Some stories shock us with what they reveal, while others disturb us with what they leave unsaid. The following entries demonstrate the extraordinary power of brevity, where a handful of words can evoke entire world of emotions, conflicts, and thoughtful reflections.
It has been more than two months since we embarked on a journey through these wonderful short stories. Out of 2,362 submissions, many gripped our attention with their technical mastery, while some went beyond words and touched our hearts. These 201 exceptional entries found their place in our Longlist 1 & 2.
These 201 entries represent nearly 8.4% of the total submissions we received and will now find a place in ourforthcoming anthology, The Best One Sentence Stories Ever Told — a collection celebrating the power of storytelling in its most concise and compelling form.
From our longlists of 201 stories, our readers and editors then set out to identify those exceptional entries that combined technical mastery with emotional depth.
After careful consideration, this process led us to our short-list of the Top 20 entries.
The Hemlock’s Open Calls:
Issue 12 (Winter 2026), Deadline : November 30th
Submit poetry, fiction, creative non fiction and art/photography
Solo Books (Novelettes)
Submit work of fiction (7,000 to 15,000 words) for a solo book, Deadline December 31st
days
hours minutes seconds
until
Short-story Workshop with international bestselling author, Asha Ponnachan
And now, the moment we have all been waiting for! We are delighted to finally announce the winners of the contest, along with our Honourable Mentions.
But there’s one exciting change! When we first announced the contest, we had declared a prize of $50 for the first-place winner only. However, after going through these truly remarkable entries,we felt that such incredible storytelling deserved even greaterrecognition. So, we’ve decided to expand the prize pool and introduce additional prizes for the other ranks as well!
The Prizes are :
1st Rank – $50 & annual Hemlock Membership
2nd Rank – $25
3rd Rank – $15
From Rank 4th to 7th get free entry to our upcoming Fiction Writing Contest (to be announced in November)
RANK 1
Devashish Makhija – AMBUSH
When the paramilitary, crossing dam-waters, asked their boatman where his village was, he murmured – ‘Right below us.’
What Editors said about the Story :
AMBUSH captures the profound pain of losing one’s home. Whenthe boatman casually remarks that his village lies right beneaththem, we discover that it is submerged underwater. This seemingly simple response unveils a tragic history of loss and violence.
The story’s strength lies in its ability to convey such immense grief without spelling everything out. AMBUSH approaches it with greater complexity. The author understands that wars cannot simply be brought to an abrupt end and displays a profound awareness of the ways of the world. Neither the author nor his characters seek easy answers or simplistic solutions to such tragedies.
Instead, they acknowledge the harsh reality and continue to exist together, quite literally, in the same boat. The accompanying picture makes us look at what would otherwise be a beautiful boating scene with sadness in our hearts and disgust in our eyes.
RANK 2
Himan Heidari – London Bridge
On London Bridge, I became a seagull and flew home; below, a stranger shouted, “Go back to your country.”
What Editors said about the Story :
London Bridge poignantly captures the pain of being treated as an outsider. The speaker transforms into a seagull and flies home, only to be met with a stranger’s command to return to their own country. This striking contrast exposes the prejudice faced by migrants and raises deeper questions about home, freedom, and belonging. The story weaves together three themes with remarkable effectiveness: diaspora, transformation, and freedom.
London-Bridge becomes more than just a historical landmark. It assumes a deeper, almost ironic significance in the character’s journey. What makes the story particularly interesting is this irony: even after transforming into a seagull and seemingly attaining freedom, the protagonist cannot escape the judgment of others. It reminds us that. freedom is not always as absolute as it appears to young hearts, and that even the ability to fly away does not necessarily mean one can truly belong.
RANK 3
Esther Adegboyega – Untitled
From my father I learned carburetors, hospital corners and the particular silence of a man leaving for good.
What Editors Have to Say :
The story explores how a father’s absence can shape achild’s life, leaving an imprint that may last a lifetime. The narrator learns practical and mechanical skills from his father, along with the importance of keeping things organised and clean (the hospital corners), as one might expect from a traditionally authoritative father. But alongside these lessons, the narrator also inherits something far more profound: the silence of someone who has left forever.
The story is deeply moving because it conveys grief without ever explicitly describing it. Its simple words carry layers of meaning, allowing the sadness to emerge almost imperceptibly. The author’s use of the rule of three creates an almost uninterrupted, run-on flow of thought, mirroring the continuous movement of life and demonstrating remarkable technical control.
What is particularly fascinating is how the author brings together three seemingly unrelated images and emotions—carburettors, hospital corners, and silence—in a single sentence. Each carries its own significance, yet together they create a deeply evocative picture of memory, inheritance, and loss, leaving us with much to reflect upon.
RANK 4
Kent Koprowicz – Keepsake
I used her eyes as my mirror, then put them back in the jar.
What Editors Have To Say:
Keepsake is a short but deeply disturbing story. The narrator uses a woman’s eyes as a mirror before placing them back in a jar. This bizarre and unsettling act immediately creates an atmosphere of mystery and horror. The story’s power lies in what it leaves unsaid, compelling readers to wonder who the woman was and what might have happened to her.
The premise that the murderer chooses to preserve just one organ—the eyes—opens up fascinating questions about the complexities of human nature and, indeed, the very nature of our existence. The act of looking into the eyes also introduces another layer of meaning: even after committing a horrific deed, one cannot escape self-reflection or the possibility of eventual judgement. There are always eyes watching and judging us, whether real or imagined. Consciously or unconsciously, we are compelled to see ourselves through them.
What makes the story particularly haunting is this underlying suggestion that the eyes we take from another may ultimately become the very eyes through which we confront ourselves.
RANK 5
Reeraa Firoozfar – Untitled
She sewed both sleeves and gave the coat to a man who had left his hands between rivers and sand.
What Editors Have to Say :
The story tells a deeply moving story through a seemingly simple act of kindness. A woman makes a coat for a man who has lost his hands. The empty sleeves become a poignant reminder of his suffering, while her gesture speaks volumes about care, compassion, and human tenderness. The story deliberately leaves much unsaid, allowing readers to imagine the circumstances that led to his loss.
What makes the story particularly powerful is that its irony extends far beyond the words themselves and touches upon the absurdities of everyday existence. An armless man wearing a coat with sleeves is not merely an image of the devastation war leaves behind; it is also a striking. reflection of the ultimate absurdity of life. The woman, who can still sew and perform the simplest domestic tasks with her hands, represents a world that, at least on the surface, seems untouched by war. Yet, we cannot overlook the significance of her seemingly small contribution. We celebrate this simple act of kindness because, however little it may appear, it is perhaps what sustains life more than anything else.
There is another interesting dimension to this story: a man who once chose the path of war now finds himself dependent on feminine care and compassion. This reversal speaks volumes about vulnerability, human dependence, and the fragile boundaries between strength and helplessness.
RANK 6
Ojasvi Nath – Crayons
With crayons she drew her family; when the bombs came she drew them again, so they would still exist somewhere.
What Editors Have to Say:
The story captures how a child turns to imagination to confront the horrors of war and the pain of loss. After the bombs fall, the child draws her family once again, allowing them to continue existing somewhere, even if only on paper. This seemingly simple act carries immense sadness, yet offers a glimpse of hope. The story beautifully illustrates how art can become a way of holding on to the people and things we love.
What makes the story particularly moving is the child’s response to a tragedy. She is not crying, asking for help, or behaving in the way we might ordinarily expect a child to. Instead, she does something remarkably simple: she draws! There is a certain quiet resilience in this act, a refusal to let destruction have the final word. Perhaps the story reminds us that even a child can find the courage to confront unimaginable tragedy. Or perhaps we, too, need to become a little more childlike when facing the horrors of our own existence—to hold on to hope, continue doing what we do, and preserve art, or simply the act of creating it.
RANK 7
Kosar Aliakbarzadeh – Oranges
Weeping against my chest, she whispered: Does my daughter’s heart still love oranges?
What Editors have to say:
Oranges beautifully captures a mother’s love and longing for her daughter. She asks whether her daughter still loves oranges, transforming an ordinary fruit into a poignant reminder of their bond. The story leaves much to the reader’s imagination. What happened to her heart? Is it being transplanted? Has she passed away? Or have the two simply been separated? Every significant detail is deliberately withheld, leaving behind nothing but an overwhelming sense of pain and longing.
Isn’t this, in many ways, a true reflection of life? We rarely have all the answers, and sometimes it is the things left unsaid that stay with us the longest. The author’s deliberate choice of oranges makes the fruit far more significant than. it initially appears. It becomes a colourful symbol of hope, memory, and an enduring connection between a mother and her daughter. We may never discover why they are apart, or what had happened to her, but that one simple question reveals everything we need to know about the mother’s pain and her longing to hold on to the memory of her daughter as she once was.
Sometimes, it takes just one ordinary thing to carry the weight of an entire relationship.
Honorable Mentions
Mila Issolah – The Oldest Scam
“We have a strict non-refund policy,” Charon said flatly, before stepping into the bark.
What Editors Have To Say :
The Oldest Scam is a clever and darkly humorous take on death and the afterlife. By giving Charon, the mythical ferryman of the underworld, the language of a modern-day service provider, the author creates a delightful contrast between mythology and mundane reality. The flat, matter-of-fact response makes death sound like an ordinary commercial transaction, yet underscores its ultimate finality. What makes this particularly effective is the way the author combines humour with existential anxiety in a single sentence. Even at the threshold of the afterlife, there is no room for negotiation, second thoughts, or turning back.
Hamoun Amiri – Untited
Voyager-1 was really coming back, and it would frequently send a 2-word signal that said, “Liars, Naglfar.”
What Editors Have To Say:
The story creates an intriguing sense of cosmic mystery by imagining Voyager 1 returning with a repeated, two-word message. The reference to Naglfar, the mythical ship associated with Ragnarökin Norse mythology, adds an ominous layer to the story. But the word “Liars” does something more: it challenges our established belief systems and makes us question how much of what we consider truth is actually true. The brilliance lies in juxtaposing modern scientific exploration with ancient mythology, unsettling our confidence in both. In just a few words, the author opens up an entire universe of possibilities, leaving us to question our beliefs and imagine the terrifying truth behind the signal.
Sidharth Vardhan – Minor Collison
“Sir, there was a minor collision with a little girl: car is fine, just need to wash the bloodstains.”
What Editors Have To Say:
This is a chilling example of how a few carefully chosen words can reveal a deeply disturbing moral reality and class-based discrimination. The horror lies not in the collision itself but in the speaker’s priorities: the car is fine, and the only concern is washing away the bloodstains. The casual, almost bureaucratic tone reduces a human tragedy to a matter of vehicle maintenance. The contrast between the little girl’s implied suffering and the speaker’s indifference exposes a frightening absence of empathy and underlying class-conflict.
About Authors
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reeraa Firoozfar
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.
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 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.
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!
Hamoun Amiri
Hamoon Amiri is a persian writer and a former medical physicist who travels a lot and deeply interested in comparative mythology.
Sidharth Vardhan is a teacher by day and a writer by night. He loves reading classics and occasional classics.
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