On the evening of Saturday, November 12, 2022, a large crowd gathered for the New Hampshire Writers’ Project’s 2022 Three-Minute Fiction Slam. The event took place at the Mara Auditorium on the SNHU campus. “We were thrilled to be able to host this entertaining competition in person,” said Masheri Chappelle, Chair of he NHWP Board of Trustees. “Last year’s competition took place virtually and the energy was quite different. It is so exciting to be able to hear the writers’ stories come to life through their reading again.”

Following a lovely reception, the contestants each read their short, short story to the attentive audience. The winners were announced soon after the judges concluded their discussion. The first-place winner for the 2022 competition is Kumari Ponnambalam whose entry was titled “The Plaid Shirt.” Kumari represented the newly formed Manchester Writers Night Out group. Kumari received not only recognition for her stellar piece, but also $250.

The second-place winner is John Touhey, who represented the Derry Writers’ Night Out Group. John’s entry was titled “Roses in Autumn.” John won a ticket to the 2023 NHWP 2023 603 Writers’ Conference that will take place in spring of 2023.

The finalists are David Agans’ representing the Nashua Writers’ Night Out group with his piece “The Big Nap”; Laura Dedmon from the Monadnock Writers Group with her story “Lessons”; and Amy Simoneau from the Concord Writers’ Night Out group with her entry “At-Sea Ennui.” Each of the finalists received a voucher for one NHWP workshop of their choice.

Hats off to all who participated in this spirited competition. It’s never too soon to dust off your story, and sharpen your red pencil to begin striking out those extra words for next year’s event. It’s ironic that it takes many revisions and a lot of time to create three minutes of winning fiction.