Hip, hip, hooray! Today's the day we can finally share our First Chapter Anthology Contest finalists!

We'd like to sincerely thank you for allowing us to read your first chapters. We know it takes courage to share your work, especially when you know you'll receive feedback on your piece. Regardless of whether your name is among the finalists on this list, you should be proud of yourself for taking the initiative to submit your chapter.

Persistence is one of the most important qualities a writer can possess. In fact, we're so passionate about persisting in the face of rejection that we wrote a whole blog on it, which you can find here. This was a competitive field, so if your chapter didn't make it into the anthology this time, keep writing. We've read many, many excellent chapters over the past few months, and in a perfect world, we would publish them all. Unfortunately, for the sake of page space (and our anthology formatter's patience!), we've had to limit our selections to the very best of the best.

Now, we'll share what you're here for—the finalists and grand prize winner! Click on the cover below to read their submissions and purchase the anthology.

WINNER — SOLD AT 3 AM By Samantha Traina

"The demon glanced down at her notes again and the tendril rustled as it seemed to piece together a piece of the puzzle. You have been calling for one of my kind. Calling for a while.”

Finalist — THE CANADIAN ASSASSIN By Gary L.

"Assassination is seldom a solitary endeavor. It requires a conspiracy of like minded individuals to arrange the destruction of another – sometimes powerful – human being. Often the victim deserves it. This one certainly did."

Finalist — DAUGHTER OF THE RECKONING SKY By Paige Kent

"From the moment I became old enough to question the father-sized hole in our lives, Mom’s answer has always been the same—he’s gone. Not dead, not lost, just…gone."

Finalist — BREAKING NEWS: WE’RE BORING! By L.J. Vieger

"Some people dreamed of being rich and famous. I dreamed of natural disasters and scandals."

Finalist — PROJECT PIRATE PRINCESS By Jess Skultety

"The princess caught her with a cheeky grin. For one long moment, the pirate stared up into her eyes, like some swooning damsel. She’d take any moment like this, because obviously, it would never work between them. Obviously."

Finalist — DAYWALKERS By Cade B.

“Even the most veteran hunter could be swallowed up by a sand worm, crushed by a colossus, or trapped and slowly drained by a desert spider.”

Finalist — CHAOTIC LOVE By Rhiannon V.

"It’s a pinnacle of my village to respect all natural places, but this… This place has been wrecked, like a tornado ripped through it. It wasn’t like this when I got here. What have I done?"

Finalist — CALL ME AVARICE By Chris B.

"It would be six months before she was asked about that day, and the pretty young lady that came for the job that she didn’t seem to need… or want."

Finalist — SCARLET & SAGE By Trisha H.

"Once, though not in the beginning, there existed a realm with four vast dominions set around a broad valley. In that valley was a forest, and deep in that forest was a solitary cabin, blissfully situated so that the village pub stood only a short jaunt from home by unsteady foot, but far enough that human society was only an occasional nuisance."

Finalist — RANIA’S STORY By Linda C.

"It was a harsh life, but at least she was alive, for whatever that was worth. The girl picked up her bucket and continued to the well, keeping her gaze down and doing her best to avoid the gossipy neighbors. She couldn't go undetected, but at least she could remain as inconspicuous as possible."

Finalist — EIGHT AND COUNTING By Michelle P.

"Her mother was nothing but a bunch of faded Polaroids, a disembodied voice on the monthly long-distance calls, a vaguely-remembered shape bending over her and kissing her goodnight."

Finalist — BANSHEE RISING By Rose Manns

"The owl shrieked and flapped its wings, but did not take flight, even while pieces of Ferris’ bucket rained down around him. “Ye’ll no be takin’ another child!” He tossed what remained of the mangled wooden vessel to the ground and banged with his fists until the rough bark scraped his skin raw."

Finalist — SISTERS OF SIGHT & SAND By Kelli A.

"No matter how much she wished it weren’t so, she was always born beside her sister. Once or twice they’d had different parents, but not often. In every yesterlife, Veliese lived her childhood years in ignorant bliss, but as soon as her red moon rose, she remembered everything."

Finalist — UNDERNEATH THE CHERRY TREE By Victoria Purswell

"I’ve never pictured myself as a hero. Maybe a side character who dies prematurely, but never a hero. And yet here I am, doing what may be the most stereotypical hero activity a girl can do: hunting and foraging. The only thing that screams “hero” more than this would be fighting a dragon, but the dragons forsook this planet years ago."

Finalist — SINS OF THE FATHER By Anne Rothery

"Kate blinked. Follow in Lafayette’s footsteps? She was a fifty-three-year-old sergeant with eight years to go to retirement. She had no illusions about making captain. In fact, she’d become a cop mainly to investigate the disappearance of her younger brother, not to fight her way up through the glass ceiling."

Once again, congratulations to all our finalists, and grand prize winner: Samantha Traina! You've all written compelling first chapters that will make an excellent start to your novels! To those who didn't make it in this time, we'll be back after the summer with another anthology contest. We would be honored to read more of your work. :)