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SMALL BITES SHORT STORY CONTEST
THEME: What the Light Revealed
2026
SHORT STORY WINNERS & HONOREES
Exposed and Other Small Bites Stories
coming in May 2026
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Timothy Baldwin
Exposed
Domestic Suspense / Institutional Thriller
A late‑night discovery in an empty school office reveals a trail of fraud no one wants uncovered. As warnings escalate and allies vanish, one teacher learns how dangerous “transparency” can be. Timothy’s story gripped our judges from the first line and never let go.
Timothy R. Baldwin has been writing stories since elementary school, when he first discovered that simple sentences could be shaped into a story. He is drawn to short fiction that captures meaningful moments or explores the quiet “what if” scenarios that can change everything. Originally from Syracuse, New York, Baldwin now lives in Maryland, where he teaches English, Creative Writing, Film, and Theatre at the middle school and high school level. Encouraged by his students, he began writing seriously in 2014. He is the author of the Cassie Maddox Mystery Series and the Kahale and Claude Mystery Series, among other works. When not writing, he can usually be found reading a good thriller, watching a compelling film, or enjoying the outdoors.
SECOND PLACE
Ron Schultz
The Delusion of Anticipation
Reflective Nonfiction
A lifetime of chasing the next success gives way to an unexpected revelation: the ship he’d been waiting for arrived decades ago. This intimate narrative explores how anticipation can blind us to the extraordinary life already in our hands.
Ron Schultz has written, co-written, and edited 30 published books on social innovation, meditation, science, and social entrepreneurship, receiving the 2014 Social Innovation Leadership Award. He’s authored two thriller series, including The Dangerous Places series with Sarah Lovett, plus hundreds of magazine articles and numerous TV/film credits, including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the acclaimed CBS movie The Switch.
THIRD PLACE
Scott Meehan
Salvage of a Soul
Post‑Apocalyptic Science Fiction
In the aftermath of the Rapture, a synthetic guardian searches for meaning in a world claimed by a machine‑born Choir. A stranger’s unexpected act of mercy forces the synthetic to confront the possibility that a soul can be built — or found.
Scott Allan Meehan is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army Intelligence community. His writing draws upon decades of analyzing global threats and the "intelligence gaps" that define human conflict. As the author of the New World Order saga and the memoir Stone in a Sling, Scott blends tactical realism with philosophical inquiries into the soul of technology. He lives and writes at the intersection of history and prophecy.
HONORABLE MENTION
Donna Doty
The Mission
Allegorical Fantasy
On a world where meteor storms fall like omens and compassion reshapes even the shadows, a lone traveler races to save a dying star — but the truth waiting in the dark may demand more than he ever meant to give.
Donna L. Doty, Ph.D. is a Sociologist and some-time content creator for the media, film production and digital entertainment industries—She is inspired by the writers of 1920’s Paris and enjoys writing in most genres and is equally passionate about fiction as nonfiction. Most recently, Donna wrote a short story called, The Red Spot, a murder mystery absent the murder, and is currently working on a psychological thriller. In 2026, Donna received an Honorable Mention from Indies United Publishing for her short story, The Mission, featured in this Anthology. In 2024, she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the International Fiction Festival for The Rule of Thoughts: A Fictional Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. It was ranked in the top 10% in the novel category from among 850 authors in 48 countries. The same year, Donna also received an Honorable Mention from Indies United Publishing for her short story, There Was an Old Woman Who Thought She Was Dead. Additionally, Donna wrote two books for her family in 2024: a children’s book called, The Day We Saw a Giraffe In Our Yard, to commemorate a shared memory about a childhood experience; and a letter book called, Love Letters from my Family, to commemorate the letters and cards she received from her family over several decades. Prior to these, Donna wrote and associate produced a documentary, The Story of Coffee, for Royal Stewart Entertainment, which was distributed to PBS. She is also an amateur 2D animator who writes and produces her own animations series, Coffee with Katrin. Plus, she once created a television series called, Shakespeare & Company, previously under consideration by the award-winning Kenneth Atchity Productions company in Los Angeles. When not engaged in creative pursuits, Donna works nationally as a financial consultant and writer for a broad range of industries. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and Creative Writers and Animators, among others. Donna grew up in the great State of New York, where she lives “in a New York state of mind.”
Ron Schultz
The Break-In
Creative Nonfiction / Personal Narrative
When a stranger in a fugue state shatters the quiet of a family home, the real damage isn’t the broken glass but the fears it awakens. In the aftermath, one man is forced to confront the long‑buried terrors he’s spent a lifetime avoiding.
Ron Schultz has written, co-written, and edited 30 published books on social innovation, meditation, science, and social entrepreneurship, receiving the 2014 Social Innovation Leadership Award. He’s authored two thriller series, including The Dangerous Places series with Sarah Lovett, plus hundreds of magazine articles and numerous TV/film credits, including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the acclaimed CBS movie The Switch.
D. Krauss
Quanah Parker on the Distant Ridge
Reflective Travel Narrative
On a meandering October road trip, a man visits the sites of famous last stands — only to recognize pieces of his own life in every downfall. Among the ghosts of Fetterman, Black Kettle, and Quanah Parker, he finds a kinship he never expected.
D. Krauss resides in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. He has been a cottonpicker, a sodbuster, a librarian, a surgical orderly, the guy who paints the little white line down the middle of the road, a weatherman, a door-kickin' shove-gun-in-face lawman, a hunter of terrorists, and a school bus driver. Currently, he's a layabout. He's been married over 50 years (yep, same woman), and has a wildman bass guitarist for a son.
J.W. Bell
By the Light of the Fire
Mystical Thriller
A warrior’s brutal last stand in ancient Ireland bleeds into the nightmares of a modern veteran who feels every wound as if it were real. When past and present collide, he discovers some battles never end — and some enemies never die.
J.W. Bell’s life reads like an adventure story. He was a Field Artillery Officer in the Army for ten years, is well-versed in long-range and large-caliber weapons, and is an expert with small arms — handguns, rifles, machine guns, and, oh yes, he trained in explosives and is excellent with hand grenades. His military thrillers use actual terminology, weapons, and military courtesy. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S., living in Hawaii for several years. He coached gymnastics for a time and worked for years as a roughneck in the oilfields of Oklahoma. He became a teacher and holds a lifetime teaching license to teach music and drama. He composed his first symphony and now has a good start on his second. Currently, he lives in Arkansas by himself in a small house on a small acreage where his estranged wife and their ten children live: three boys ages seven to fourteen, and five girls ages seven years to seventeen live close by. He has two nineteen-year-old boys living on their own and two older daughters who live in Little Rock with their own families. On his acreage, there are four dogs and cats, one pony, and two pet pigs.
Susan April
Pears, Honey
Literary Historical Fiction
In an empty farmhouse slated for demolition, a forgotten gallery of home‑canned treasures reveals the ghost of a woman’s life. The discovery stirs old memories, reminding the narrator that what we leave behind is never as simple as it seems.
Coming Soon TBA