And the Winner Is....

Well, I won the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival Fiction contest with a short story entitled: By Any Other Name. I'm told there were a record number of fiction entries for 2026 from over 33 states, and D.C. Plus entries from Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, and Switzerland. I am honored, to say the least.

I was especially grateful that the judge for the Fiction Contest, National Book Award winner, Justin Torres, got the ethos of my little story about how a group of queer folks-found family- make life a bit easier and sweeter because they are fully accepted and loved by each other. The story centers around a non-binary character, MC, who works at a service/gas station in Philadelphia, owned by their father. When MC faces a robber, the regulars at the service station come to the rescue, testing and strengthening the bonds within their community. In the style of James McBride, this story uses humor, dialogue and quirky characters to illustrate the value of humanity's wondrous diversity.

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I love stories about work, about labor, and I found myself reflecting on how we are all shaped by the things we do for money: sometimes we are ennobled; sometimes our moral natures are distorted; and very often we are made vulnerable. The workplace can be a site where the violence and vicissitudes of capitalism play out, and at the same time, it is a place of community. 

~ Justin Torres.

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With shout-outs to authors: Chester Himes, Nikki Baker, and S. A. Cosby, By Any Other Name will be published in late March to coincide with the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival/Tennessee Williams literary Festival. https://www.sasfest.org/