The inaugural year of the Next Generation Short Story Awards brought excellence from around the globe. The judges had difficult decisions to make and the winners have now been named and brought together in this single volume of excellence. First Lines from a few Winners: This land is made of bones–skulls, ribs, and scattered vertebrae. —Wolf Place by Nick Jans An Air Force assignment to England had introduced me to her pubs, warm pints of good beer and an ancient game of skill – darts. — Jimmy Don’t Like to Lose by Robert Wright Service animals perform so many more useful functions since Someone to Care® started manufacturing them. —Service Animals by Kiki Dove St. Hilaire My name is Evie, and I guess you can say that I’m on my deathbed.—Hope for the Free by Niquita Utrera A man walks through a train station with nothing but a guitar case and a folded-over knapp-felt hat clutched in his frail grip.— Phantom Pains by M. L. Bell
