A knockout combination for a first sentence: a character, a conflict and a bit of mystery. Amazing and surprising misdirection... a masterful balance of the explicit and implicit. It's a stunning capture of a few moments in these characters' lives, an intersection during which so much changes.

– Sarah Freligh, Judge @ Bath Flash Fiction Award

Just gorgeous… especially that image of the final line.

– James Montgomery, Author

I really liked the feel of your story. The madness. Your writing style really brought that out, and I really liked that. The build-up in the atmosphere was excellent, slowly teasing together the threads of the concept to show someone obsessed by their work. Well done. I’d love to see this piece as a longer work, as it has such potential as a novella!

– Anonymous Peer Feedback, Writing Battle (Swiss Rounds)

We can not overstate our awe. "Quail People" humbly accomplishes its ambition; it's stunning, unique, chalant, with none of the overzealous overtones that often penetrate stories like this. This piece received some of the highest rating of any of the submissions we've read over the last four months. When we say we'd be honored to publish it, we're being sincere.

– Editors @ Black Glass Pages

Using a reality TV show to illustrate how people try to alter history is a very clever analogy; anything can be fixed in post, even the things that definitively and undeniably happened.

– Anonymous Peer Reviewers, Writing Battle (Swiss Rounds)

We loved the way you constructed the story and found it very moving.

– Jude Higgins, Head Editor @ Bath Flash Fiction Award

Some really strong imagery in this one, almost giving it the feel of a Renaissance painting. The first tear shed by man’ is so powerful. I had to stop reading just to collect my thoughts at that. Beautiful world building (especially via the specific collection of objects in hell’s lost and found).

– From fellow writers on the nycmidnight forums

Only second place? The information we glean, speaks volumes about the main character. We should all be so lucky to be understood in such a loving manner.

– Bill Ferguson, Author

Thank you for sending your work to SmokeLong. We received 1170 micros, and yours is in the top 41.

– Christopher Allen, Head Editor @ SmokeLong Quarterly

This is a fascinating read. I like the way you’ve framed it as second-person, at a specific point in time. That makes it all feel more personal, more urgent.

– Anonymous Pro Judges, Writing Battle (Swiss Rounds)

What a beautifully crafted story - it brought tears to my eyes. 👏🎉👏

– Anonymous Reader, Bluesky

As I reread your story, I appreciated the creativeness more and more. Well done!

– Anonymous Judge @nycmidnight