2021 Nonfiction Contest Winners

Winner - jj PEña
“You left us like winter”

JJ Peña (pronouns he/they) is a queer, burrito-blooded writer. JJ's work is included in the Best Microfiction 2020 anthology & Wigleaf’s Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions (2020). JJ is a 2021 Periplus fellow, holds a BA in both English and Anthropology, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. JJ's stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Washington Square Review, Cincinnati Review, Massachusetts Review, & elsewhere. JJ serves as a flash fiction reader for Split Lip magazine

RUNNER UP - Linda Petrucelli

“Countdown”

Linda Petrucelli (she/her) is a writer obsessed with short form fiction and CNF. Her latest essays appear in Sky Island Journal, Pollux and the Journal of Expressive Writing. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii where she writes and shares a lanai with one husband and ten cats. Many of her tiny stories are posted here— https://jackrabbitfiction.com

RUNNER UP - Maureen Sherbondy

“The Drowning” 

Maureen Sherbondy’s latest poetry collection is Dancing with Dali. Her first young adult novel, Lucky Brilliant, was published last year. Her work has appeared in Southeast Review, Stone Canoe, Calyx, and other journals. Maureen lives in Durham, North Carolina. Website: www.maureensherbondy.com