.png)
Fiction Potluck Finalists: July '25
- The Writer's Workout
- Sep 6, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2025
We love Fiction Potluck because the submissions are so much fun! Here are July's Fiction Potluck Finalists for the sibling relationships challenge.
Look for the Finalist badge across social media to connect with these authors.
July Finalists
Lynne Curry
Alaska/Washington author Lynne Curry—nominated for the 2025 Best of the Net Anthology, the 2024 Pushcart Prize and Best Microfiction—founded “Real-life Writing,” https://bit.ly/45lNbVo and publishes a monthly “Writing from the Cabin” blog, https://bit.ly/3tazJpW and a weekly “dear Abby of the workplace” newspaper column. Curry has published twenty short stories; four poems; two articles on writing craft, and six books.
Tara Dugan
Tara Dugan writes and homesteads in the Massachusetts Hilltowns. Her work has appeared in The Millions, Pangyrus, and elsewhere, with forthcoming pieces in Salt Hill Journal and Here: a poetry journal.
Apoorva Goyal
By day, Apoorva Goyal crunches numbers as a banker; by night, she escapes into worlds built with words. A storyteller at heart, she loves capturing emotions that linger beyond the page. When not writing, she is painting vibrant moments or joyfully chasing after her little one.
Frank Haberle
Frank Haberle is the author of two novels: Shufflers (Flexible Press, Minneapolis, 2021), a story of transients moving through minimum-wage jobs in the 1980s; and Downlanders (Flexible Press, November 2023), following five lost souls into a fictional wilderness. Frank lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Christy Hartman
Christy Hartman pens short fiction from her home on Vancouver Island Canada. She writes about the chasm between love and loss and picking out the morsels of magic in life’s quiet moments. Christy is a two-time New York City Midnight winner and has been published by Sky Island Journal, Flash Fiction Magazine and others.
J. S. Rush
J. Stephen Rush, a graduate from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, is an emerging writer currently living in Virginia where he strives to improve his writing. Originally from New England, he is currently working on a collection of short stories about life in a small rural Maine
community.
Kali John Seamark
Kali John is a blue collar construction worker based out of Burnaby, BC. He dreams of a creative life beyond power tools and labour, using his experiences as inspiration for his storytelling. This finalist placement represents his first major writing achievement. Follow his journey on Instagram @kali_john98
Lucien R. Starchild
Lucien R. Starchild is an enigmatic poet/writer and cosmic dreamer, weaving tales that blur the line between reality and the surreal. Born under a wandering star, he draws inspiration from forgotten myths, celestial whispers and the hidden magic of everyday life. With a pen dipped in stardust, Lucien invites readers to lose themselves in worlds both strange and hauntingly familiar. He has been published in Piker Press, Tales from the Moonlit Path, Bright Flash Literary Magazine, Riot Collective, Third Wednesday, Starry Eyed Press, FLARE, Flash Phantoms and has several pieces scheduled with the Eunoia Review, Ink and Marrow and many more.
Arfa Waseem
Arfa is a young writer based in Toronto who mainly writes short stories. When she’s not writing, she’s pretending she’s good at hockey or procrastinating homework. She’s currently querying her first novel and hopes to pursue either medicine or writing. She’s started a Substack where she posts excerpts: https://substack.com/@chevronknots81
Christina Yang
Bio coming soon.
This quarter is officially sponsored by Duotrope; the first place winner of this quarter's challenge receives Duotrope service for free for two years
(valued at $100)!
Join us here on September 19 for Fiction Potluck Friday
to read the winning pieces!
Special thanks to our guest judge, Will Kelly!
Will Kelly is a 5th grade English teacher from Las Vegas, Nevada. When not writing or teaching, he can be found at pub trivia, on a long walk, or reading a mysterious thriller. He's an avid San Francisco 49ers fan and loves stand up comedy. Will has written two children's books, Mr. Owl's Classroom Presents: Allie the Alligator and Mr. Owl's Classroom Presents: Bobby the Bobcat.
Comments