Season Eight Short Story Category Winner Announcement!

A fairy tale about escape from impassable darkness.

Congratulations to

Bridget Riley

, our Lunar Award winner for the short story, “The Orphan and the Golden Trail“, which is posted on her Substack called Naptime Novelist! Bridget received an honorable mention in season seven and continues to build a faithful audience with her fantastic tales. It’s no surprise she was recently interviewed with

S.E. Reid

on Written Ward, which is run by

John Ward

.

The Orphan and the Golden Trail

Bridget will receive an eBook copy of ”Voices from the Deep”, a six-month paid comp to the Lunar Awards, and a permanent link on the Past Winner’s page. Thank you to all of the amazing writers who submitted stories.

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Knowing where to start a short story can be difficult, if not impossible, even when it’s nearly fully formed in our imagination. Too much backstory and the reader wanders, skimming for a more satisfying beginning. Too little momentum for too long, lingering on unnecessary details, leaves the reader confused and distant. In Bridget’s story, it begins exactly where it should, in the middle of things, the desperation and struggle already apparent.

The cause of the current predicament is slowly unveiled as a little girl considers her options, but this is not the whole story, not really. It’s not just how she came to be trapped that’s important, but what series of unfortunate events has shaped her tainted view of herself, and whether it will prevent her from escaping. Then, amid her emotional struggle, the reader is introduced to another layer of complexity — a fairy, in a similar predicament. Now the girl must fight for them both.

Call it what you will, layers, undertones, nuance or subtext, it’s the mark of a good storyteller. The reader is introduced to a complex character and plot, even though there are so few words available to communicate the depth. Demonstrating how a character found themselves in the moment is not often as important as the moment itself, and what that moment has to teach the reader about conflict.

Sam Rake’s and Evelyn K. Brunswick’s stories share similar qualities, careful to unveil only what’s necessary to provide context. Sam’s is a fairy tale by design and although Evelyn’s would be considered science fiction, it reads like a fairy tale. Both provide a rich enough backdrop to understand what’s at stake, eliminating the need for extensive worldbuilding. The world all three stories build is a natural consequence of placing the reader at the right time and place from the beginning.

There is of course the danger of leaving the reader unsatisfied and it’s a careful balance. The circus backdrop from Bridget’s story is one I definitely want to know more about, but it would steal away from her protagonist’s motivation, which is a driven, but dwindling will to escape, a fear of total abandonment. The dying fairy helps her understand what it means to care for and be cared for, a foreign experience that is finally becoming tangible.

If you’re a writer crafting fantasy and science fiction, one of the first and hardest lessons to learn is where to start a story. It takes practice to chip away needless detail and still provide readers with a fulfilling experience. Even seasoned writers struggle with it, but the best way to improve is to practice and send your fictional worlds out into the real world. My hope is the Lunar Awards is encouraging you to do just that.

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The winner of the first chapter category will be announced in a few days. Don’t be surprised if the start of the spooky season in October brings fun and collaboration with season nine even before this season’s next announcement! 🎃🦇👻

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Honorable Mentions

In the story “The Thankful Skull”, written by

Sam Rake

, a young girl experiences a strange encounter after running away from her childhood home.

In the story “The Younger Horus”, written by

Evelyn K. Brunswick

, an account is given by an intergalactic creature of a dying star and planetary origins.

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Participants

“You sold our home when I went to the kitchen?” by

Pawel Halicki

“The Eye” by

Brenna Cuba

“Mirror, Mirror” by

Cameron Scott

“Evacuations” by

Michael S. Atkinson

“Running With Wendy” by

Virginia Neely

“Tachyons and Me - Just don’t do it!” by

Andrew MacLeod

“Binary Dwarfs” by

Vinod Rohira

“A Whisper in the Ear of the Eternal” by

Tiffany Chu

“A Star Reborn“ by

Johnathan Reid