SFW SHORT STORY CONTEST

The Best Short Stories in 2024-25

What the judge said

Here is my overall list of the stories in rank order, but even number 11 was interesting.

All of the 11 stores discussed artificial intelligence and all of the authors knew enough about AI to be informative to readers who might not know much about AI. 

Artificial intelligence is also being used to write both stories and novels, but these 11 stores seem to all be by humans, and all were interesting and enjoyable.

 

1. Starstruck

Judge’s comments: This story had a good plot and interesting characters. It was also fast moving and interesting. 

Author: Anne V. Cooke $200

 

2. Polly Hates a Cracker

This was an amusing story that I enjoyed reading. Possibly in the future  there will also be AI controlled replicas of animals.  

Author: Robert Lewis Heron $100

      

3. Barn Brain

Someday farms will use artificial intelligence. 

Author: Barry Weinman $75

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4. Rhea’s Dream

Interesting characters and activities.

Author: Jack Massa  $50

 

5. Maxina Actual

Fast moving and interesting.

Author: Richard Bonte  $25

 

About Our Winners

Anne Cooke

Armed with a BA in Literature and an MA in Humanities, Anne Cooke began her career in academia at Pasco-Hernando Community College as a Records Specialist and Adjunct Humanities Professor. Her greatest delight was in helping students recognize the importance of ancient history as it relates to the modern world. She honed her skills as a researcher and group facilitator at her next post as Test Developer at a national testing company based in Clearwater. Here she wrote state and national exams on a variety of subjects—from pool construction and lead abatement to cosmetology and midwifery.  Anne's bio.

Ultimately, she sought to build a bridge between academia and the business world, a quest that landed her squarely in the realm of creative advertising. She learned the ropes as both a technical writer and copywriter at a Clearwater-based catalog company for software developers, where she became Senior Writer in short order. Cooke next joined the Liphhardt Agency in Tampa as a copywriter where she crafted award-winning ads for print, radio and TV.     

Always looking for a new adventure, Cooke made her way to the Home Shopping Network where she thrived on the challenging combination of online retail and live TV, eventually becoming Senior Content Writer at HSN.com. Here she wrote, edited and supervised content for national brands across all categories including beauty, fashion, jewelry, fitness, home, and electronics.

A storyteller at heart, Cooke now makes the leap from ad copy to fiction, specializing in the art of the short story. Her first collection of flash fiction will be available as an ebook on Amazon.com later this year. A collection of standard-length short stories is also in the works.  

Anne's short story Starstruck here.

 

Anne Cooke: Tips from a Copywriter: 6 Reasons to Write Flash Fiction, Tips and Markets here.

 

Robert Lewis Heron

 

Robert Lewis Heron is an award-winning author, poet, and artist. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he now resides in Sarasota. With a unique voice for storytelling across multiple genres, Robert captivates his readers through his cleverly twisted imagination. A dry wit pervades his writing, adding a layer of levity to even the harshest of topics. With a knack for crafting intricate stories from simple narratives, Robert has received high praise for his work. He has won and been placed in several local and national writing competitions. He published his first novel (Artful Deception) in 2011, and his first book of poetry (Poetry Rhymes Sometimes) in 2015. All of his writing is available at: www.amazon.com

•           2019: Won the American National Book Award for independent publishing with Devils Party Press. Anthology,  Suspicious Activity.

•           2019: Won the Sarasota Fiction Short Story Award, and placed in 2022. In addition, he has been published in several anthology collections.

•           2024: Bronze winner in the President’s Book Award, in Florida. Authors & Publishers Association, Inc. for his first Sci-Fi Novel, The First HumAIn.

•           2024: Semi-finalist for Florida Publishers Award for his Sci-Fi Novel, The First HumAIn.

•           2025: 2nd place-winner in the Sarasota Fiction Short Story Award.

•           2025: Accepted request to be a judge for Florida Writers Association RPLA (Royal Palms Literary Awards).

In addition, his illustrated ten-book children’s  Hamish McHamish Adventure Series  raises funds for Scotland’s St Andrews youth and Beach Wheelchair Project through the not-for-profit (SCO45383) charity, The Hamish Foundation (hamishfoundation.co.uk).

He attributes his obvious storytelling talents to his Scottish heritage and jokes that he was born with it in his DNA. He has crafted an impressive and diverse portfolio of work, making it clear that he is a master of the written word, which cries to be released for all to enjoy.

His collection of novels and short stories can be found at: www.amazon.com

 

Robert's short story Polly Hates  a Cracker here.

 

 

Barry Weinman

Barry grew up in rural Pennsylvania as a coal miner's son.

He graduated with university degrees in Physics and a master's degree in Geophysics.

He founded a geophysical company in Dallas, Texas, and studied creative writing at Southern Methodist University in his spare time.

After selling his company, he returned to his first passion as a boy, writing.

He resides on Longboat Key and has a summer home in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania.

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Barry's short story Barn Brain.

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Jack Massa

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Jack Massa is a long-time member of Sarasota Fiction Writers and former VP. Jack has published science fiction, fantasy, and poetry in various places. Jack lives in Sarasota with his magical wife and the faeries who inhabit her garden.

 

Jack has studied writing and other forms of magic for many years.

He has published fantasy, science fiction, poetry, and various nonfiction.

Jack’s fiction projects include The Abby Renshaw Supernatural Mysteries (Young Adult and New Adult paranormal fantasy), The Glimnodd Cycle (epic fantasy featuring witches and ice-pirates) and the Conjurer of Rhodes series (historical fantasy set in the ancient world).

His work can be found at jackmassa.com and speclectic.substack.com.  

 

Jack's short story Rhea's Dream. Starting now with a short story, which may someday serve as the prologue to a novel, Rhea’s Dream was written in response to a writing prompt from the wonderful Elle Griffin over at The Ellysium.

 

 

Jack Massa

web: www.triskelionbooks.com

Substack: https://speclectic.substack.com/

FaceBook: www.facebook.com/AuthorJackMassa/

X/Twitter: @JackMassa2

 

 

Richard Bonte

 

Richard Bonte is a Bradenton resident and a native-born New Yorker. He has lived much of his life in Canada, California and Western Europe, and speaks several languages fluently. 

He has worn many hats including playwright (lifelong DGA member), actor, teacher, writer, linguist, and phonetician. He has advanced degrees from Berkeley, UCLA, and the Sorbonne.

A playwright and screenwriter, Richard has written several absurdist plays, such as Venom and A Meets B, as well as screenplays, such as The Queen’s Mate and Against Nature.

Richard has written eclectically about many subjects including twenty novels such as Terry’s Upside and The Baja Redemption.

His irreverent novel, Curmudgeonly Yours (2017)), was awarded the Florida Authors and Publishers Association 2018 Silver prize for Humor.

Richard has also co-written many novels, one a thriller about Covid-19 called, The Wuhan Tentacles (2020), and another entitled, Grand Cayman, Exposed (2021). The tandem has also finished a dozen novels in two series about the 1920s: The James Masters’ Series about crime, redemption, and the backstory of the Great Gatsby’s life; and a dramatic story about an extended Austrian-English-American family entitled, The Family.

Currently, Richard is working on a political satire entitled “PinkLand.” All of Richard’s work can be found on Amazon’s Kindle or www.richardbonte.com.

 

Richard's short story Maxina here.

​Novels and other writing by Richard Bonte.

 

Novels and other writing by Richard Bonte.