We had an amazing time reading all of your entries. Thank you so much for making judging them so hard by sending us some truly fantastic writing. While we had to pick a top 25, it was the hardest call we’ve had in the history of the contest, as we had so many high scoring works.

23rd Heavenbound Pomeranians by Jack Lennon 24th Be Kind, Rewind by Joel Shoemaker 25th Writers of Fate by Jessica Dorden #1kwhc

19th The Voices of Wilhelm Fiedler by Jo Spicer 20th The Products of Discord by Steven Patchett 21st Drowning in Your Grandma's Pool in 1998 by Rachel Ashcraft 22nd The Zeroth Law by Rachel Swabey #1kwhc

14th Am I The Asshole for Refusing to Take Over My Dad’s Business? by Becca Levitin 15th Let Fate Decide by Colette Murphy 16th They're coming for you by Madeleine Pelletier 17th Little Barker by Jane Stecyk 18th Holding On by Natalie Minaker #1kwhc

9th Phoenix by EJ Sidle 10th The Fire Down the Street by Cristina Farinas 11th The Fix by Ren Crewell-Fuerst 12th Sky Running by Sally Curtis 13th The Annual Scottish Inter-Regional Electricians Association’s Burns Night Supper by Gavin Rankin #1kwhc

The other excellent placing stories: 4th To Fear Red Wool by Anne Meale 5th Sophie's World by Alyssa Beatty 6th Helico-pter by Sam James 7th The Piano by Jennifer Smith 8th The Shape She Keeps for Another Man by Glen Creed #1kwhc

the 2026 1000 Word Herd contest has a winner! we'll post an announcement next week. we had so many good stories in this contest, and it was a blast reading them all. thanks to everyone who submitted their work! #1kwhc

...and that's a wrap for our week-long flash contest! We will get busy judging and determining our winners, who will be announced in July. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted to us, for your support of us and of TransLifeline. Good luck to everyone! #1kwhc #tldrwriters

For all of those taking part in the 1000 Word Herd Contest, you've got about 6 hours left-- submissions close at 11:59 pm US-Eastern time tonight, Saturday, June 6th-- YOU GOT THIS! #1kwhc #tldrwriters

For all of those taking part in the 1KWHC, don’t forget, you have until 11:59 pm US-Eastern time on Saturday, June 6th to submit your stories! #1kwhc #tldrwriters

PROMPTS ARE OUT!! If you haven't gotten your prompt, give us an email and we'll get you sorted. GOOD LUCK WORD HERDS! #1KWHC

That's a wrap for registration! Your prompts will be sent on Sunday, May 31, at 12:01am US-Eastern time, so that's when to check your email for your prompts and the story submission link. Good luck, Word Herd! #tldrwriters #1kwhc