Vancouver’s first and most wonderful nerd bar, The Storm Crow, had a fiction-writing contest last summer, and the twist was that the story had to fit on a beer mat (that means less than 200 words).
Pretty appealing idea, right? And an excellent challenge, too.
The contest happened during a drought, when things were feeling a little apocalyptic around here with all that wildfire smoke drifting into town, so the little story I wrote and submitted reflects that. It’s called The Serpent, and it won second place!
Thank you, Storm Crow, for putting on such a cool contest, and for awarding my story such a great prize.
I’m not sure I’m allowed to post the story, but I am sure about one thing: you should go by the Storm Crow and order a drink. There’s always a chance you’ll get to read The Serpent on an actual beer mat.
