The humdrum of the everyday can wear on a person. Grocery store runs, paperwork, bills. For Mabel Schwartz, a solo trip on the open road is the solution, even if it scares her. In a Super 8 Motel along the way, she discovers what she really needs. 

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Essay Written By: Melissa Wozniak

Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler

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The non-descript anonymity of a waiting room can be a melancholy experience, even more so if you find yourself there frequently. Erin Shea’s “Waiting Room” faces the stale gray of these liminal spaces head on, following the protagonist’s internal journey during the course of one doctor’s appointment. Along the way? The Price is Right, Selena Gomez, and the psychological struggles of chronic illness.

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Essay Written By: Erin Shea

Essay Voiced By: Crystal Judkins

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Family can be messy. Rachel Pollock tackles one family’s grief - for what was lost, and for what they never had, in “Exit Wound.” With as many twists and turns as the back road it’s set on, this story is one of a kind.

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Essay Written By: Rachel Pollock

Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler

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Voyeurism is a fact of city life, but Bebe King Nicholson takes it to a new level with “The Blonde.” One woman's loneliness and nostalgia begin to bleed into the life story of another she sees from afar. Will imagination and reality collide, or will the window for that opportunity close too soon?

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Essay Written By: Bebe King Nicholson

Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler

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Family histories get brought into the present in Andie Ngeleka’s “The Ghosts in West Texas.” Hot, dry air blows over the plains, bringing memories of what came before - and warnings for what’s to come.

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Essay Written By: Andie Ngeleka

Essay Voiced By: Crystal Judkins

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Grief and resentment coil around one another in this dark fantasy from AJ Nelson. “Chop Chop” luxuriates in language, transforming seemingly routine moments into a feast for the imagination. All of these familiar details add up to an ending that is anything but ordinary.

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Essay Written By: AJ Nelson

Essay Voiced By: Tessa Flannery

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Gambling, debt, and the sounds of Sinatra swirl with cigarette smoke in George Murray’s quiet action story “The Kneeler.” Follow one man’s journey in a casino bar from opera to loan sharks to deadly trouble.

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Essay Written By: George Murray

Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler

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In a new pandemic world, brain fog seems to be affecting us all. That phrase takes on a whole new meaning in Madoka Mori’s unnerving “Fake Meat.” Perception is a slippery beast for this protagonist, causing his world to swiftly unravel in a way that is humorous and eerie all at once.

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Essay Written By: Madoka Mori

Essay Voiced By: Andrew Parella

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There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love - but there’s nothing quite like her disapproval, either. Vivian R. McInerny’s “Apartment Complex” is a story that’s as comedic as it is relatable: life sure takes a different turn when Mom moves in.

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Essay Written By: Vivian R. McInerny

Essay Voiced By: Wilson Conkwright

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"Pareidolia" is an intriguing tale that leans in paranoia and the paranormal. Conor Marko asks questions about the boundaries of obligation and addresses how we move forward from tragedy.

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Essay Written By: Conor Marko

Essay Voiced By: Andrew Parella

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