And the Winner is . . .

After much deliberation, we are pleased to announce the winner of the 60 Second Story Competition.

The judges selected “Charles” by Steve Himmer as the winner of the first 60 Second Story Competition, citing its humor, clarity, and completeness as a story. Steve will be receiving a one-minute supply of chocolate, and a one inch by one inch edition of his story will be printed by Spineless Books. Steve Himmer teaches writing and cultural studies at Emerson College in Boston. He is the author of an unpublished novel about a bear, and also writes at onepotmeal.com.

The runners-up included “Faith” by Ed Falco in second place, a tie between “The Golden Age” by Roderick Coover and “Pillow, Pillow” by Jason Nelson for third, and “Florence” by Christine Wilks in fourth.

The judges each submitted a list of their top ten choices in ranked order, and the lists were then compiled, generating these results:

1. “Charles” by Steve Himmer
2. “Faith” by Ed Falco
3. “The Golden Age” by Roderick Coover and “Pillow, Pillow” by Jason Nelson
4. “Florence” by Christine Wilks
5. “Part of the Plot” by Matthew Kirschenbaum
6. “Mondegreens” by Kari Kraus
7. “m.f.” by Ian Matheson
8. “Another Day” by Fortunato Caragliano
9. “Prom Night” by Leia Park
10. “Dear John” by Tim McMahon
11. “Dominoe” by Alan Levine
12. “Talking About Life at Ace Hardware” by Jim Kalmbach
13. “Crap” by Matthias Lohmann and Thorsten Offer

All entries submitted in the 60 Second Story Competition will be featured in “The 15 Minutes of Fame,” a web shrine to the 60 second story to be located at 60secondstory.com. The new site will also welcome new 60 Second Story submissions, and will host another competition this fall. Stay tuned for details. Thanks to everyone who took part in the first competition. The breadth and variety of the entries really demonstrate how versatile the 60 second form can be.