The Bridge Eight Fiction Prize is an annual contest for full-length fiction manuscripts, whether they be a novel, a collection of stories, or multiple novellas. The winner receives $1,000 and publication in Spring of 2023.
Congratulations to Our Winner
Missteps Washed by the Rain by Cynthia Franco
As we mentioned in our post last week, this is our fourth year of running the Bridge Eight Fiction Prize. It never gets any easier, because we never know what we’re looking for until we find it, and sometimes we find a pile of books we’ve been looking for.
We’re feeling frustrated and bitter about the industry as a whole. We want to publish more writers and pay you all even more money, but anyone else who does this knows that the indie publishing world is not for those looking to turn a profit. For the hundreds of manuscripts we receive, only a fraction of books are sold. Everyone wants to be published, but no one wants to buy a book.
And listen, we get it. A new book is published every week. You can’t buy every single one. That’s why choosing the right book to publish matters so much.
When reading Missteps Washed by the Rain, we were reminded of something: hope. NotB because these stories are hopeful per se, but because they remind us of what a great collection can accomplish. From the story of three refugee sisters raised by Cajun nuns to the one set at the funeral of an abusive father, we were left with the kind of heavy serenity only fiction can provide.
Thanks again to our finalists, to all those who submitted, and to the few readers who keep the indie presses chugging.
As our winner, Missteps Washed by the Rain will be published in Spring of 2023, and Cynthia Franco will receive $1,000!
About Cynthia Franco
CYNTHIA FRANCO is a poet and storyteller from the Dominican Republic who has lived in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and briefly in Louisiana, where she touched American soil for the first time. She is a proud dog-mom to three Cocker Spaniels and is currently learning how to build a desk for her future projects.
About Our Other Finalists
The Buddha Train by Stephen Policoff
STEPHEN POLICOFF’s first novel won the James Jones Award and was published by Carroll & Graf in 2004. His second novel, COME AWAY, won the Dzanc Award and was a published by Dzanc Books in 2014. His third novel, DANGEROUS BLUES, will be published by Flexible Press in November. He is currently Clinical Professor of Writing in Global Liberal Studies at New York University.
MONARCH: Stories by Emily Jon Tobias
EMILY JON TOBIAS is an American author and poet raised in the Midwest who lives and works on the coast of Southern California. Her work has appeared in literary journals such as Santa Clara Review, Talking River Review, Flying South Literary Journal, Furrow Literary Journal, The Opiate Magazine, The Ocotillo Review, Typehouse Literary Magazine, Jerry Jazz Musician with work nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and upcoming in Tahoma Literary Review, Big Muddy, TulipTree Review, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Writing from Pacific University Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Floodwall by Amy Bergen
Originally from Ohio, AMY BERGEN lived in Columbus, Baltimore, and New York City before settling (for now) in Portland, Maine. Her fiction and nonfiction has been published in DIAGRAM, Drunken Boat, The Rumpus, The Lifted Brow, and other places. David Foster Wallace once responded to her letter and gave her some of the most sustaining advice she’s ever received.
Direct Connection by Laura Farmer
LAURA FARMER’s fiction has appeared in the Antioch Review, Bridge Eight, The Iowa Review, The North American Review, Quarter After Eight, and other journals. She directs the Dungy Writing Studio at Cornell College and lives in Iowa with her wife.
