Contest Winnings, Belatedly Reported

On December 31, 2010, "Aftermath" won second place under the pen name Sarah Darling. Steward House says that the piece is a "conversational discussion of trauma." The review further highlights sentence structure, noting that I'll "ruminate on a sentiment only to reflect on it anew with a paragraph break and pithy one-liner that catches the reader under the ribs."

On January 28, 2011, "The Claustrophobic Impasse" took first place. Looking back, this is my weirdest piece yet. I'm not even entirely sure how I managed to write it. But the placement speaks for itself - the review is simply icing. Steward House calls it "intense," "complex," "deft," and "subtle."