Thank you to everyone who wrote and submitted stories for our Deserted Island Lone Survivor Writing Contest. We thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the creative takes on this scenario and spent a good deal of time deliberating on the over 1,000 submitted stories to select our favorite 7. The stories selected as the winners we felt were the most effective and work together to build a varied and interesting anthology. Multiple stories were strong but didn't quite make the top 7, so we also included an "Honorable Mentions" section. Everyone who submitted stories for this contest will be getting the ebook edition of the anthology containing the stories absolutely free!
The winning stories listed below will be published in the upcoming Dark Regions Press anthology Stranded: Lone Survivor Deserted Island Horror Stories which will be included in the 2018 Halloween Grab Bag this October!
And the winners are (drum roll please)...
1st place ($700 prize): "Nuclear Sunset" by J Michael Wright (witchyboipop)
2nd place ($300 prize): "The Black Rain" by John W Marin
3rd place ($150 prize): "The Immunity Idol" by Bill Halpin
4th place ($150 prize): "Isle for One?" by Michael Picco
5th place ($150 prize): "Between the Oceans, Nothing" by JC Hemphill
6th place ($100 prize): "Ayani" by Eliza Victoria
7th place ($100 prize): "Rot" by Morgana Spake
Honorable Mention: "A Rock and a Tree" by Tom Coombe
Honorable Mention: "In His Favor" by Becky Smith
Honorable Mention: "The Last One Left" by Chandra Wade
Honorable Mention: "Table Manners" by Jim Smiley
Honorable Mention: "Deliquesce" by Ezekiel Kincaid
Thank you to everyone for writing these stories, sharing the contest and for your support and enthusiasm. The Deserted Island Lone Survivor Writing Contest went so well that Dark Regions Press will be launching another writing contest very soon! The new writing contest with guidelines will be announced in our e-mail newsletter at darkregions.com/newsletter
Watch for Stranded: Lone Survivor Deserted Island Horror Stories to be published by Dark Regions Press this October in ebook and trade paperback formats in the 2018 Halloween Grab Bag and congratulations to the winners!