April 2021 (Issue #37)
The premise for Issue #37 was
REPAIR
We challenged contestants to write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which one or more characters try to repair something (physical, like a toaster, or intangible, like a friendship).
We received a new record of 486 contest entries and chose six stories for prizes. We also have two guest writers, for a total of eight stories in this issue.
One of our prizewinners has had a story published in OTP before, and one guest writer had a mini-contest entry published. The other six authors are new to OTP. Four of this issue’s stories are speculative fiction and the other four are real-world stories.
CONTENTS:
In the Council, they had argued back and forth as to the nature of the flying objects, but had not reached consensus.
FIRST PLACE: Missionary, Arlen Feldman’s speculative story about an alien encounter in humanity’s far future. (New OTP author.)
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“You do understand how important you are to our operation, don’t you?”
Heng thought hard. “No. No, I really don’t.”
SECOND PLACE: A Useful Product, Jeff Jaskot’s speculative story about a manufacturing plant on another world. (Jeff was previously published in Issue #36.)
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She was not allowed to give up. She was programmed for success.
THIRD PLACE: Remnants, Rae A. Shell’s speculative story about artificial intelligence. (New OTP author.)
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Mr. Johnson tried not to dwell on his son’s lack of interest. He turned back to the piano, playing that new and bluesy song from a few minutes ago.
HONORABLE MENTION: The Piano, Shane Paquette’s real-world story about music and loss. (New OTP author.)
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There’s a reward for finding the woman, too, but he’s after something more substantial. He wants to do something important for once.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jurisprudence, Danny Thomas’s real-world story about a nineteenth-century bounty hunter. (New OTP author.)
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I am handsome, vain, drunk, hungry, afraid to touch my tooth and one hundred percent out of my element.
HONORABLE MENTION: The Fix, Katrinka Mannelly’s speculative story about a vampire who needs a dentist. (New OTP author.)
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Dr. Q was the one that named the voice in my head. “Deena” sounded close enough to “Donya,” and it means “judge,” which seemed fitting.
GUEST WRITER: Donya, Raazia Sajid’s real-world story about a young woman struggling to adapt to her problems. (Raazia was published in mini-contest #23.)
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She seemed to return from somewhere else and her color improved a little. “Sit down. There’s something I want to tell you that you must promise me you will never share.”
GUEST WRITER: The Red Brooch, Doug Jacquier’s real-world story about seeking justice. (New OTP author.)