We are now accepting submissions for tournament #3: THE FIRST TIME WAS ALSO THE LAST. Submissions must be non-fiction stories about your life. Think micro-memoir. Deadline: December 18th. $5.25 USD. Click here for submission details. The winner takes home 35% of the $ pot and the runner-up takes home 15% of the $ pot.
TOP-3 SUBMISSIONS
1. Cathryne Claudio
Tender Whispers Flutter Down
Sometimes, while relaxing in my favorite chair downstairs,
I can hear the little ones talking in bed directly above me.
Tender whispers flutter down.
About this time most nights, but not tonight,
a mysterious and boisterous frog kicks in.
One that we have heard but yet to see.
The little ones have had a plan to capture that frog.
Tonight, I hear that someone has found that frog.
And left him in their pocket for safe keeping.
The pocket,
Of the pants,
That just went into the dryer.
2. Carson Pynes
Before the Thunderstorm
I’m too short to climb the roof Dad helps We watch clouds
bruise, lightning crack bones Raindrops sting and slap until mom
yells get off the roof what’re you thinking Dad and mom are
shouting; I fucked up
I know I fucked up I realize we don’t have money then Dad’s
outside beating the shopping cart with his baseball bat before the
thunderstorm, Dad’s typing his dissertation; baseball cap, white knuckles,
clack clack typewriter hailstones I want to greet the storm with clenched
fists I can’t climb the roof alone Dad stops writing
to lift me up
3. Leah Richards
The Empty Quarter
He pockets shells. Ammunition smashed flat, leaving pinkie-nail shaped pock pock pock marks on the fossil dunes. Shhh, Mama. Eyes dark and lashes long like those sandy-brown camels, lined up in The Empty Quarter. Their handler wearing a starched white kandora. Rope loose ‘round the elbow. They might arrest me. The police. He knows bullets are dangerous. Little zippy things. Police use them too. I won’t tell, yet. Later, though, my words will fall like water from a crack in the dam. Then a rush. Then quiet as a stone. Ok, I say. Toothy toothsome grin. I won’t tell.
TOP-3: Author Bios
Cat Claudio has been telling stories for the past 40 years, and hopes to continue for the next 40 or so. She is not a boomer, doesn’t like coffee so much, and despite what you may have heard, she is really a dog person. Much love.
Carson Pynes is a bookworm. A lover of trees and moonlight. A dog person. She may be the village witch. This piece is dedicated to the man who worked hard to create opportunities for me. If I am a writer, it is your fault, Dad.
Leah Richards is an MFA student at NYU’s Writer’s Workshop in Paris with a focus on creative nonfiction. She lives in Abu Dhabi.
RESULTS
| Matches played | Wins | Losses | Win % | Average Vote % | # of votes | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Prize winnings $ in USD | |
| Cathryne Claudio | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 8/8 | 1 | $22.40 | ||
| Carson Pynes | 4 | 3 | 1 | 75 | 75 | 6/8 | 1 | $9.60 | ||
| Leah Richards | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 50 | 4/8 | 1 | |||
| Court Castaños | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | 2/4 | ||||
| Kellie Kreiss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | 2/4 | ||||
| Rebecca Arrowsmith | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | 2/4 | ||||
| Kimberly Horg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Deanna Baringer | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Diana Raab | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Elder Gideon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Peter Prizel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Emily Skinner | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | ||||
| Gavin Bourke | 0 (DSQ) | — | — | — | — | — |
BRACKETS
| Round 1 | Votes | Round 2 | Votes | Round-Robin Final | Votes | ||||||
| Most wins = crowned tournament winner | |||||||||||
| (Group A) | |||||||||||
| Kimberly Horg [“Dancing Apparitions in the Dark”] | 0 | Round-Robin Wins | Round-Robin Losses | ||||||||
| vs. | Court Castaños [“Uncle Bob’s Foot”] | 0 | Carson Pynes [“Before the Thunderstorm”] | 0 | 1st Place | Cathryne Claudio [“Tender Whispers Flutter Down”] | 2 | 0 | |||
| Court Castaños [“Uncle Bob’s Foot”] | 2 | 2nd Place | Carson Pynes [“Before the Thunderstorm”] | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| vs. | vs. | 3rd Place | Leah Richards [“The Empty Quarter”] | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| Deanna Baringer [“The Truth”] | 0 | ||||||||||
| vs. | Carson Pynes [“Before the Thunderstorm”] | 2 | Cathryne Claudio [“Tender Whispers Flutter Down”] | 2 | |||||||
| Carson Pynes [“Before the Thunderstorm”] | 2 | ||||||||||
| (Group B) | |||||||||||
| Cathryne Claudio [“Tender Whispers Flutter Down”] | 2 | ||||||||||
| vs. | Cathryne Claudio [“Tender Whispers Flutter Down”] | 2 | Carson Pynes [“Before the Thunderstorm”] | 2 | |||||||
| Diana Raab [“A Child’s Fear”] | 0 | ||||||||||
| vs. | vs. | ||||||||||
| Kellie Kreiss [“Neverland”] | 2 | ||||||||||
| vs. | Kellie Kreiss [“Neverland”] | 0 | Leah Richards [“The Empty Quarter”] | 0 | |||||||
| Elder Gideon [“Palindromic”] | 0 | ||||||||||
| (Group C) | |||||||||||
| Leah Richards [“The Empty Quarter”] | 2 | ||||||||||
| vs. | Leah Richards [“The Empty Quarter”] | 2 | Cathryne Claudio [“Tender Whispers Flutter Down”] | 2 | |||||||
| Peter Prizel [“I’M A TWIN”] | 0 | ||||||||||
| vs. | vs | ||||||||||
| Emily Skinner [“my paper boat”] | 0 | ||||||||||
| vs. | Rebecca Arrowsmith [“The Gold Band Disappears from my Mother’s Finger”] | 0 | Leah Richards [“The Empty Quarter”] | 0 | |||||||
| Rebecca Arrowsmith [“The Gold Band Disappears from my Mother’s Finger”] | 2 |
12
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