"A short story's brevity reflects the brevity of the passing time of the work where the reader is granted only this short while, these few pages, to be struck by an acute moment . . . when everything changes for a character, everything becomes sharper, everything is now suddenly clear, or everything falls apart-and the reader is left to consider what follows-and what that means for us mortals. . . . And perhaps in the end, that is why we marvel at the gem of the short story form. A lifetime fits into it, though it's held in a moment. And to pull that off while focusing on plot and characterization and setting and tone and language and point of view-that's a fantastic leap of art." - From the Foreword by Gary Schmidt The Write Michigan Short Story Contest is in its twelfth year. We are delighted to have entries from 333 unique Michigan zip codes this year that covered the entire state. This contest offers opportunities for writers in three age groups-11 and under, 12-17 years old, and 18 and older-with cash prizes awarded to the Judges' Choice, Judges' Choice Runner Up, and Readers' Choice winners in each category. With this anthology, we share in the telling of some of the best stories imagined by Michigan writers. Printed in these pages are eighteen stories: the Judges' Choice, Judges' Choice Runner-Up, Readers' Choice, and three published finalists in each of the three categories. We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we do.