WillyCon's E-Zine of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Contents: WillyCon XIV (April 20-22, 2012) Short Story/Poetry Contest Winners
Adult Category:
Cheetah Boots - by Tiera Greene
“The natives will eviscerate you if you look at them directly,” warned the tour guide. “All eyes on me, please.”
I whipped my head forward and trained my gaze on my group’s balding Adjustment Director. Snarls ripped through the hallway’s protective glass walls, flesh-hungry natives on either side of our safe pathway becoming increasingly annoyed with our presence.
Read the full story...
2nd Place: The Shuttle - James Wolanyk
3rd Place: Sariss of the Wind - Joy Bailey
4th Place: Omega - Erin Stroot
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High School Category:
War of the Faeries - Ashley Nicole McKee
Years ago, through the whispers of the trees, an ancient society was creating its powerful reign. Once settled, these Faeries created a flourishing civilization, co-existing with the natural forces surrounding them, until another thriving population entered their domain. The Immori, immortal mortals--unaging but able to die. The Immori gained the trust of the Faeries and offered an alliance, a proposition that challenged the Faeries old ways. The Faeries’ trust was only half earned. A large portion of the once united tribe was against the influence of the Immoris and thought it best to stay separated. Turning against their own kind, the Faeries went to battle.
Read the full story...
2nd Place: The Piper Children - Cassandra Castelant
3rd Place: What is Left when the Ale is Gone - Jacquelyn Cardinale
4th Place: Under the Spell - Vermonica Park
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Middle School Category:
Inland Coastal Raiders - Alexander Wagner
The breeze rushed past the rocky shoreline. It swayed the ocean’s weeds and shoved the dark clouds further down their path. Anyone would fear such a place, the beach where everything kept on moving, where all but the rocks were fair game. Suddenly a boy appeared, walking down the coast with an indifferent look on his face. The eerie sounds, the merciless, destructive waves, they didn’t seem to bother him. He thought nothing of the hard rocks, or the cold temperatures.
Read the full story...
2nd Place: The Consumer - Jack Otterson
3rd Place: The Cut - Shubham Makharia , Andrew Jia, and Marc Curlee
4th Place: Four Pomegranate Seeds - Jiejun Wu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elementary School Category:
Red Ridge - Monster Assassin, Mercenary Extraordinaire - Caleb R. Luck
I don’t like my work. The King of Orgalia hired me to be a murderer—not of humans, but of beasts that prowl the countryside. With the death rate of humans skyrocketing, my job is important. Let me tell you about my day.
Read the full story...
2nd Place: Project X - Eric Li
3rd Place: Dream Child - Riley Board
4th Place: The Blue Orb - Gina Kim
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poetry:
Adult Category
Meteor Showers - K. Denise Wally
2nd Place: Last Chance - Lin Brummels
3rd Place: Stars - K. Denise Wally
4th Place: Through Jealous Eyes (I's) - Phil PhilpotHigh School Category
Space Lion's Mourning - Caitlin Severs
2nd Place: Point - Rachel Mar
3rd Place: The Love Song of P. Renee Baldwin - Heather Gohring
4th Place: Bathing Bathsheba - Jacquelyn Cardinale
Middle School Category:
Big Brother - Jackson Freeman
2nd Place: Be Burned - Manet Nelson
3rd Place: A Dream Deferred - Valicia Browne
4th Place: Needles of Light - Cameron SchillerElementary School Category:
Anticipation - by Maggie Cook
2nd Place: Pasta Rats - Mia Robichaud
3rd Place: A Mouse Named Lauer - Lauren Mitchell
4th Place: My Wish - Sydney Baughman
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wayne State College SF & F Club Members' Submissions:
Strange New Beginnings - by R.D. Vick
This story is one of six published in Jeweled Fragments: A Collection of Short Stories available through the WSC Press, Amazon, the Student Bookstore in Wayne, Nebraska, and via the author's website...