Top 5:

1. The Zen Thing, by Emma Duffy-Comparone: A hyper-realistic depiction of a family day at the beach; this is an author to watch.
2. Annie Radcliffe, You Are Loved, by Barrett Swanson: The vivid intersection of the characters’ lives made this feel like an entire movie in the space of a short story.
3. Animals, by Michael Kardos: The author uses office life at an unscrupulous call center to investigate loneliness.
4. The Dance Contest, by Wells Tower: Force yourself through the baffling beginning to get to the great ending.
5. By the Time You Read This, by Yannick Murphy: Best suicide note ever.

Other standouts:

• The Mother, by Latoya Watkins: Read this for the fantastic first-person voice.
• The Fiction Writer, by Maribeth Fischer: This brought to mind Rebecca Scherm’s novel Unbecoming.
• The Last Days of the Baldock, by Inara Verzemnieks: This is a memorable story about the long-term residents of a highway rest stop in Oregon (yes, you read that correctly).  It reminded me of George Saunders with its improbable premise backed by realistic details.
• Blue, by Russell Banks: I’m not usually a fan of Russell Banks, but I loved this (and I wasn’t surprised that Joyce Carol Oates nominated it, with that ending!).
• Unmoving Like a Mighty River Stilled, by Alan Rossi: This is an engrossing examination of the conflict between our internal and external selves.