Write Michigan 2021 Anthology edited by the Kent District Library

“Eventually we come to realize that, while writing is a cathartic exercise for ourselves, it is also a gift to those who read it. A gift that nurtures, inspires, impacts and nourishes.  

We fill the world with words that speak of what it is to be human, to love, to despair, to suffer, to hope.  

The pages of this chapbook are filled with the offerings of authors from across the State of Michigan. I, for one, am so proud of all the brave writers who submitted their work for the Write Michigan Short Story Contest.”
           — Susie Finkbeiner from the forward to the Write Michigan 2021 Anthology 

The Write Michigan Short Story Contest is in its ninth year. We are delighted this year to have entries from 259 unique zip codes in Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula! This statewide contest offers opportunities for writers in four categories—11 and younger, 12–17 years old, age 18 and older and 11 and younger Spanish language—with three cash prizes awarded in each category.  

The stories in this anthology are among the 951 submitted between September 1 and November 30, 2020. A group of 160 volunteers initially screen the stories, two of them reading and rating each story anonymously to determine our top ten semifinalists in each category. A panel of judges, most published authors themselves, then review the semifinalists’ stories to see which ones shine the brightest, while the public cast 2,510 votes for their favorites.  

With this anthology, we share in the telling of some of the best stories imagined by Michigan writers. Printed in these pages are 24 stories, including the Judges’ Choice, Judges’ Choice Runner-Up, Readers’ Choice, and Published Finalists in each of the four categories.  

Visit writemichigan.org for information on the Write Michigan Short Story Contest.