Everything has to start somewhere, and the inaugural Cai Emmons Short Fiction Contest began in 2025, with our first winners announced in February 2026.
Purchase the Cai Emmons Short Fiction Contest Anthology, Vol 1 here.
Grand Prize Winner: Scott Colley, “The Bechtel Protocol,” Oakland, OR
Aftermath of Loss Award: Justine Norton-Kertson, “The Last Apple Tree,” Lowell, OR
Female Protagonist Award: Elizabeth Danek, “A White Cat,” Milwaukie, OR
Magical Realism Award: Angela Ostley, “The Memory Eater,” Vancouver, WA
Family Dynamics Award: Erin Radniecki, “Fragile” Corvallis, OR
Aftermath of Loss Hon. Mention: Laura Grange, “Gas Station Witch,” Seattle, WA
Magical Realism Hon. Mention: Jill Betterton, “Bonfire of the Insanities,” Eugene, OR
Grand Prize Winner
“The Bechtel Protocol,” by Scott Colley (Oakland, OR). A lifelong writer who spent years living off-grid in Alaska, Colley has called Oregon home for twenty-five years.
Aftermath of Loss Award
“The Last Apple Tree” by Justine Norton-Kertson (Lowell, Oregon). Norton-Kertson is editor-in-chief of Solarpunk Magazine and the author of the nonfiction book Utopian Witch (Microcosm Publishing, 2024). Their debut horror novella, Gutterspace, is forthcoming in October 2026 from Stars and Sabers Publishing.
Aftermath of Loss Honorable Mention
“Gas Station Witch” by Laura Grange (Seattle, Washington). Grange has served as an editor for several literary journals and currently works for a nonfiction book publisher.
Female Protagonist Award
“A White Cat” by Elizabeth Danek (Milwaukie, Oregon). Danek holds a Master’s in Humanities from Cal State Dominguez Hills and has been published in Mid-American Review and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.
Magical Realism Award
“The Memory Eater” by Angela Ostley (Vancouver, Washington). Ostley is a poet and fiction writer whose work blends grief, moral tension, and feminist defiance. Her short story “Shifting Stone” appeared in Forest & Fawn.
Magical Realism Honorable Mention
“Bonfire of the Insanities” by Jill Betterton (Eugene, Oregon). Betterton is a member of Wordos, Eugene’s long-running speculative fiction writing group, and is currently at work on a novel.
Family Dynamics Award
“Fragile” by Erin Radniecki (Corvallis, Oregon). Radniecki is a fiction writer and Author Accelerator-certified book coach based in the Willamette Valley whose work explores themes of nature and community.
Winners and the public celebrated the anthology on Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Click here for more info.
About Judge Miriam Gershow
Miriam Gershow (she/her), is the author of Closer (Regal House), Survival Tips: Stories (Propeller Books), and The Local News (Spiegel & Grau). Miriam’s stories appear in The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast and Black Warrior Review, among other journals.
Her flash fiction appears in anthologies from Alan Squire Books, Alternating Currents, and Fractured Lit, as well as many journals, including Pithead Chapel, Had, and Variant Lit. Her creative nonfiction is featured in Salon and Craft Literary among other journals
She teaches writing at the University of Oregon.
