Listed below are the Winners of the 7th Annual Launch Pad Prose Competition. Congratulations to these winning writers and thanks to all for submitting! If you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.
Book Winner
The Quarter Queen by Kayla Hardy
In magically and racially divided 19th century New Orleans, infamous Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau falls into a mysterious coma, forcing her rebellious daughter to rise up and face her mother’s demons that have now become her own.
Short Story Winner
The Crown Prince of Koi by Daniel Abiva Hunt
A sushi chef pushes toward perfection, or at least a James Beard award, while dealing with a mutinous assistant chef — his father.
Mentorship Selections
Selected by Don Handfield
From the West by Sheldon Gleisser
As the Allies seize Berlin in the aftermath of Germany’s surrender, a Jewish American soldier must safely escort a Nazi officer and his family back to headquarters. (Short Story)
Nurture by Jackie Fenn
A young couple’s plan to raise clones of themselves falls apart when their son exhibits psychopathic tendencies, triggering doubts about the sanity of his genetically identical father. (Short Story)
Selected by Sarah Alderson
115 Mohegan by Kelsey Ann Wacker
A young widow living in the mansion she inherited upon her husband’s death steels her nerves to start dating again, only to find the house is haunted by an obsessive spirit she believes to be her late husband’s. (Short Story)
Selected by Todd Samovitz
An Excess of Light by Amisha Upadhyaya
An investigation into a potential crime scene leads a police AI consultant to clues about her mother’s disappearance 20 years prior and might hold the key to saving her sister’s life. (Book)
Guaranteed Development Prize Winner
Waterloo by Ben Carter Olcott
When a teenage employee of the John Deere Tractor Museum becomes caught in the middle of a labor strike, he is pressured to choose a side.
Guaranteed Signing Prize Winner
The Quarter Queen by Kayla Hardy
In magically and racially divided 19th century New Orleans, infamous Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau falls into a mysterious coma, forcing her rebellious daughter to rise up and face her mother’s demons that have now become her own.
