Winged Victory (Nike) bronze statue against background of Trajan’s Column and dome of Santa Maria di Loreto church. Rome, Italy.
We, the editors of Dappled Things, have been overwhelmed by both the quality and quantity of the stories submitted for this year’s J.F. Powers Prize for short fiction. We received nearly 500 submissions—so many that we had to recruit additional judges to help us read them all! We want to extend our sincere gratitude to Arthur Powers, Rhonda Ortiz, Sally Thomas, Taryn Okuma, and Ty Simmons, as well as our regular group of dedicated volunteer editors, who rose to the task of judging this year’s first round. We would also like to thank the hundreds of you who entrusted us with your work and provided an abundance of beautiful literature “with one foot in this world and one in the next.”
We have selected 28 finalists, listed below in no particular order. Congratulations to all, and best of luck in the final round.
Bedtime Story, Ryan Rickrode
Rapture, Charles Duffie
Forgiveness, Carol Dines
Waiting for Camacho, Angela Lorang
El Niño, Angelica Esquivel
Holy Communion, Jennifer Lewis
What Day is Today?, Patrick Flood
Sunday Sermon, Edward Black
Father Herald, Robin Gow
The Witch of the Stacks, Susan Lowell
Ada at Twelve and a Half, Olga Zilberbourg
True Light, H.E. Francis
Inheritance, Sheila Sundar
A Stroke of Blood, Mark O’Connor
Comfort for the Outcasts, Kathleen Jabs
Peace Criminals Don’t Do Time, Craig Kenworthy
Your Daddy Loves You, Franny French
A Case of Love, Mallory Cheeser
A Man of Good Deeds, Blake Cass
Devotions, Elaine Kehoe
The Forest, Patricia Sammon
Runaways, Lauren Green
August to August, Linda McMullen
Look Both Ways, Elizabeth Oness
War Paint, Teresa Burns Gunther
Broken Wings, Bruce Golden
A Shimmer in the Parlor, Amanda Crum
Perfect, Hopeless Machine, Jane Warren
