There are moments, as editors, when reading feels less like evaluation and more like discovery. This contest was one of those moments.

When The Hemlock Journal partnered with Remington Review to host this Fiction Writing Contest, we hoped to gather strong, compelling work. What we received instead was something far richer: stories that unsettled us, moved us, surprised us, and, at times, refused to leave us long after we had finished reading.

Last week, we announced the Longlist of twenty five and the shortlist of eight outstanding pieces. Each one represented a distinct voice and a fully realised imaginative world. Choosing among them was not easy.

Here’s the long awaited final result of the contest.

First Position : From On High by Amita Basu

Amita Basu’s fiction appears in 90+ venues including The Penn Review and The Bombay Literary Magazine. Her debut, At Play and Other Stories (Bridge House), released in 2025. She’s won the Ruskin Bond Literary Award and the Letter Review Prize. She lives in Auroville and works in climate action.

2nd Position : Thalweg by Theresa Wong

Theresa Wong is a climate change specialist who has lived and worked in Europe, Asia and North America. She is published in Brick, the literary journal. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and was recently longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She currently resides in Singapore.

Third Position: The Last Sigbins by Bernardo C. Vidal Jr.

Bernardo hails from the Philippines. He moved to the US in 2006, where he now lives in North Carolina with his wife and two kids. When not working, he pursues his other passion (next only to literature) for fishing.

Fourth Position : First Principles by Alan Talevi

Alan Talevi was born in Buenos Aires in 1980. He holds a PhD in Natural Sciences and a degree in Creative Writing. He has published three short story collections and a novel. He is one of the founders of the Argentine publishing house Salta el Pez.

Fifth Position: Alice McRae by Norman Thomson

The author lives in Ontario, writes micros for exploration, reads medieval themed whodunits for pleasure and riffs blues and Beatles on his Hohner harmonica for entertainment.

Sixth Position : Corals in Her Throat by Bhumika Sanjeev

Bhumika Sanjeev is a poet and writer from Bengaluru with a growing trail of publications and the Utkarsh Poetry Fellowship by the Bangalore Poetry Festival to show for it. When not scribbling in notebooks, Bhumika can be found people-watching, drifting into improbable daydreams, or getting lost in stories that refuse to stay ordinary.

Seventh Position : Tadpoles by Laura Trapletti

Laura Trapletti is from the United States but currently living in Germany. She has her BA in History with a minor in English Literature. While her passion is creative writing, her day job is corporate. She has previously published poetry in Balancing Acts 2: Women Poets of Maine.

Eighth Position: Kadal – A Marine Ballet by Julia Esther Jacob

Julia Esther Jacob is a writer and poet drawn to stories that shape the human condition. Her work is forthcoming in Usawa Literary Review and a 2026 short fiction anthology. Alongside writing, she volunteers for charities that focus on the welfare of street animals, children’s education, and mental health programs.

Congratulations to everyone!