August 2026 (Issue #47)
The premise for Issue #47 was
LESS
We challenged contestants to write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 3,000 words long in which:
One or more characters are trying to have, get, or make LESS of something. Note that for THIS CONTEST ONLY, the maximum word length for contest entries was 3,000 words instead of the usual 5,000.
We received 338 qualified contest entries. Of those entries, six stories won prizes and two more will be published as “guest writer” entries in September.
Last issue, most of the stories were speculative fiction. In this issue, five out of six prize-winners are set in the real world. All the authors in this issue are new to OTP, and for two of them, these stories represent their first short fiction sale.
CONTENTS:
“Not immediately dangerous,” Dr. Kowalski said. “But the stress on your cardiovascular system from long-haul work is compounding.”
FIRST PLACE: Fifty Miles, Pratibha Kumari’s real-world story about a long-distance trucker who needs to change his work habits. (New OTP author and first short fiction sale.)
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By ten-thirty Sunday morning, her kitchen had turned into one of those community meetings where everybody had an opinion and nobody brought chairs.
SECOND PLACE: Less Salt, Jennifer A. Cole’s real-world story about a stubborn grandmother’s new dietary restrictions. (New OTP author.)
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When I was ten, I thought all mothers knew every child in the village. Only later did I realize most of them barely had time to know their own.
THIRD PLACE: Minutes, Anamika Nath’s real-world story about a mother who carefully considers changes to her life before she does, or does not, make them. (New OTP author.)
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It did not occur to her, not at first, that she had confused two different kinds of less.
HONORABLE MENTION: The Diminishing Bureau of Engineer Pacita Faustino, Avril Shakira Villar’s speculative story about an engineer who invents a kind of shrink ray that doesn’t work quite the way she intended. (New OTP author.)
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My boss, Michael, wants “texture”. Truth with a hook.
HONORABLE MENTION: Eleanor, Minal Shaman’s real-world story about a newspaper journalist facing a difficult deadline, and a difficult subject. (New OTP author and first short fiction sale.)
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“I was told to look for a guy in a Mets cap wearing a black and red checkered fleece.”
HONORABLE MENTION: Boon, Laura Williams’s real-world story about a case of mistaken identity that leads to a difficult decision. (New OTP author.)