Category Archives: Literary Journal

Toasted Cheese Literary Journal.

2023 Savage Mystery Writing Results

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Savage Mystery Writing Contest!

First Place: “A Dance Around an Oak Tree” by Ogu Nnachi
Second Place: “Grandpa’s Map of Amazing Places” by Miguel A. Rueda
Third Place: “The Curse of Too Much Air Time to Fill” by Sue Seabury

The winning entries will appear in the upcoming issue of Toasted Cheese.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered. There were many creative treasure clues and treasure hunts. I hope everyone had as much fun writing the stories as I had reading them.

Amanda (The Bellman) Marlowe

The Savage 48-hour Writing Contest is back in September with our science fiction/fantasy edition.

The 2023 A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest (open to creative nonfiction and non-genre fiction) is currently open for entries.

A Midsummer Tale 2023

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A Midsummer Tale is a summer-themed narrative writing contest open to non-genre fiction and creative nonfiction.

The theme of the 2023 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: Best Friends Forever…?

Inspired by optimistic yearbook signatures, this year’s theme is a tribute to our once-upon-a-time BFFs, the friendships we couldn’t imagine not lasting forever. For this year’s A Midsummer Tale contest, write about a now-troubled—or severed—friendship between two people who were once-inseparable besties. Did the friendship slowly unravel or suddenly break apart? Could the pieces be put back together again or was it time to let it go?

Your story must be set during the hot summer months and the theme must play an integral role in the story.

Deadline for entries is June 21, 2023.

The 2023 Savage Mystery Writing Contest is CLOSED

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The 2023 48-hour Savage Mystery Writing Contest is now open.

Entries must be received by 5 PM Eastern Time, Sunday, March 19, 2023.

Write a mystery that features a clue to a buried treasure.

Word range: Between 3000–3500 words.

  • Send entries to: savagemystery23@toasted-cheese.com
  • Your subject line must read: Savage Mystery Contest Entry
  • Paste your story directly into your email. No attachments please.

For complete rules:

Toasted Cheese 23:1

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The March 2023 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Darren C. Demaree, Marchell Dyon, Jenny Hockey, James Croal Jackson, Vyarka Kozareva & Ogu Nnachi; flash by Tim Love & Shoshauna Shy; fiction by Maithreyi Nandakumar & Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson; and creative nonfiction by Jason Irwin.

TC 23:1 also includes the 2022 Dead of Winter Horror Writing Contest winning stories by Alex Grehy, DJ Tyrer & David Pugh.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Mending the Moon by Emma Pearl & Sara Ugolotti and Six Old Women and Other Stories by Sharon L. Dean.

The cover image is by Su-Lin on Flickr, with additional photos by photographers around the world, all of whom have generously made their work available for use under Creative Commons licenses. Please click through and check out their photostreams.

Congratulations to all. Happy reading!

Toasted Cheese 22:4

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The December 2022 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Ann Gibson, Bill Griffin, Janet Hancock, Joanne Holdridge, Judith Taylor, Diane Webster & Sharon Whitehill; flash by Esther Byrne; fiction by CL Bledsoe; and creative nonfiction by David Thow.

TC 22:4 also includes the 2022 Savage Science Fiction / Fantasy Writing Contest winning stories by Susan Smith, Robert Hanover & Mark Neyrinck.

Candle-Ends is taking a break this issue. If you have been published in TC and published a book in 2022, do get in touch with our reviews editor (reviews@toasted-cheese.com) so we can schedule a review for you in the new year.

The cover image is by Maggie Jane on Flickr, with additional photos by photographers around the world, all of whom have generously made their work available for use under Creative Commons licenses. Please click through and check out their photostreams.

Congratulations to all. Happy reading!

2022 Savage Science Fiction / Fantasy Writing Contest Winners!

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Toasted Cheese is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Mollie Savage Memorial Science Fiction / Fantasy Writing Contest:

  • First: Susan Smith, “In for a Penny”
  • Second: Robert Hanover, “The Cloudrider”
  • Third: Mark Neyrinck, “Lumentation”

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everybody who entered. Look for the winning stories in the December issue of Toasted Cheese.

TC’s Dead of Winter horror writing contest is currently open for entries! Click here for more info.

Toasted Cheese 22:3

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The September 2022 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Timothy Pilgrim & Ivy Raff; flash by Michael J. Brien, Hugh Cartwright & Sarah Kelleher; fiction by Swetha Amit, Kathryn Bashaar, Victoria Kemsley & Sarah Turner; and creative nonfiction by Laurel Doud.

TC 22:3 also includes the 2022 A Midsummer Tale Writing Contest winning stories by Jessica Upper, Tierney Acott & Laura Sweeney.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Hollowed by Lucy Zhang, Bill Lockwood reviews Was Am Going by Ruth Ticktin, and Ruth Ticktin reviews Forced Entry? by Bill Lockwood.

The cover image is by Joe Haupt on Flickr, with additional photos by photographers around the world, all of whom have generously made their work available for use under Creative Commons licenses. Please click through and check out their photostreams.

Congratulations to all. Happy reading!

2022 A Midsummer Tale Writing Contest Winners

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Toasted Cheese is happy to announce the winners of the 2022 A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest.

First: “The Hardest Part” by Jessica Upper
Second: “Grow” by Tierney Acott
Third: “August in the Time of COVID” by Laura Sweeney
Honorable Mention: “Ambushed” by Adam Heenan

Congratulations!

First place receives a $50 Amazon gift card, second place a $15 Amazon gift card, and third place a $10 Amazon gift card. All three stories will appear in the September issue of Toasted Cheese.

Kudos to everyone who entered! This year’s theme of “The End,” a personal ending that ties into a concurrent cataclysmic event, sent you in many different directions and I enjoyed reading all of your interpretations.

Please join us for A Midsummer Tale again in 2023 and pass the contest info along to your writing friends! Next summer’s theme will be announced April 1, 2023.

Our next contest is the Savage Science Fiction / Fantasy 48-hour writing contest, which runs the weekend of September 23-25. See our contest page for details.

Toasted Cheese 22:2

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The June 2022 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Lori Bellamy, Sara Falkstad, Jenny Hockey, Hannah Ray, Lacie Semenovich & John Sweet; flash by Mike Hickman, Emma Pearl & Renée Perry; and fiction by Elisse Sophia Ahmet, Sophy Bristow, Mary Chambers, Sarah Hills, Hannah Hopkins, Inés G. Labarta, Tony Press & Annabel White.

TC 22:2 also includes the 2022 Savage Mystery Writing Contest winning stories by Robin Hillard, Janet Innes & Sue Seabury.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews The Italian Professor’s Wife by Ann Pedone and Salvatore Marici reviews A Child Walks in the Dark by Darren C. Demaree.

The cover image is by Joe Flood on Flickr, with additional photos by photographers around the world, all of whom have generously made their work available for use under Creative Commons licenses. Please click through and check out their photostreams.

Congratulations to all. Happy reading!

2022 Savage Mystery Writing Results

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Savage Mystery Writing Contest!

First Place: “The Wonderland House” by Robin Hillard
Second Place: “Plums” by Janet Innes
Third Place: “The Case of the Missing Princess” by Sue Seabury

Honorable Mention: “The Merest Glimpse” by Eric Williams.

The winning entries will appear in the upcoming issue of Toasted Cheese.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered. Antique dollhouses hold so many creative mysteries. I hope everyone had as much fun writing the stories as I had reading them.

Amanda (The Bellman) Marlowe

The Savage 48-hour Writing Contest is back in September with our science fiction/fantasy edition.

The 2022 A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest is currently open for entries.