The wait is over! Our editors have shortlisted 20 remarkable one-sentence stories from 201 long-listed entries.
These writers have mastered brevity, crafting tiny tales that reach far beyond the words on the page.
Measures taken by our team for the preparation of this shortlist:
- A work of fiction, not just a quote or reflection: Despite their brevity, each entry had to work as fiction, not merely a striking line or social reflection.
- A sense of progress: The protagonist takes a step, has taken one, or hints at a journey (good or bad) yet to come.
- The power of the unsaid: For as tiny as these stories are, mystery, subtext, and hidden meanings matter as much as what is explicitly stated—the essence of the iceberg theory.
- Relatable human truths: Grounded perceptions and experiences that resonate beyond the individual story.
- Economy of language and diction: Every word must earn its place, creating meaning with the fewest words possible.
- Emotional complexity: Stories that move beyond simple notions of good and evil to capture the shades of human feeling.
- Multiple layers: Extra appreciation for stories that weave together more than one theme within such a tiny space.
Please Note: Many wonderful stories could not make to the shortlist simply because they exceeded the strict 20-word limit.
The Hemlock’s Open Calls :
Issue 12- Submit Poetry, Fiction, Non Fiction and Art/Photography.
Novelette (Solo books) – Submit Fiction (5,000- 7,000 words)
Upcoming Opportunity for the Writers!
- Short Story Workshop starts from November 11th
- Fiction Writing Contest opens on December 1st
- Micro Poem contest starts from November 15th
As per our initial guidelines we were supposed to choose one winner. But we’ll be choosing top three! Stay Tuned for the winners! Mentioned below are the 20 shortlisted stories (Not in order of their ranking) are truly the art of saying More with Less.
Kent Koprowicz – Keepsake
Kent Koprowicz spent a career measuring how clinical trials fail. He now writes the sentences the data left out, each built to finish its work before the reader reaches the period.
Sharmila Rao – Jingles in the Night
Sharmila Rao holds a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from King’s College, University of London, and a B.A. (Hons) from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She has worked in a variety of fields in London, Singapore, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. She has taught English to the privileged and the underprivileged.
Nandana Pal Chowdhury – Untitled
Nandana Pal Chowdhury (she/her) is a researcher who spends her days plotting data and running simulations, and her nights constructing impossible possibilities and psychological landscapes. She enjoys the company of the indie pups in her neighborhood and, in her spare time, patiently works on earning the trust of her pet budgie.
Devashish Makhija – AMBUSH
Devashish Makhija’s oeuvre includes the award-winning YA novel OONGA, the collections of short stories FORGETTING & JORAM, two collections of verse – OCCUPYING SILENCE and BEWILDERNESS, several best-selling picture books for children, the international, National and Filmfare award winning feature films JORAM, BHONSLE, AJJI, and several widely-acclaimed short films.
Ojasvi Nath – Crayons
Ojasvi Nath is a writer, editor, content strategist, and founder of NervNow, with over a decade of experience in journalism and B2B content. A lover of words and stories, she has interviewed thousands of C-suite leaders. She also runs The Vintage Poets, where she explores her poetic, nostalgic side.
Kosar Aliakbarzadeh – Oranges
Kosar is an Iranian writer whose work is inspired by memory, loss, and human connection. She finds stories in ordinary moments and believes that what remains unsaid often speaks the loudest.
Sidharth Vardhan – Minor Collison
Sidharth Vardhan is a teacher by day and a writer by night. He loves reading classics and occasional classics.
Esther Adegboyega – Untitled
Esther Adegboyega is a Lagos-based writer exploring memory, family and quiet inheritance through fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She writes across English, Pidgin and Yoruba, drawn to compressed, image driven storytelling that finds meaning in small, ordinary details.
Mila Issolah – The Oldest Scam
Mila Issolah is a Master’s student in International Relations in Paris, trained in law. She volunteers as a legal researcher and translator, and writes on the side about geopolitics mostly, but this time, fiction too!
Shelly Yang – The Rubied Crowns
Shelly Yang is an undergraduate student from Sheffield who loves reading, writing, and making games. Her favourite genres include fantasy, mystery, wuxia, and dry comedy. She has shipped games in game jams and marketed for indie games, as well as for The Writers Workshop, a creative writing organisation.
Srijan Sinha – Untitled
Srijan Sinha is a first-generation filmmaker from North India on a mission to contend with the great social and moral questions of our times through any medium necessary. He has made over 3 short films currently doing the festival rounds, and consulted as a writer on innumerable projects.
Parham – Mourning the Indian Ocean
Parham Setayesh is a 27 years old Iranian journalist, engineer and researcher. He has a degree in Electrical-Power Engineering and an MBA, and is currently a PhD student in Organizational Behavior. He is interested in critical thinking and journalism.
Himan Heidari – Untitled
Himan Heidari is a Kurdish writer from Iran and a TECHNE AHRC-funded PhD candidate in English Literature at the University of Roehampton, London. His fiction explores identity, displacement, and belonging. His work has appeared in Lunch Ticket, MAYDAY Magazine, Los Angeles Review, and The Journal of Victorian Culture.
Mahnaz Zaheri Abdehvand – Untitled
My name is Mahnaz, and I am interested in literature and writing.
Susan Merli – Fridge Magnets
Merli loves toying with words. She loves the idea of writing a novel – but notices that 3-liners are her max.
Hamoun Amiri – Untitled
Hamoon Amiri is a persian writer and a former medical physicist who travels a lot and deeply interested in comparative mythology.
Reeraa Firoozfar – Untitled
Here is Reeraa. A vibrant, restless soul, forever hopping from one branch to another, collecting stories, skills, and little wonders along the way. A writer, poet, swimmer, cognitive scientist, and most of all, a creator. She writes, paints, makes candles, sews, crochets, embroiders, and pays attention to the tenderness of life, trying to reflect it in her creations.
Pooja Dewashree Wagle – The Coronation Silk
she who reads is she who lives
Tanvi Rao – Elixir
Tanvi is a part-time student and a full-time over thinker who claims to be a poet (there is no substantial proof of it).
Saadia Nasim – The Difference
Saadia Nasim Sheikh is a Pakistani writer whose work has received recognition in national and inter-university literary competitions. She was longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026 and has won awards in short fiction, visual writing, poetry, satire, and creative prose.
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