Short Story Contest 2023 – The Tree in the Yard
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention The Tree in the Yard by Amory Healy The summer that the June bugs sang with color and the leaves from the willow tree in Ma’s front yard painted the sky green was not like any other. In the past ten years, you could…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Judges Page
Short Story Contest JudgesJudges for the Adult and Young Adult categories Debbie DuncanStanford resident Debbie Duncan reviewed children’s books for the Palo Alto Weekly for 23 years. She is the author of the Benjamin Franklin award-winning picture book “When Molly Was in the Hospital,” as well as a self-published middle grade novel, “Caller Number Nine,”…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Night at the Jewelry Store
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Night at the Jewelry Store by Luke Machicao Joe was a 76 year old man. He lived in a small, one story house with a cozy feeling. He spent most of his time in his living room, sitting in his big arm chair. He…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Yulia’s Morning
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Adult Illustration by Paul Llewellyn Yulia’s Morning by Christopher Dewees It is very early. Yulia’s phone rings. The conversation is functional and brief. Later in the kitchen she drops the baby into his chair, calls for the others and readies breakfast. Boxed cereal for Nikolai, oatmeal…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Screw It
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Screw It by Julia Maecker Iam usually not a very vulgar person. Rather, I am the type of person to use substitute words to imply that dreaded swear word, but never utter it. The first time one of my friends ever saw me flip someone off,…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Friday Night
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Adult Friday Night by Craig Evans 6:12. Plenty of time, but have to keep moving. Haven’t had dinner yet. Not hungry; too nervous. The fan’s broken and I’ve been leaving the door open when I shower, so the bathroom walls don’t get too slippery. The super…
Short Story Contest 2023 – At the End of Our Road
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention At the End of Our Road by Aaminah Memon The lavender sky dwarfs even the largest of mountains, clouds drifting like smoke into blooms of white and pink and gray, set alight by the song of the sun, a rosy glow dancing across the…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Booklet of Jobette
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Adult The Booklet of Jobette by Martin Gorfinkel One There was a woman in the State of South Carolina, whose name was Jobette; and that woman was whole hearted and upright and one that feared God and shunned evil. And there was born unto her one…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Broken Bones and Broken Dreams
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Broken Bones and Broken Dreams by Ida Maartensson One foot in front of the other. The girl’s hands clench the bars so tightly the color of her knuckles fades from tan to white. The brace encasing her thigh pinches her skin uncomfortably, worsening with…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Still Life
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Still Life by Olivia Wang I. Oh. I’m glad you asked. Let me show you what it is. Right here—see? I bought it off of my neighbor a couple months ago and fixed it up myself. You think it looks like any old piece of…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Threaded Trunks
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Teen Illustration by Mary Watanabe Threaded Trunks by Ananya Adya It’s still there, lying in that old maple wood cupboard, once in a while stirring up all those memories from the past… On rainy days, Nani loved working in the kitchen. Filling the house with the…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Patron Saint of Hidden Children
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention The Patron Saint of Hidden Children by Dawn Wood My name is Selda James Leroy. If I’d been a boy, Claire would’ve named me Sheldon, but I was me instead. We got Mikey for the boy, which is why I’m in the victory garden and…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Starry Might
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Teen Starry Might by Keli Chiao It was two years ago when my fear of the dark started. Two years ago when my dad called the police, who found me the next morning. Two years ago, when I loved astronomy. When I went stargazing every night–when…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Where the River Meets the Ocean
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Where the River Meets the Ocean by rani Jayakumar Earna woke up with the sun streaming into her room. Instantly things began lighting up green, charged and ready to go: her bedsheets, the clock, even the floor. She checked her wrist – another hot and…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Last Fire
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Teen The Last Fire by Julie Kassel “Hey, Phillip.” I looked over as my best friend Ben lightly punched me in the arm, walking to our first period class. I lightly shoved his shoulder in return. Gathering my books for science, I ran to catch up…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Perils of Space Colonization
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Perils of Space Colonization by Susmita Ramani Every few months, my associate Chrysanthemum and I are assigned a swath of the galaxy; we visit every potentially inhabitable planet in it, and submit a report either recommending colonization or not. We’ve just landed on an unnamed…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Poison Peonies
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Poison Peonies by Isabella Rossi Peony hoisted her bag up higher on her back as she strode through the busy town. She avoided the gazes of other classmates as she ducked past them. She was used to this dance, she did it five times a…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Tree Between
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention The Tree Between by Eileen Bordy Skidmore Scott stood in the loamy dirt looking at his redwood tree. He still couldn’t believe he owned a redwood tree. He’d grown up on the twelfth floor of an apartment building in Chicago. He’d never imagined he’d own…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Autumnfall
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Autumnfall by Axis Rolles The midnight bell tolls, but the dancing does not stop. Men and women swirl around the large banquet hall, accompanied by an otherworldly waltz, unbothered by the black sky or the cold presences in their midst. Their faces obscured by intricate…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Event Horizon
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Event Horizon by Dave Woodbury After the Big Bang, after the expansion of the universe was well underway, and after the creation of the earth, the formation and eventual break-up of Pangaea and the reordering of the planetary landmasses. . . After the rise of…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Left in the Keys
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Left in the Keys by Kylie Lam Discordant notes hung in the air, a cacophony of sounds echoing throughout the empty school. Only one person was listening, a woman in her mid thirties, closing her eyes whilst sitting upright on a worn bench dedicated to…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The IKEA Chronicles
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Young Adult Illustration by Douglas Young The IKEA Chronicles by Sofia Lucas My dad sometimes asks me whether I remember my cousin Joonas. It’s a stupid question. Of course I remember Joonas. I was fifteen when he first came to Helsinki from SSR Estonia, smuggled in the petroleum…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Adrift
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Adrift by Hannah Lee 2023 My phone clatters to the ground as Aaron’s words finally register in my brain. Now, after a decade? I scoop my phone off the pristine tiles of the hospital floor. My usually-precise fingers fumble as I return the phone to…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Recluse
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Young Adult Recluse by Mei Knutson Julia coughed slightly in the dust of the retreating taxicab, shifting the heft of her backpack on her shoulder. It was a bright September day, flushed with green. Telephone wires flicked between the houses with their dark wood and tiles…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Neona S145
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Neona S145 by McKenna Chang The break-in took place at approximately 8:56am in the capital of Neona’s maximum security prison. Through the PA system, panicked voices were audible. At first, no one thought anything of the noise. It was probably a malfunction on the…
Short Story Contest 2023 – That Old House aka At The End Of The Road
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Young Adult That Old Houseaka At The End Of The Road by Nithya Desikan “This isn’t a horror movie, Mic. I’m not going in there,” Trish said, looking on at the old house at the end of the road. The paneling on the side had once…
Short Story Contest 2023 – The Gated Grove
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Gated Grove by Bella Rojas The trees had always been there—exactly one hundred and thirty-seven of them for each one hundred and thirty-seven inhabitants of Esteroak. Bound within steel gates and nestled in the center of the town, trees rooted themselves in velvety, moss-covered…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Power Towers
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Power Towers by Peter Fetter The phone rang. Jake Wagner looked up from the morning paper and got up to answer it. “Hello?” Jake said. “Jake?” The person on the other end responded. It was his manager, Mr. Whitlock. “Ah, Mr. Whitlock, how can…
Short Story Contest 2023 – A Double Edged Knife
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention A Double Edged Knife by Ethan Chan “Let’s see. How should we do this?” The doctor was gingerly inspecting a small, ancient knife that buzzed with the subdued power of a hundred thousand stars. The knife was too powerful for Valentina to use, so she…
Short Story Contest 2023 – Reflections in Pen
Palo Alto Weekly 37th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Reflections in Pen by Christina Ding Inever spoke to my aunt. My father’s sister, seven years his senior, was someone foreign to me. At times when my family brought her up it was almost as if we weren’t related at all. I met her…
Short Story Contest 2023
The ties that bind Short Story Contest winners grapple with forces that threaten family, normalcy TThe violence of war juxtaposed with the cocoon of domesticity. International politics that threaten to intrude on the close ties of family. Sudden paralysis as it challenges the human spirit. In each of the winning stories in the Palo Alto…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Fables for the Fabulous: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Fables for the Fabulous:Out of the Mouths of Babes by Lori Ann White Once upon a time two sisters lived in a quaint and prosperous city by the sea. Their parents were pillars of the community—no poor woodsman or nasty stepmother for these girls. Their…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Repeating
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Teen Repeating by Stella Hobbie World War 1December 4, 1916 The day was cold, the type of cold that settles deep inside your bones if you stay out too long. So cold that snow was falling thickly around, the trees rattled, and the kids stayed home…
Short Story Contest 2022 – A Penny For Your Thoughts
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention A Penny For Your Thoughts by Matthew Herrema My head jerked back, and nothingness flooded into my mind. With a snapping sound that was not quite audible in the traditional sense, yet was heard throughout the alleyway nonetheless, the thin thread of thought-stuff broke…
Short Story Contest 2022
Finding connection Short Story Contest authors explore real and futuristic worlds to shed lighton the complicated bonds humans forge with one another While winners of this year’s Palo Alto Weekly Short Story Contest submitted pieces exploring different kinds of characters and settings, one theme unified them all: connection. Every story represents a struggle to connect,…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Ready or Not
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Ready or Not by Monica McHenney That morning, Lily didn’t gag at the disagreeable smell of rotting algae when she opened the car door at the boat rental place. She was done with morning sickness. She and her sister, Kat, picked their way along the…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Chiaroscuro
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Chiaroscuro by Kaylee Cheng I feel my tongue swirl around the cuticle of my thumb, picked raw by my jittery fingers. Desperate to soothe, or at least lick away the droplets of blood threatening to drip onto my assignment. I rap my knuckles, slow, leaving…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Stealth
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Stealth by Robert D. Hof The meeting rooms have just cleared out, so it’s time to strike. The timing has to be precise, right after lunchtime, when all the attendees have trickled out but before the Santa Clara Marriott hotel workers have cleared out the…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Fear
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Fear by Maia Wilson Fear. The cold, creeping darkness that seeps into our soul and chills us down to our very core. It can make us do things, irrational things. Things that we might regret. We’re called the immune, people who aren’t affected by fear;…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Theseus’s Ship
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Theseus’s Ship by Hana Chang “Have I told you the story of Theseus’s ship before?” I asked my cat as I poured cake batter into a pan. “He’s really famous for slaying the Minotaur, but his boat is famous too. For something else, I mean.…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Fred the Bee
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Fred the Bee by Anya Lu There once was a bee named Fred who wanted to become a human to make human friends. All of Fred’s friends said that he should be happy with what he had, but Fred still tried to play with the…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Waiting for the Angel
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Waiting for the Angel by Myra Strober I’m sitting at my kitchen window sipping my Sanka and eating my favorite breakfast— two eggs over easy on an English muffin. Herman used to say Sanka tastes like warm urine, but I always told him to keep…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Tag in the Dark
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Tag in the Dark by Jeeth Das As soon as I walked into school, a crowd of students swarmed me. Everyone was talking about the goal I scored yesterday. Ms. Johnson welcomed me into English class with a big smile. “Awesome goal you scored yesterday!”…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Sarajevo Game
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Young Adult The Sarajevo Game by Sofia Lucas When there were no more dolls to play with, we began playing with shrapnel instead. It was kind of like a game – one point for regular-sized pieces, two points if they were bigger than your fist, and…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Ghost Society
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Ghost Society by Keli’i Halualani Chiao Elodie pulled her groggy eyes open as she was greeted with a brisk gust of wind. Rubbing her temples, a distant car horn rang in her head. She scanned her surroundings, which was engulfed by a muddy fog.…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Azaleas
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Young Adult Azaleas by Mars Bau They were dying. Ann’s hand reached out to her once lovely azaleas, gentle in her motions. Flowers needed time and space, care and patience. They lived and breathed as much as humans did, had wants and desires of their own.…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Loss of Likable
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Loss of Likable by Ellis Shyamji Once upon a time there was a land of rolling hills and sparkling rivers, with a palace so grand it outshined the morning sun. In this palace sat Prince Likable, due to sit atop his father’s throne in…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Worn Red String
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Young Adult Worn Red String by Marissa Yeh Rosemary hesitated slightly before pushing the door open. A clean, alcohol scent flooded out and a rhythmic beeping guided her inside. She stepped carefully towards the bed and leaned lightly against the railing. “Hi, Mama.” The words left…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Unseen
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Unseen by Anica Gaggar It’s a day like any other. Lonely. But I would get through it, like I always did. I just have to pretend. Wandering around the halls, I find myself stealing food from the kitchens, laughing with the maids as they…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Asters
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Asters by Justin Gu Ethan and Sharlene sat on the twin Adirondack chairs on the porch, his fingertips resting on her wrist as they gazed at the violet New England Asters and purple black-eyed Susans, which spread out like a cornfield all the way…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Judges Page
Short Story Contest JudgesJudges for the Adult and Young Adult categories Debbie DuncanStanford resident Debbie Duncan reviewed children’s books for the Palo Alto Weekly for 23 years. She is the author of the Benjamin Franklin award-winning picture book “When Molly Was in the Hospital,” as well as a self-published middle-grade novel, “Caller Number Nine,” and…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Borderline Us
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Borderline Us by Celeste Younger When I first realized I was lost, I tried to be careful. I stepped over the cracks and made sure to keep my feet unharmed. Now, after wandering through looping corridors and dead ends for hours, I do not…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Bright Green Ink
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Bright Green Ink by Asha Kulkarni It was supposed to be a wonderland. River knows it; he can trace the rip in his sleeve, the scrape on his back from when he hit the ground, a bruised egg, cracks spidering their way through the…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Paper Presents
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Adult Paper Presents by Emily Jiang Ba cut fruit for you to eat. Ma prepared money for you to spend. Nai Nai designed a ship for you to sail across the Milky Way. But I knew what you really need. I made you a three-piece suit…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Esme and the Sea Sprite
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Esme and the Sea Sprite by Clarissa Kam On the eve of Esme’s fifteenth birthday, there was a full moon. Esme twisted in her bed, filmy white nightdress tangling around her legs. Against the windows of the little cottage, the summer rain tapped with…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Store Man
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Adult Store Man by Eileen Bordy Skidmore “Run down to Omar’s and get me some cinnamon.” Jeremy’s mother handed him an empty jar and a ten-dollar bill. “I’d go, but your sister is asleep.” “I have homework,” Jeremy lied. “I’m making these snicker doodles for you.”…
Short Story Contest 2022 – If the Mask Fits
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention If the Mask Fits by Cherianne Yoon Prologue ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a happy girl, a happy father, and a happy mother. But as the harsh, unforgiving sickness that veiled over the country took prisoner of the dear mother, the father became…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Desert, Desert
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Adult Desert, Desert by Oscar King IV It was a warm night, the night when I drove my dad to the desert to die. I hoped he’d bring a jacket. It would be a shame to be cold when the temperature dropped. I had arrived at…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Sendoff
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention The Sendoff by Claire Xu “Man, I hate this,” Brenton says as he grips the safety bar. He gingerly pries a hand off and grabs the back of the seat, twisting around to look downhill. “I know it’s my third week, but this lift…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Chalk
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Chalk by David Vaughan Clive drank deeply from his water bottle as he stared at the remnants of the Saxon king’s crypt. After a thousand years, tumbled white stones were all that marked the warrior’s death. More than will mark mine, he thought. As he…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Body
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Teen The Body by Mei Knutson Thursday woke up in a raincoat that smelled like blood. It was midnight, like always, but this was decidedly not like always. Where they should’ve felt blankets, there was just cold air. Where their feet should’ve been bare, they had on muddied…
Short Story Contest 2022 – Extra Innings
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Extra Innings by Craig Evans There are two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers lead 4-2, but Yaz is on third and Belt’s at second. And Posey is up. A pennant race with the Dodgers in the final week of the season;…
Short Story Contest 2022 – The Whole Time
Palo Alto Weekly 36th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Teen The Whole Time by Eine Youn “Tom, dinner’s ready.” Tom did not respond. His hand stayed gripped around his number two pencil, freshly sharpened and flying in a frenzied tango across the lined paper. His eyebrows were set in a firm statue of stone, unmoving,…
Short Story Contest 2021 – A Smile Timed Life
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention A Smile Timed Life by MaryAnn Saunders Maybe seven or eight times a day, I talk to my friend, MJ, either in my mind or by a whisper. This morning, when I was putting on my makeup, I looked at myself in the mirror and…
Short Story Contest 2021 – This is How it Ends
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention This Is How It Ends by Kaitlyn Chen 5:58. He wakes exactly a hundred and twenty seconds before the metal chip sends the alarm to his brain. Sits upright in his bed, gaze glued to the painfully white, blank ceiling. Maybe—just maybe—today will be different. His…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Flower Lady
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention The Flower Lady by Eileen Skidmore In the way that eating too much mint chip could turn you off to ice cream, a decade of fulfilling floral demands for fussy clients had turned Jess off humanity. There were anxious brides who sent texts in the…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Sour Purple Pomegranates
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Sour Purple Pomegranates by Ayda Diril Our story begins with two people different in every aspect except for the magnitude of their separate opinions and ideas. You would be surprised to hear that they were cousins. April, who had olive skin and brown hair, was…
Short Story Contest 2021
A sense of belonging Short Story Contest authors reflect on unconventional bonds forged in unexpected moments Whether or not influenced by the abrupt and widespread isolation people around the globe experienced during the pandemic over the past year, the first-place winners of this year’s Palo Alto Weekly Short Story Contest all submitted pieces that examine…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Not the Unusual
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Young Adult Illustration by Claire Xu Not The Unusual by Claire Xu “It started with bodies in the bathroom. Then, the humming began. Mags noticed it first, as she was the only one still fully awake. She sat at the desk with her chin propped up…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Violet and the Time Machine
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Violet and the Time Machine by Naomi Jones Beep! Beep! Violet put down the notebook she was furiously scribbling in and rushed towards her machine. Beep! Beep! She fussed around with the dials on the side of the machine. She widened her eyes when she…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Sweaty Hands
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Young Adult Sweaty Hands by Skyler Hedblom As a pianist, the worst place to sweat is on the hands. When hands sweat, there aren’t any droplets to wipe off or dry away with a quick swipe of a rag. Instead, they simply become sticky. The water…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Reiko’s Flying Machine
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Reiko’s Flying Machine by Mei Knutson Sand dunes stretched out for miles in every direction, corroded strips of metal and cloth marring the desert like infected scars. The mirrored suns beat down on Reiko’s face. Her hands, once smooth as porcelain, had become covered with…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Memento
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Young Adult Memento by Jessica Wang Mae stands out on the back porch step, watching the 57th autumn sunrise play over the sky. Today, it has green streaks—streaks that take me back to the time in seventh grade when she laser-infused her hair with seaweed and…
Short Story Contest – 2021
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention A Messy Stitch by Anika Nair Warm. That was the first word that came to mind as Autumn’s eyes fluttered open. His nose flared at the scent of sweet mango, and hyacinths, and a small smile danced on his lips as heat from the sun…
Short Story Contest 2021 – My Dad’s Dad
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention My Dad’s Dad by Tenzin Chang We took a taxi. “他不會說中文嗎？” As a matter of fact, no; I could not speak Chinese, and so my dad and the taxi driver spent the rest of the ride talking about something that was lost on me.…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Grandma Honey’s Almond Butter
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Grandma Honey’s Almond Butter by Claire Sun 3 cups of almonds 1 pinch of love I reached for the bag of almonds, sitting conspicuously on the kitchen counter, the red Kirkland Signature logo glaring at me. 3 months, Tasha. 3 months. What if I had gone…
Short Story Contest 2021 – COVID Killed My Friendship
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention COVID Killed My Friendship by Rebecca Kapiloff “So do you really think we won’t be going to school on Monday?” I asked Emilie as we walked to her house with our bikes in the pouring rain. “To be honest, I don’t think so,” she…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Second Rate
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention Second Rate by Benjamin Wu “You have been cordially invited to a high school reunion for Classroom 549.” That is what the first line invitation I received in the mail read. I had never been fond of my high school classmates, mostly a jumble of…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Escape for a Moment
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Escape for a Moment by Amelia Klingberg Meep. Meep. Meep. Eliza’s alarm rang, waking her from a fitful sleep. It was time to get up for Zoom school. Today was Monday. No wait, Tuesday. Definitely Tuesday. Eliza had stayed up late trying to finish her…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Judges Page
Short Story Contest JudgesJudges for the Adult and Young Adult categories Debbie DuncanDebbie Duncan has been reviewing children’s books for the Palo Alto Weekly since 1997. She is the author of the Benjamin Franklin Award-winning picture book “When Molly Was in the Hospital,” as well as a book for parents, “Joy of Reading.” She also…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Lunar New Year’s Dinner
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Lunar New Year’s Dinner by Jack Poon Broiled fish. Sticky rice cakes. Freshly steamed dumplings. And, of course, a dash of homophobia. “Did you know? I heard that one of the teachers at my child’s elementary school is gay.” Mark carefully reached out to…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The First Time
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Adult Illustration by Douglas Young The First Time by Inna Tsirlin The black leather boot was poking Sasha’s side painfully as the gray morning settled in, but he kept pressing it tightly to his body. Its sole was full of dry mud, and pieces of it…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Light of Leftover Storms
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention The Light of Leftover Storms by Devon Shih The boy woke up before his eyes would open. The cool, damp wood he leaned against soaked through the back of his favorite shirt, and he could hear the roof-bound raindrops as they dove into reflections…
Short Story Contest 2021 – No Place Like Home
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Adult No Place Like Home by Sylvia E. Halloran Thanksgiving is a helluva time to walk out on a wife of forty years. Instead of sitting down to turkey and football, he flies off to Maui with his beautiful new office partner and never returns. His…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Glimpse Before
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention The Glimpse Before by Kari Trail Actaea Eneas lived in a small cabin held together with chiseled support beams and wooden posts, tucked along the forest’s outskirts. It was a tired structure, a far cry from the white-trimed houses of the main city a…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Stones
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Adult Stones by Cary Kelly Dan was widely known — perhaps singularly known — for his commitment to leaf blowing. Though Dan was a solitary man, his leaf blowing made him a fixture in the early mornings of the suburban neighborhood, a sign that time was…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Beautiful Monster Within
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention The Beautiful Monster Within by Sky Upender The proposition seemed enticing to such a wealthy businessman like Gerold Boone: loan a few million dollars in a chance to reach a promised immortality. Death had always seemed like an immobile obstacle to Boone, and Boone…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Out House Crooner
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention The Out House Crooner by Cathy Broderick The McBrides lived next door to us in Belfast. They were a quiet family except when saying goodbye to visitors late at night. The whole family would troop outside and stand on the steps waving and shouting. It…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Walking Forward
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestYoung Adult Honorable Mention Walking Forward by Michael Zhang Rex didn’t expect to die immediately after he woke up. He wasn’t expecting to die, usually, but it peeved him that Death made his appearance right at the crack of dawn. On the morning of Death’s arrival, Rex jolted…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Please Remember Ron Nichols
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Please Remember Ron Nichols by Jacob Halabe Ron Nichols doesn’t exist anymore — at least not in any you would understand. He’s still there of course, you just can’t see him. He’s a nothing-man, a ghost, a warm wind in an empty room. Sometimes, Ron Nichols is…
Short Story Contest 2021 – The Train to Nowhere
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Teen Illustration by Amy Levine The Train to Nowhere by Aaminah Memon Meg, Andrea, Riley and Zeke wake up in a train compartment – they were never sleeping, yet their eyes flicker open, and they all stumble groggily to their feet as if just woken from…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Tears
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Tears by Bill Janssen She’d learned a lot in the last two years. Longer than that, really. She thought about it as she flipped the last pancake. First, two years as Dr. Shipman’s housekeeper in his big old Victorian, after his wife had died. Two…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Flying
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestSecond Place Teen Flying by Eine Youn I’m flying. The notes carry me in the air, and I close my eyes, giddily floating. I let in a crisp inhale as my fingers float on the keys of our grand piano, gently following the intricate but beautifully crafted pattern…
Short Story Contest 2021 – A Storm of Color
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention A Storm of Color by Juliette Kilgore The painter sits on a cloud. It is soft beneath his weathered hands, and small wisps curl gently around him, like an affectionate animal. The cloud itself is colorless, but scattered paints and dabs of color cover its…
Short Story Contest 2021 – Too Far
Palo Alto Weekly 35th Annual Short Story ContestThird Place Teen Too Far by Elise Chang Based on a true story How close have you come to drowning? Whatever the answer is, I can probably beat that. The sun warmed my skin as I stepped out, filling me with warmth from the inside. I breathed in…
Short Story Contest 2020 – To Be King
Palo Alto Weekly 34th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention To Be King by Tjasa Kmetec Sometimes they say I’m getting too girly to play. That’s what they say, but it’s not true. I’m the best street hockey player on our block, in our whole neighborhood, even. Danny Wright and Christopher Kingston and James Harcroft…
Short Story Contest 2020 – The Battle Between the Unpredictable and Unseen
Palo Alto Weekly 34th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Battle Between the Unpredictable and Unseen by Taylor Tam I sit in her room, once cheerfully painted a daffodil yellow, staring at her carefully hung paintings. A horse, standing peacefully under the azure blue sky and lively green trees, its mane whipping in the…
Short Story Contest 2020 – Half a Tank of Gas
Palo Alto Weekly 34th Annual Short Story ContestAdult Honorable Mention Half a Tank of Gas by Winifred Campbell She watched fields of gold and great blue swaths of sky blur past the smudged car window. As he drove them home, X’s soft humming buzzed through the car before landing in her ear. There wasn’t anything…
Short Story Contest 2020 – The Illusion of Sonhe
Palo Alto Weekly 34th Annual Short Story ContestTeen Honorable Mention The Illusion of Sonhe by Kristy Rueff Tap… tap… tap… the rain on the ceiling was a comforting noise, one rarely heard. However, today was a nice day, a day with plenty of rain. Our leader, King Fuadain, controlled the weather, and he decided to make…
Short Story Contest 2020 – Poetry from the Outskirts
Palo Alto Weekly 34th Annual Short Story ContestFirst Place Young Adult Illustration by Amy Levine Poetry from the Outskirts by Sofia Lucas “You wanted to see me, Signor Moro?” Carlo hadn’t thought much of it when he’d turned in his assignment to the school counselor. He’d thought the prompt was stupid in the beginning, but…