I was beyond thrilled to win The Shirley Jackson Short Story Contest hosted by literary journal Tin House together with the Estate of Shirley Jackson. Jackson's famous short story, "The Lottery" made a profound impression on me back in high school, and I've read many of her short stories and some of her novels since then.

The contest was to read an unfinished short story written by Jackson, and then finish the story in 2500 words. I did my best to capture Jackson's tone and spirit, as well as to bring the story to a natural conclusion. I did research the rise and fall of the lobotomy as a therapeutic practise, and attempted as much as I could to keep the story in the right era.

It was also an honour to have my work read and deemed blog-publishable by the amazing Kelly Link, whose short stories you should read too.