updated 6-18-09

The sixth annual Million Writers Award is now closed. The winners, based on the popular vote, are:

1. First place: "The Fisherman's Wife" by Jenny Williams (LitNImage)
2. Runner-up: "Fuckbuddy" by Roderic Crooks (Eyeshot)
3. Honorable mention (third place): "No Bullets in the House" by Geronimo Madrid (Drunken Boat)

The complete results of the public vote are available here. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part in this year's award.

More Million Writers Award information

The top ten stories of the year were:

• "The Whale Hunter" by Steinur Bell (Agni)
• "Intertropical Convergence Zone" by Nadia Bulkin (ChiZine)
• "No Bullets in the House" by Geronimo Madrid (Drunken Boat)
• "Fuckbuddy" by Roderic Crooks (Eyeshot)
• "The Fisherman's Wife" by Jenny Williams (LitNImage)
• "Every Earth is Fit for Burial" by Cyn Kitchen (Menda City Review)
• "Interview With A Moron" by Elizabeth Stuckey-French (Narrative Magazine)
• "The Tale of Junko and Sayuri" by Peter S. Beagle (OSC's Intergalactic Medicine Show)
• "Grief Mongers" by Sefi Atta (Per Contra Fiction)
• "Nine Sundays in a Row" by Kris Dikeman (Strange Horizons)

To see the other stories which made Jason Sanford's short list for the top ten, go to his blog and website (and specifically this post).

Thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, this year's award features the following monetary prizes:

• Overall winner: $500
• Runner-up: $200
• Honorable mention (third place): $100

2009 Million Writers Award Information

• Introduction to the Million Writers Award
• How the award works (i.e., the rules)
• Vote for your favorite story
• Notable stories of 2008
• See the stories nominated by editors and readers
  

Previous Million Writers Awards

• See the 2008 award
• See the 2007 award
• See the 2006 award
• See the 2005 award
• See the 2004 award
  
  

2009 Donors

Thank you to the following donors, whose generosity funds the monetary prizes given out through this year's Million Writers Award. Please note that we've more than met our donation goals for this year. We don't need any more donations! That said, if someone is convinced they must still donate, additional donations will be used to cover the small fixed costs of this contest and to fund next year's prize money. Since these donations do not go through Spring Garden Press (storySouth's new publisher), donations are not tax deductible.

$200 donors

• One anonymous donation
• WordArts, Inc.

$100 donor

• Henry F. Tonn

$50 donors

• Anthony Mohr
• Our Stories
• Whitney Pastorek
• Jason Sanford
• Spring Garden Press (publisher of storySouth)
• The Workplace Anthology

Other donations

• One anonymous donation
• DOGZPLOT
• Phillip Gardner
• Steve Himmer
• Randa Jarrar
• P. H. Madore
• Jeff McMahon
• Cheryl Morgan
• Joshua Peterson
• Publishing Genius Press
• Anthony Neil Smith
• Neil Williamson

Note: Several donations came in after the deadline, and this extra amount will be used to help fund next year's prize money.

For additional questions or inquiries about the Million Writers Award, contact storySouth founding editor Jason Sanford at lapthai@yahoo.com.