2022 Best Short Stories: Riversong Contest (Riversong Short Story Contest)

Enjoy these six winning short stories from the Riversong Short Story Contest, 2022. Unique, quirky, thought-provoking stories in various contemporary genres.

The contest and volume was run and edited by Neela Tudurí-Klepfisch, editor and writer at Sulis International Press. A panel of six publishers, editors, authors, and book reviewers reviewed more than 30 finalists to choose the six winners.

• "Redemption in the Thorny Thicket" by Sean Anderson.
• "6EQUJ4, Thank You Very Much!" by Robert McDermott**
• "Coping with Covid-19 lockdown in Pretoria" by Nape Motana
• "So Rude" by Markus McDowell
• "Prep Work" by Susanne Perry
• "Jesus and Mayo" by Jack Towe

Robert McDermott has published poetry and short stories in various journals and magazines in both print and online. He won the TESEO short story competition in 2019 and 2020. He lives in Dublin where he teaches English and creative writing.

JONE$TOWN is his first novel.

Markus McDowell is an author and editor of fiction and nonfiction in multiple genres. He is the author of Nuff Sed: A Novel of Desert Steve, To and Fro Upon the Earth: A Novel, Mortals As They Walk, Onesimus: A Novel of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and two short story collections, The Sky Over Chaos and So Deep in Shadow, as well as several nonfiction books in law, theology, and literature in the ancient world. He lives in California on a boat and travels extensively.

Sean Anderson lives with his wife in Everett, WA. He loves reading fantasy books that take him on a journey. In his free time he enjoys open water swimming, spending time in nature, and spoiling his cat, Fancy. He is the author of The Year of Oceans and An Adventure Through the Togetherwood.