwartz
Shelf Life by C. Simon
Should It Be This Hard? by Mari Winther
Shutdown by Joel Cousins
Sick & Tired by Nelson Downend
Signature Photo by Michael Bucklin
Smithereens 1 by Dawn Brown
South of Normal by Jake Thomas
Sprockets by Martyn Ellington
Steph by Oksana Prysiazhniuk
Stephen King Is My Friend by Samuel Pinnelas
Stop Loss by Ramona Taylor
Sunnyside Boys by Rhett Haynes
Super Men by Rob Putnam
Tall Tale by Zac Kish
The 16th Judge by Iam Typn
The 49th Day by Craig Peters
The Adjunct by Alexandra Comeaux
The Aviatrix by Stephen Kelly
The Baker of Quaregnon by Barry Chase and Sheryl Needle Cohn
The Bitterroot Chronicles by Debbie Castanha
The Box by Kelly Song
The Calamity of Jane by Skye and Matt Cllingempeel
The Chevalier by Joe Beatty
The Chosen One by Samuel Pinnelas
The Coal Miner’s War by Randy Reese
The Colorado Cannibal by Laurence Gouldbourne
The Community by Brenna Kelly
The Devil’s Chasing Me by William Wedig and Zach Brown
The Divinity Cycle by Nelson Downend
The Doe by Andrea Ash
The Drome by Hunter Davis
The Dutchman by Robert Morgan Callahan
The Exchange by Mike Pace
The Fabulous Fiona by Tom Silva
The First Michael by Michael Buonocore
The Forest for the Trees by Peter Murphy
The Fourth Psalm by John Martins III
The Girl with the Red Hair by Caitlin Gallo and Brittany Harris
The GoGo Boyz by Darnell Jones
The Grizzly by Sid Kramer
The House by Peter Ballmer
The House of Tang by Lisa Iannini
The Invasion of Tim by Dominic Abeyta
The Italian Lover by Suzanne Griffin
The Last Deer by Jack Vandagriff and Elaine Liu
The Last Queen’s Painter by Lindsey Galloway
The Last Survivors by Kristopher Dewberry
The Last Thing I Do by C. E. Simon
The Magnificent Eleven by Michele Coggiola
The Man by Carla Queipo
The Man Dance by Jerry Perez
The Mortality Game by Ed Vela
The Music That Greets You at the Gates of Heaven by Jeffrey Smith
The Oldest Caddies by John Alarid
The Olive Tree by Michael Colucci
The Paradiso by Bree Greene
The Plantation by Randall Snare
The Polski Affair by Kenneth Gildin
The Protector by Kevin J. Howard
The Protectors by Dana Cowden
The Red Zone by Terry Podnar
The Re-Education of Riley Foster by Aloura Charles
The Rommel Gambit by John Doble
The Saga of Nigel Pennypacker by Megan Breen
The Secret Coterie of Swans by Dylan Brown
The Sensualist by Suzanne Griffin
The Serial Killer & Her Sweetheart by Alex Arabian
The Sheriff of Sturgill by monis rose
The Sleeping House by Suzanne Griffin
The Sniper and the Tab by Jacob Trask
The Sunshine State by Joseph Hooten
The Sword in the Sprawl by Matthew Scarpa
The Three Lives of Angel Fleming by William LiPera
Therapeutic by Craig Berger
They Also Serve… by John McCarney
Third Shift by John Gearries and Rich Baker
Thirsty by Louise Rozett
This I Know by LaLa Halsema and Carrie Schrader
Time Hustlers by Andrew Hopps
Timely Strangers by Nathan Cabaniss
Today’s Date by C. Simon
Trinidad by Kathleen Gardner
Turf by Jack Gorman
Twelve Navy Crosses by Paul Murdock
Twenty-Five Years Later by Monica Schimmer
Two and 1/2 Weeks by Lou Wollin
Unbalanced by Randy Vincent
Uncle Nagorny by Stephen Curran
Under the Protection of Witches by Fred Wiehe
Under the Shadow by Jim Wurst
Vera by Shannon Brady
Walking by Jeffrey and Jejonny Gentry
War, Women and Wolves by James Croteau
Warm Brothers by William Gorgensen
Water Touching the Rock by Michael Angel Johnson
Wheels by Merrit Schmidt
When Molly Died by Patricia Jay
Who Are You? by Pat O’Brien
Wilderness by Michael Greenwald
Windgate by Ray Gettman Bush
Wishing Well by Gary Bickal
Wolf’s Head by Samuel Anderson
Work Weasels by John James Hickey and Jeremy Gurvits
Yaki by Roger Margulies
Yard Signs by Demian Cuthbertson
You Must Be This Tall by Randall Reese
Youth in Asia by Katie Crone
Ziggy and Rachel by Gregg Greenberg