{"id":4301,"date":"2025-12-18T17:54:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writercosmos.com\/blog\/?p=4301"},"modified":"2025-12-18T17:54:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:54:20","slug":"meet-the-award-winning-authors-of-the-2026-great-american-fiction-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writercosmos.com\/blog\/meet-the-award-winning-authors-of-the-2026-great-american-fiction-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Award-Winning Authors of the 2026 Great American Fiction Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discover the Best Stories from the 2026 Great American Fiction Contest<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The results of the 2026 Great American Fiction Contest have been officially announced, celebrating outstanding short fiction from emerging and established writers. This year\u2019s competition drew more than 150 entries and showcased a wide range of powerful, deeply human stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Place Winner: Bethany Bruno<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Florida-based writer <\/span><b>Bethany Bruno<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> claimed first place for her short story <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo Swimming at Monson\u2019s,\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which will be published both online and in print on <\/span><b>January 2, 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Along with publication, Bruno received a <\/span><b>$1,000 prize<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bruno described learning about her win as surreal, saying she had to reread the notification email to be sure it was real. The recognition, she noted, felt especially meaningful after years of dedication to the craft that began in childhood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her winning story is rooted in the civil rights history of <\/span><b>St. Augustine, Florida<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, inspired by the 1964 protest at the Monson Motor Lodge, where demonstrators entered a segregated pool and were met with a violent response from management. Bruno, who previously worked as a historical tour guide while studying at Flagler College, said the iconic photograph from that moment remained with her and sparked a desire to explore the lives often overlooked by history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An accomplished short story writer and amateur historian. Bruno has been published in more than 90 literary journals, including <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sun, McSweeney\u2019s, Brevity,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">River Teeth<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. She has also authored two novels and is currently working on another, set in Florida during the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balancing writing with a full-time career and young children. Bruno shared that most of her creative work happens late at night or early in the morning. She described this recognition as validating after nearly 15 years of submitting her work to journals and magazines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More about her work can be found at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/bethanybrunowriter.com\"><b>bethanybrunowriter.com<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.writercosmos.com\/contact-us\"><b>Writer Cosmos Free Fiction Book Consultation Today<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Runners-Up Recognized for Excellence<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to the top prize, the contest honored <\/span><b>five runners-up<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, each receiving <\/span><b>$200<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and online publication of their stories. They will release their work weekly starting in January 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nancy Novick<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Story:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emergency<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (January 9, 2026)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A tense and intimate story set in an emergency room, where a woman encounters both unexpected connection and personal discovery.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span> <b>Bio:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Novick holds a master\u2019s degree from Columbia University and previously won the Mystery Writers of America\u2019s Robert L. Fish Award.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">S.E. Wilson<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Story:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arms and Hands<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (January 16, 2026)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A reflective narrative about family tension and the emotional weight of a rediscovered wartime artifact.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span> <b>Bio:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Wilson began publishing fiction in 2023 and has appeared in journals such as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chiron Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Louisville Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jen Brewington<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Story:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Future Is a Longed-For Past<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (January 23, 2026)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A moving story about memory, exile, and caregiving, complicated by the arrival of a young child.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span> <b>Bio:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Brewington teaches English at the University of Southern Mississippi and has been published in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Southern Humanities Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R.E. Dyer<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Story:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dad\u2019s Three Laws<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (January 30, 2026)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Two sisters confront family responsibility and a disturbing revelation involving their aging father.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span> <b>Bio:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/redyerauthor.com\/\"><b>Dyer<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has worked in education and curriculum design and is currently developing a dystopian novel.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michele Major<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Story:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wingspan<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (February 6, 2026)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A coming-of-age story shaped by trauma, resilience, and a complicated family dynamic.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span> <b>Bio:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A former professional dancer and educator, Major returned to writing later in life to pursue her long-held creative ambitions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Collection of the Best Stories<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Editors praised the overall quality of submissions and have compiled the <\/span><b>winning story, runners-up, and selected honorable mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into a digital anthology. The ebook will be available across major platforms for <\/span><b>$3.99<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, offering readers a chance to experience some of the strongest fiction from this year\u2019s contest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2026 Great American Fiction Contest continues to highlight compelling new voices and celebrate the enduring power of short fiction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.writercosmos.com\/contact-us\"><b>Trusted Fiction Writing Experts at Writer Cosmos<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover the Best Stories from the 2026 Great American Fiction Contest The results of the 2026 Great American Fiction Contest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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