Winner of GLCL Inaugural Fiction Contest Announced!

Josh Weston of the Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters bring us the following happy news:

Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters, in conjunction with Passages North, is proud to announce that Joe Sacksteder’s short story “Earshot—Grope—Cessation” has been chosen as the winner of our inaugural fiction contest. Congratulations Joe! Final judge Caitlin Horrocks writes,

As Beth, the main character in “Earshot—Grope—Cessation,” performs at a piano recital, trying to find her way successfully through a difficult piece, the reader finds his way through the starts and stops and reveals of Beth’s painful family history. The story unfolds in short sections and stutters of repetition, constantly circling back to its beginnings. Sentences appear and reappear, slightly altered. The story becomes a musical composition, fearlessly inviting comparison to the Brahms Intermezzo at its center.

But the story is always more than its structure or style: the Danfoss family feels incredibly real and human as they stumble through the aftermath of a tragedy. They find humor and affection as well as grief, inventing lyrics to a song they never wanted to learn. “Earshot—Grope—Cessation” is a musical, innovative story that uses form and language to amplify its human heart.

As our winner, “Earshot—Grope—Cessation” will be published in Issue 35 of Passages North, out January 2014. Please join us on October 3rd for an end of contest celebration, where Mr. Sacksteder will read from his winning story, and Caitlin Horrocks and Editor-in-Chief of Passages North Jennifer A. Howard will discuss “The Other Side of the Submission,” a short talk on editing for the literary magazine, the allure of the contest, and judging things in general.