UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The winning submissions from Penn State University Libraries' Short Stories “Among the Shadows” fall 2022 contest have been announced. Representing 25 submissions across six Penn State campuses, the latest writing contest encouraged students, faculty and staff across the commonwealth to submit their best “dark fairytale” original short stories or poetry.

Each of the four Libraries Short Stories Editorial Board winners and the People’s Choice winner will receive a $100 Visa gift card. All winning entries, including two honorable mentions, will be eligible for addition to the Libraries’ Short Edition short-story dispensers, located around the University Park campus and seven campus libraries, and at Schlow Centre Region Library in State College. 

The People’s Choice winner, “Jackalope,” a short story written by Hal Jacks, received the most online reader votes via the Libraries Short Stories website during the contest. Jacks, a second-year English major at the University Park campus, said, “I based my short story on a fear I had when I was a kid about gravity no longer working and floating up into outer space.”

The Libraries' Short Stories Editorial Board winners, chosen by the all-student editorial team and listed alphabetically by title, are:

• "Bremen," a short story by Gus Eberlein, a third-year student studying physics and astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University Park, from Camp Hill.
• “The Plague Wolf,” a short story by RRRadan, pen name for Michelle Paukett, a doctoral candidate studying plant pathology and international agriculture and development at Penn State University Park, from Greene, New York.
• “The Princess and the Pea,” a short story by Abigail Haworth, a graduate student studying biomedical engineering at Penn State University Park, from Wheaton, Illinois.
• “Snow Bite,” a short story by Alanna Gillis, a third-year student studying creative writing at Penn State Behrend, from Dillsburg.

Honorable mentions, chosen by the all-student editorial team, are:

• "Extra Credit," a short story by Lindsey Combs, operations coordinator for the Pell Lab at Penn State University Park.
• "Jack v. Jones," a short story by Rebecca Horwitt, a childhood education assistant at The Arboretum at Penn State, University Park.

To read all entries from the fall 2022 contest, as well as past contest submissions, visit the Libraries' Short Stories website. Anyone with a Penn State email address can sign up for an account to submit original creative works to the site, as well as vote for and leave reader comments on other writers’ stories. Centre County writers not affiliated with Penn State will have their work considered for distribution from Schlow Centre Region Library’s Short Edition short-story dispenser, and some may have their work added to the University Libraries’ nine other short-story dispensers, along with other previous contest winners.

Penn State Libraries' short-story dispensers at the University Park campus can be found at: 

• Pattee Library mall entrance
• Grange Building entrance at Pollock Road

In addition, Penn State Libraries' short-story dispensers are at, or near:

• Schlow Centre Region Library, State College
• Penn State Abington College Library
• John M. Lilley Library at Penn State Behrend
• Berks Thun Library at Penn State Berks
• John D. Vairo Library at Penn State Brandywine
• Fayette Campus Library, Penn State Fayette
• Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg
• Lee R. Glatfelter Library at Penn State York
• Nesbitt Library at Penn State Wilkes-Barre

If you are a student interested in joining the Editorial Board or have questions about the Libraries' Short Stories writing contests, the Libraries Short Stories online platform, or short-story dispensers’ curricular or co-curricular use, contact Danica White, student engagement coordinator for Library Learning Services, at dew5422@psu.edu.   

Please note, as of Dec. 31, 2022, the University Libraries' contract with Short Edition has ended.