If you’re looking for a little late summer diversion, both the winner and runner-up of Shooter’s 2016 Short Story Competition are now available online for your reading pleasure.

Ka Bradley’s winning tale, “Examination for Empathy, Sympathy, Emotion (ESE) 004”, appeared on the website in conjunction with the launch of Issue #4: Technology, in which the story also appeared. The competition runner-up, Laura Lamb’s “The Collector”, is posted exclusively on Shooter’s website.

Inventively framed and immediately absorbing, “Examination for Empathy, Sympathy, Emotion (ESE) 004” zeroes in on the minutiae of a miserable commuter experience, with darkly humorous, razor-sharp observation. “The Collector”, a whimsical and imaginative fable, depicts the unusual way a man manages to conquer his fear of public speaking.

These winning stories exhibit different literary strengths and styles, but both amount to the kind of work that Shooter seeks to champion: original ideas and execution, beautifully wrought language, an intriguing premise, compelling characters and, fundamentally, writing that appeals to both the head and the heart.

You, the reader, can play an important role in helping to support these new writers by sharing links to their work on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere, and, if you like what you read, please feel free to leave comments. Our next story competition will open in January 2017 but, until then, we hope you’ll enjoy these winning tales from our inaugural contest!