2026 Winners

QUARTER-FINALISTS

(Alphabetical Order by Title)

100 Heartbreaks by Joanna Garner
24 Hours From Tulsa by Louisa Danger Rorschach
24 Hours of Wildlight by Kevin Barney
25 Cases of Canadian Club by David Bernal
A Chick in the Cockpit by Ray Keller and Erika Armstrong
A Child of God by Robert Rosenbaum
A Fairy Tale by Craig Paulsen
A Farmhouse in the Rain by Joe Kilgore
A Little Death by Joshua Lederman
A Little Nibble by Laura Londagin
A Long Hard Road by Juan Bravo
A Mansion of Many Rooms by Daniel V Carbone
A Mid-Christmas Morning by Richard Giarraffa
A Murder of Birds by Max Giannis
A Royal Danish Christmas by Stephanie Bourbon
A Song of Bullets by Lizzy Shannon
A Tale of Two Mothers by A S Vieira
A Very Hollywood Christmas by Robert Pranga
A Visitor by Cathrine Elmerkjær
A Way Around It by Alexandra Hademenos
Academy Boy by Luke Jin
Affectionate by George Tonelli
After the Bitter Winter by Barry Brock
Aiden: Genesis by Jesuan Do Amaral
Aidyn by Lizzy Esau
All Together by Ben Parsons
Aluminum Man by Christopher Grimaldi
Always a Groomsman by Awan Jay Wye
Amazons, Rebels & Spies: The Trial by Barbara Ashley
American Jury Duty by Philip Langer
AmeriKan Standard by Alan Clarck
Andy & Me by Julia Pearlstein
AnimaLib by Stephen Colley
Apex by Erin Copen Howard
Arctic Fix by Randy Taylor
Ash Street Redux by Pierre Brown
Ashes by Kevin Brodie
Asylum 2035 by Mark Netter
At the Corner of Faith and Forgiveness by Richard Kjeldgaard
August & September by Marissa Joy
Austin by Sam King
Ava and the Accountant by William Walker
Babylon Junction by Dennis Flagg
Bad Betty by Sterling Sulieman
Bad Idea by Mike O’Neill
Bad Seeds by Sean Nash
Bagels and Salsa by Lara Reznik
Bah Humbug by Jo Garrett
Baked Cakes by Shellie Lewis
Band in a Van by Scott Finlayson
Based on Actual Events by Rebecca Brewer
Beantown by Giovani Lampassi and Tim Day
Becoming Van Gogh by Carla Bianco
Before I Say Yes by Kirk Weddell
Bet on Chet by Jamison Bruce Anthony
Between Bullets by Evette Natasha Betancourt
Bitter by Jesse Speer
Black Rooster by Yair Zhurat
Blind Spot by Michael Morra
Blizzard by Melissa Skirboll
Bloody Bob Sims by Joel Sappington
Blue Horizon by Braden Barton
Blue Note by Laurence Markarian
Blue Skies by Brian Kilgore
Blunt by Hadeel Ramadan
Boarding by Zachary Smith
Bread and Circuses by Larry Pollack
Broken English by Morgan Halla
Burden of Command by Shashank Upadhye
Bye, Bye, Cleo by Adelaide Helena
Can’t Debate Perception by jamal cox
Canterbury Trails by Michael Brose
Capital by Robin Fusco
Capital Offense by Mike Johnston
Capitola by Joseph Kibler
Cast Aside Home by Joseph Paragona
Casting Call by Jack Sherry
CATastrophe by Jeremy DeCoursey
Central Falls by Carlos Miranda
Cesar and Max by Susan Klos
Chasing Bigfoot by Phil Parker
Cheaper Than Therapy by Marlene Bell
Chiasmus by Jarrod Smith
Choices by Laurel Nicholson and Donald Nicholson
Christmas in Distress by Cannon Rosenau
Christmas in Japan by Jeremy Rigby
Christmas on Campus by Eric J Vardeman
Cicada by Bragi Schut Jr
Citadel Lost by Ernie Rivera
Clinical Models by Paul Mroczka and Fran Page
Code: 143 by Emma Prescott and Kyler Prescott
Collateral Damage by James Patrick Owen
Collision of Duty by Jermaine Jones
Comin’ Out Swinging by Victoria Arena and Dave Arena
Committed by James Moran
Complications by Michael Eric Ross
Conception by Cathriona Slammon
Condamned by Eric Arthur
Confidant by Marni Sullivan
Cooperstown by John Licata
Counting on Clark by Erin Copen Howard
Credible Threats by Dana Booker
Crime Spree by Louis Spirito
Critter Catcher by Scott Nabat
Dangerous Alliances by Madeleine Vessel
Dark Between the Hollow by Erin Dugard
Dark Green by Michael Gossette
Day Pass by Louisa Danger Rorschach
Dead Melody by Gabe Berry
Death in Poland by Grant Huffman
Deer Leader by Jillian Cardillo
Defending Innocence by David Wickenden
Dehdmen 47 by Chad Westmiller
Departures – Revelations by Theodore Inoue
Dependa[ble] by Rachel Troche
Desert Star News by Robert Haus
Detention Diary by Bryan Matthews
Detritus by Derrick Edmond
Devil’s Breath by David McClendon
Dieter Tully by J. Austin Gentry
Divided States of America – Part 1: Dawn of the End by Luc Sauser
Do Not Disturb by Xavion Niles
Doe by James Hereth and Rhonda Smiley
Dollface Assassins by Robin Sterling
Drinking in Church by Kieran Angelini
Duplicity by Linda Shayne
Durango by Daniel J. Ricottone
Ears for Rent by Tra Nguyen
Eat Me by David Michan
Eclipses by Gustavo Garzon
Edge of Smoke by Karlyle Tomms
Eighty Pieces of Eight by Karl Mather
El Titán by George Perez
Entanglement by Dave Leavitt
Esperanza by David Christopher Loya
Esteban by Mark Gallini
Exhausted by Jason Romine
Exit Interview by Anthony D. Martinez and Rukeyah S. Jones
Faltered State by K.T. Roth
Farang Fever by Pierre Düsing
Fast Break by AJ Castro
Felt by Leah Elizabeth Evans
Find a Way by Lisa Triano
Fireflies by Amanda Keener
First Person View by Jason H Pates
First to Die by Pepper Reed
Five Mile Creek by Kathleen Man
Five With a Bullet by Christopher Isenegger
Floaters by Cinque Lee
Foxton Hall by Emily Joshua
Frankensteak by David Hatfield
Frowzy by Matt Moon
Full Press by Stephen Elwain Barber
Gentlemen of the Gridiron by Birgit Syran Myaard
Germaphobe in a Sex Club by Jessica Ennis and Caitlin Cronenberg
Ghost Story by Gloria Good
Gnarled Gods by J. R. Dimuzio
Going Under by Molly Mayock
Golden Slumbers by MP Soldo
Good City by Natalia Chown
Good Humor by Erik Fetler
Gorilla by David Herman
Grease Kitchen by Alina Islam-Hashmi
Great F’ing Advice by George Tonelli
Green Motels by Linsay Rousseau
“Greylock by Barry Siskind ”
Grounded by Ryan Skinner
Guardrails by Eric Lotter
Guilt & Circumstance by Adam Karpel
Gypsum by Tom Sime
Gyre by Gina Lennox
Hacked by Jonathan Ruppert and Toby Osborne
Hallow Corner by Ryan Peverly
Hardest Battles by Kate Salters
Heart House by Trip Anderson
Heavy by Collette Legault
Heavy Driver by Chad Magnant
Hedy by Denise Worhach
Hedy Lamarr and the Kitchen Cabinet by Raven Patton
Hell Home by Dakota Violet
Hell is an Underground Bar by Meredith Whitley
Her, Love, and Stardust by Tim Northburg
Hereafter by Rudi O’Meara
Hiding Places by Samuel Wilson
Higher Education by Brennan Dillon
Hitmen: Fight Club by Justin Trumbull
HOA by Marcus Herzberg
Homecoming by Anuraag Asiwal
Homing Instincts by Jes Sugrue
Hope Dying by Chase Manning
Hot Girl Summer by Carolina Garrigo
Hot Rod Monsters by Michael Kenney
How to Sell a War by Noah Amir Arjomand
How to Win Friends and Lose Influencers by Dana Barnaby
HUMPS (High School Umpires) by Carlos Gabriel Ruiz
I Am Within by Tim Morgan
I Don’t Want to Fight Anymore by James Tison
I Want My MTV! by Jordan Doran
I Would Like to Thank by Benedict Ransley
Icebound by Christopher J Valin
If I was… Him by Christopher Harmon
I’ll See You Next Year by Daphne P Austen
Impenetrable by Daniel Broderick
In a Full Moon’s Fortnight by Caroline Rovello
In Our Image by Jack Cusick
In the Margins by Malva Hornfelt
Incoming by Christopher Grimaldi
Independent Living by Lise Pyles
Inhuman by Christopher Jarvis
Irish Goodbye by India Pearl and Chris Goodwin
It Could Never Be by Mike Alter
It’s a Grand Night for Murder by Joe Starzyk
It’s Just You and Me Baby by Ramona Robinson
It’ll Be Fun by Kim VanFelton
It’s My Penis and I’ll Cry If I Want To by Jamie Black
Japanese for Baseball by Ray Keller
Jitterbug! by DC Copeland
Jukebox by Michael Melanson
Just a Hitch by Kate
Kaye by Sean Clarkson
Kill All Zombies by Antonio Malpica
Kill Your Sister by Jeff Beauvoir
Kim’s Money Tree by Kyungja Lee
Kingdom: Ivory Coast by Sean Davis
Kingdoms Come by Olga Holtz
Kinky Kills by Timothy Liebe
Korrupter by Chrys Kozak
Lacuna by Alex Falcon
Ladies of Linden by PJ Sarah Collins
Lady Hours by Rod Usher
Last Case Resort by Kevin Goolsby and Kevin Heyer
Lazarus Rising by Pavan Grover
LBJ & the Wink by Michael Gossette
Le Bon Temps by Eileen Dennehy
Leah in Paradise by Steven Weill
Legion by Antony Jack Kurth
Lesbians of Bushwick by Olive Persimmon
Let There Be Bread by Gary Awad
Lethal Injection by James Manion
Let’s Stay Together by Ted Gavarkavich
Lies Within Lies by Michael Vernetti
Like an Animal by David Page
Little Island of Joy by Christopher Carlson
Lock It Down by Joshua Grossman
Look by Sarah Tump
Looking for Love…? by James Anthony Pearson
Lord Avarice by Harry Kakatsakis
Losing It by Alexandra Fitzpatrick and Kimberly Fitzpatrick
Lost Boys by Josh Leong
Lost Claus by Colleen Driscoll
Lost Treasure by John McCarney
Love on the Hip·po·Campus by Charlie Prince
Loving Me Straight by Ruby Smith
Lucky Charm by grace eitrheim
Lux Protocol by R Buresly
Mad Scientists by David Page
Madrid Affair by Jeffrey van Davis
Magical Manhattan by Laura Thompson
Maisie by Chris Gerard
Major League Drones by Selvir Katich
Maladh by Vincent Essid
Manitou: Big Evil by Jim Kowalski
Master Version 1.1 by Antanas Marcelionis and Richard Lasser
Mated by Anthony Moore
Meant for More by Esteban Garza
Meet Day by Michael L Williams
Melika Saving the World by Ed Wiles
Melody by Nick Craven
Mendacious by Peter Wilson
Midnight Rainbow by Kelly Song
Mine Forever by Richard Garry
Mischievious by Warren Lane
Mistress by L A Henderson
Money Makers by Alex Rubin by Alex Rubin
Mosquito Bite by Jordan Crawford
Mourning After by Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich
Murder Takes Time by Giacomo
Murder Tour by Ryan Stack
My Frenemy Satan by Brett Martin and Ethan Martin
My Name Is Jonas by Cory David Bortnicker
My Teenage Grandpa by Mark Turner
Nanking by John Sanders
Necrobus by Claudia Vilcu
Neighbors by Andi Lipo
Never Let Her In by Saurin D Lakhia
New Beginnings by Maureen
Nine Months Left by Matthew Lowe
No Peace I Find by Hyten Davidson and Christian Missonak
No Way Down by Kev Quaid
Nosebleed by Edmund Yealu
Numbers Game by Fiona Westwell
Oasis by Christopher Orr
Off the Beaten Path by Lisa Romagnoli
Off the Coast by Sean Muir
Offspring by Brian J Leitten
On a Field of Legends by Nicholas Julius
On the Line by Nathan Corpus
One in a Billion by Olga Holtz
One Night by Lee Field
Oo La La by Rosemary Griggs
Operation Vacation by Kelly Kurowski
Overwhelming Darkness by S A Hart
Parafox by Christine Gatlin
Parasomnia by Ryan Shovey
Pathological by Katherine Morris
Patience and Charity by Elaine Little
Patty by Andrew Carden
Peach Tea & Gun Smoke by Evan Langston
Perdition by Kristopher MacNeill and Nic MacNeill
Perfectly Arranged by Alina Islam-Hashmi
Perfectly Broken by Rhonda Burnaugh
Perfume Spy by Graham Smith
Phantom Blues by Michael Gossette
Phrenic by Tyler Schultz
Pickleballers by Carlos Gabriel Ruiz
Pietra Fredda by Matthew Nicholson
Poe by Elizabeth Marcellin
Pope Joan by Michael Melanson
Postmark – Havana by Matthew Doherty
Preacher Man by Jordan Anstatt
Precursor by Steve Brown
Premiere Amusements 2000 by Ritchie Stonian Johnston
Present by Lisa Lutes
Pressed Meat Sandwiches by Tim Bennett and Anthony Feig
Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Crompton
Prompt Masters by Malcolm Wong
Put Me Out by Steve Coy
Queen of the Sky by Brett Nicholson
Rancho Mirage by Josh Miller
Ravine by Mark Kratter
Reality Check by Simon James
Realtors by Kevin Dembinsky
Reaper by Kit Modica
Recreant by Craig Nobbs
Red Hoods by Dana Carrabon
Rednecks by Matthew Webster
RefCorps by Jason Marks
Reign of Terror by Michael Gossette
Residential by Derek Weissbein
Return to the Allagash by Jim Levi and Bob Harris
Returning Fire by Joyce Griffen
Reunited! (And I Don’t Feel So Good) by Rob McNeil
Revolutionary Spy by James Foye
Rewiring Jade by Jane A Dafoe
Rex Rex by Stephen Lanson
Rhapsody in Rum by Rebecca ONeill
Rising Sons by Michael Smith
Riven Rock by Tina Love and Kim Devenne
Run to Ground by Steven M Rogers
Sacred Profanity by Malcolm Wong
Safety Town by Dawn Hope
Saina Dreams of Kimchi by Arnold Chon
San Miguel ExMas MixUp by Lorraine Flett
Santa AI by Stephanie Bourbon
Sarah Han by Xander Bailey
Scenario by Russell Bradley Fenton
Schisma by Cameron A. Straughan
Sea Change by Steven Miller
Seahawk by Evan Langston and Frank Orsatti
Seeker of Heaven by Chris Ramlochan
Serial by Pierre Brown
Seven Deaths by Salih Demir
Sex Robot by Leaf Wang
Shackleton by Pauline McAlonan
She Seems Nice by Eileen Hanley
Shesafella: A Fancy Tale by Felice Cohen
Shuttlecock by Tapan Sharma
Silver Arrows by Kit Cramer and Jonathan Richardson
Silver Bandits by Joel McElvaney
Simon’s Fate by Darryl Bubner
Sincerely, Doug by Barnabas Prontnicki
Single-A by Jay Burnham
Sinner? I Barely Know Her! by Adelaide Young
Sixty Nine by Ksenia Tolmazin
Skinny Dipping by Harvey Yazijian
Slaycation by Ryan Malik
Sleight of Mind by Marc Stephens
Snowdrop by Judith Bunting
Snowlilly by Sean Clarkson
Somebody’s Son by Troy Mann
Something More by Ashley Fernandez
Song for the Wendigo by Yvonne Paulin
South to Paris by Jack Teague
Space Cadets: The Next Generation by Edwin McDonald IV
Stalag by William Walker
Star Witness by Heidi Lauren Duke
Starf-ckers by Nicholas Parker
Starling by Deven Blethen and Mae Ross
Steel Shutters by Ray Shea
Step-Dracula by Max van Dongen
Steve by Amy R Wieseneck
Stranger Choice by Terrance Henry
Sub Rosa by Calvin Cearley
Substitute Down by Paul Rosengren
Suburban Samurai by Gerald Smith
Sunday by Albie Cullen
Sunshine Time Travel by Jon Platt
Survival Stage by Jenna Macari and Logan Russell
Switching Teams by Emilie Dawson
Takao by James Sutherland
Target Audience by Rory Laughlin
Tectonic by Haley McLane and Albert Mora
Temp Tag by Benjamin Hartman
That’s Life by Ryan Parker
The Ada Effect by Johanna Jake
The Algorithm of God by Sarantos
The Anti-Comic by Steve Savitz
The Astrologer by Ray Keller and Richard Schmidt
The Banner by Ernestina Juarez
The Barber by Mike Bencivenga
The BarHoppers by Mike Barroga
The Battle of Evermore by Bill Burton
The Big Dick by Lizzy Esau
The Black Front by Rhonda Aycock and Bobby Aycock
The Black Girl (Maybe) Lives by Brandon Collins
The Black Knight! by Henry Brown
The Blob 2080 by Harry Kelley
The Book of Ruth by Lou Borenstein
The Cajun by Patrick Teal
The Camp by Brian Boyd and Scott Boyd
The Chair in the Garden by Drew Alexander Ross
The Con by Kennedy Brabham
The Connection Trap by David A Wimsett
The Crocodile’s Neck by Ale Alberola
The Day I Was Meant to Die by Giada Curiale
The Day They Became Angels by Geoffrey Clark
The Decision by Carlos Perez
The Demon of Hope Street by Craig Peters
The Diamond Method by Cole Steffensen
The District by LE Hamilton
The Dogs of Instagram by Bill Taylor
The Double by Skyler Millicano
The Faction by Kevin Karp
The Fastest Game in the World by Jane Nolan
The Ferryman by Louis Bernstein
The Forger by Erin Donovan
The Giant of Guadarrama by Alia Zeid
The Gold Standard by Nicole Dimond
The Great Fire by Kayanna Warren and Michelle Lewis
The Grimoire by Steven Berger and Bridget Sullivan
The Heart House by Trip Anderson
The Henchman by Michael David Ellis
The Henchmen by Jason Stratton
The Heroine of Wrangel Island by Aaron Michael Bailey
The Hollow Shore by Patrick PK Koepke
The Hollywood Desk by Jasmine Edwards
The Hunchback of Notre Dame High School by John Woodard
The Ivory Towers by Steven Miller
The Judge by Christine O’Donnell
The Katzenbach Quads by Toby Schwartz
The Keep by Cris Vleck
The Kill Clause by Kevin Tavolaro and Kelly Tavolaro
The Labyrinth by Nicholas Szegedi
The Last Chapter by Rudy Guevarra Jr.
The Last Flight of Professor Finch by Steve Fisher
The Last Just Human President by Eran Medina
The Last Resort by JK Kelly
The Lazarus Girl by Lindsay Eleanor Smith
The Leprechaun Trap by Carlton Welch
The Lone Wolf by William Parsons
The Mercy Ward by Craig Ugoretz
The Method by Stephanie Pearl
The Network by Rory Laughlin
The One Anothers by Julianne Korogodon
The Patsy by DJ Hupp
The Perfect House by Michael McDermott
The Recluse by Eric Duffy
The Red Light Lady of 42nd Street by Samantha D’Amico
The Red, White, and Boom by Hymnson Chan
The Right Kind of Wrong by Eric Murphy
The Road to You by Barbara Peacock
The San Quentin News by Thomas Bolema
The Tangerine Man by Frank Edvin
The Tenth by George Fernandez
The Trial of Roman Weinzapfel by John O’Leary and John William
The Umbra by Brad Johnson
The Unravelling by Susan Kelejian
The Village Phantom by AE Guaaker
The War Within: Course of Action by Howard Pell
The War-De-Sac by Asif Balouch
The Wayfinders by Angela Savidge
The Weight by Zoe James
The Well by Max Flora
The Western Slope by Will Hager
The Westminster Insurgent by Alan Devey
The Whispering by John Ellis
The Willows by Evan Ziegenfus
The Zombie Challenge by Erik Lurz
Threemorrow by Vikki Harris
Thumpers by Dawn Kalani Cowle
Tilt by James Sismanes
Tinderbox by Adam Stier
Todos Santos by Erin Donovan
Tough Crowd by Charlie James
Tower Climb by Bob Crandall and Bruce Dunn
Track Shack by Andrew Pesa and Nathan Robert
Trophies by Peter Van Horne
True North by Hope C Tarr and Raj Moorjani
Tumbleweeds by Rob Putnam
Twin Framed by LaTorie Martin
Two Hundred Miles by Andrew Slattery
Two Lost Lambs in the Black Woods by Nick Kloppenberg
UnBlinded by George Tonelli
Uncle Franco’s Birthday Suit by Lynn Elliott
Under the Shadows by L. E. McClintock
Underground by Ted Campbell
Ungrateful by Mike Bencivenga
Union Break by Joseph Sullivan
Unkle Punk by Andrew Pesa and Nathan Robert
Unknown Black Assailant by Dayne Jefferson
Unknown Legend by A Davis and Tara Walker
Vaamp by Andre Mateus
Van 59 by Brian Trotter
Vibez by Alexia Greene
Vice Versa by Jason Lajoie
Viral Evolution by Matthew Jobe
Viv + Eddie by Andi Watson
Voyager by Damien Mulvany
Vulgar by Farook Qais
Want by Hughes Patrick Cousins
Want for Nothing by Eric John Meyer
War & Advent by David Ennocenti
Wayo Boy by Obi D’meano
We Came, We Saw, We Retreated by Kevin Brunner
What Now? by Crystal Carrow
When Pigs Fly by Terry Podnar and Ed Learner
When You Know by Emma Jacoby Axelrod
Where I Go When I’m Gone by Rebecca Robinson
White Chocolate by Cecil Harris
White House at Night by Richard Carson Bailey
Who We Are by Bart Verraest
Why Not Her? by Taylor Bartczak
Winged Hearts by Debra Karr
With Malice Towards None by Lee Field
Women at Work by Steven Friedman
Women From Mars by Julian Rucker
Wonder Horse by Mary Huckstep
Work the Inside by Marcela Cobb
Wyoming by Adam Goudchaux
XXL by Craig Berger
Yardbird by Andrew Slattery
Ye Gods! by Brent Bradshaw
Yesteryear by Michael Lockwood
Youth of a Nation by Chance Crane
Zombie Hot Spring by Candace Rose
Zyzygy: Rise of the Red Phantom by Bryan Farrell