First and foremost we here at BCF want to wish you guys a happy new year! We’ve been a tad busy over the last couple of days so this post was a bit delayed. I never got around to creating media for the Monthly Mahatma and I just don’t have the time… what this means is that I’ll have to give the winner of BCF December a badge retroactively.
Enough apologies, let’s move onto while you’re all here!
BCF December was an auspicious beginning for this tournament and we only hope the number of entries will grow as more people find out about us, that the quality of the business card stories will improve as all of you get comfortable with the format, and that you will continue to challenge us (as judges) with your fantastic and creative stories.
FAVORITES: These are the stories we personally loved, but didn’t quite make the cut. If your story is found here, please feel free to use this badge on your blog.
Gone by Rob D Young
Lillie McFerrin — The perfect imagery in Rob’s story, combined with the fresh possibilities in the last sentence made it my personal favorite.
Fire Escape by Alissa Leonard
Ruth Long – A visual feast for the eyes, this piece is a tour de force. From the challenge in the first two words, to the confident promise of the final two words, the words ‘anthem’ and ‘power’ were the subtext of every line and it’s poetic pulse was an empowering staccato slamming into, and through, my consciousness.
Honorable Mention: Everyone agreed your story was fantastic, but there was one story just a hair better.
Short Goodbyes by J. Whitworth Hazzard
Lillie McFerrin – J. Whitworth’s shocker of an ending gets me each time I read it. Fantastic writing!!
Ruth Long – A protagonist this delicious must be savored slowly and often. The story unraveled so unexpectedly, moved from soliciting sympathy for a crushed heart to eliciting riotous empathy for an act of revenge spurred by a love scorned, that the explosive graphic at the end was a resounding amen!
BCF DECEMBER WINNER – THE MONTHLY MAHATMA:
She Left Her Heart in San Francisco by Lupus Anthropos
Lillie McFerrin – Lupus’ entry did everything I think Business Card Fiction should. It was a wonderfully written story, full of suspense that left me hungry for the rest of the story!
Ruth Long – Crisp formatting and stellar storytelling set this story apart. The font and layout provide a pitch perfect frame for the story to come. From the title to the final full volume phrase, the story makes good on that promise, delivering hard-boiled noir that has all the punching power of a literary heavyweight.
Please contact me so we can get your prizes sorted out!
BCF January begins on 1/3/13