After a long hiatus, 55 Fiction is back.

Last year, there was no contest. Lots of readers wondered what had happened to it, and if they'd ever again get to gorge on the tasty 55-word literary treats New Times had been offering since 1987.

In past years, we held the contest every November. But two years ago we figured it'd be better as a summer read. After the 1998 contest was over, we decided to skip 1999 altogether rather than hold it again so soon afterwards, in the summer.

Plenty of readers questioned our reasoning, and we can't argue with them. All we can say is that 55 Fiction is back, and that we hope they'll forgive us for their deprivation–and that we promise they'll find the winners in these pages every June from today until the end of time.

For those unfamiliar with our contest, 55 Fiction is an invitation to New Times readers to write a complete short story in only 55 words. The challenge, of course, sounds impossible, but over the past 14 years readers have risen to it, weaving astonishing narratives of love and murder and betrayal and wonder–all in just 55 words.

This year was no exception.

And it was an exceptional year.

The 19-month break seems to have energized writers. We think you'll agree that the punchy prose on these pages makes the 2000 competition one of the best ever. Our Top 20 winners have a lot of fun with the 55-word format, breaking new literary ground and handling even well-worn themes in refreshing ways. They demonstrate the powerful effect a few judiciously chosen words can have on the reader.

We can think of only three appropriate things to say at a time like this.

Congratulations to all our winners.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a story.

And welcome back. Æ

Look Out! 55 Fiction’s on the Loose!

BY STEVE MOSS

A lot has happened since our last 55 Fiction contest in the fall of 1998.

A second collection of 55-word wonders came out in May of this year ("The World's Shortest Stories of Love and Death," Running Press, $7.95), this time with the help of editor John Daniel in Santa Barbara and illustrated once again by New Times music columnist Glen Starkey.

This time, we invited several celebrities to try their hand at the genre. The new book has tales by TV producer Norman Lear, novelist Herbert Gold, science fiction maven Larry Niven, and the late cartoonist Charles Schulz, whose contribution, as near as we can determine, is the only short story he ever wrote (and yes, it's about a dog).

Next year, Book of the Month Club's QPB division will republish our first two books–along with a third volume currently in the works–in a single volume tentatively entitled, "The World's Shortest Stories of All Time."

Since we started 55 Fiction in 1987, newspapers across the country have taken the idea and put their own spin on it, asking readers in their respective communities to enter "59 Fiction, "66 Fiction," "99 Fiction," "101 Fiction," and many others.

Back in 1995, one newspaper started "95 Fiction," adding one more word in successive years until, presumably, it disappeared. We've no idea whether it'll re-emerge in 2001 asking readers to spin a brief tale using the most descriptive single word they can think of.

The Denver Post has taken a shine to our tiny tales, too. It publishes a story from our first book every week in its Sunday book section.

But the 55 Fiction form isn’t limited to newspapers. We receive letters regularly from around the world from teachers of English who say they use the form to help in their instruction. "It gives them something fun in a quick read," a teacher in Italy wrote to us. "It's been a great help."

In March, the American Library Association chose our first book for inclusion in their prestigious Young Adult Library list of recommended paperbacks for young readers, ages 12 to 18. The arduous selection process takes over a year. The ALA's final recommendations included such literary heavyweights as John Grisham’s "The Client," Michael Crichton's "Sphere," Stephen King's "Rose Madder," and San Luis Obispo County's "The World's Shortest Stories."

One group of Canadian writers recently sent us their own 55 Fiction book, "Five by Five." The slim volume was dedicated to an inspirational writing instructor who'd died the year before. He'd discovered our first book and had encouraged the five authors to use the 55-word format as an exercise in writing tighter, more powerful fiction. In "The Elements of Style," the famous New Yorker writer E. B. White says that his teacher, William Strunk, admonished writers to "Omit needless words! Omit needless words!" The five Canadian writers are among those who've taken Strunk’s admonition to heart–in just 55 words.

Other readers around the world will soon be able to read the shortest stories ever told: An international translation of the first two books is in the works. We'll have a website up soon, too–theworldsshorteststories.com–so that Internet users can submit stories electronically all year long.

Then, in what must be one of the most unusual applications of the genre, this past month the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by two doctors who write 55 Fiction stories to better understand their patients and their encounters with them–and who encourage other physicians to do the same.

"For us, the rules are simple," wrote Drs. Anne Scheetz and Mary E. Fry. "To tell, preferably in 55 words exactly, a story that helps us to understand or to appreciate something about a patient or about the practice of medicine. As you tell your story–sparingly, but accurately–you might find that you have imagined a story about a troublesome patient's behavior, and you can face him or her more calmly."

Our teensy micro-short stories haven't been limited to just the printed page.

For one thing, both books are now available on tape through Listen & Live Audio, with narrations by actor Frank Muller, whose credits include TV's "Law & Order" and "Harry and the Hendersons," and Kathy Garver, best known for her role as Cissy in CBS's 1970s hit, "Family Affair." (Now you know what she's doing today.)

For another, late last year several 55-word stories were scripted into an 18-minute film by Stars North Productions. Called "The Paper Route," the film was shown at various film festivals last fall. It tells of a paperboy whose first day on his route takes him unawares through a small town filled with murder and love and betrayal behind closed doors.

At the end of the day, his mom asks how things went. His reply: "Oh, I dunno. Kinda boring." The film's theme is clear: There are extraordinary things happening all around us all the time if only we stop to look.

Clearly, 55 Fiction has resonated with people around America and the world. No doubt it will continue to do so in coming years, and in permutations we couldn't have dreamed of here at New Times even if we'd smoked all the opium in Asia.

No, 55 Fiction isn't just a fun little gimmick anymore, which is really all we thought we were creating back in 1987. But fun remains at its core, and always will.

Fifty-Five Fiction has grown and matured, bringing enjoyment to thousands of readers and helping them to ponder more thoughtfully this strange thing called the human condition–and to understand one another in ways only literature can provide. That may sound like a lot for a mere 55 words to accomplish. But it's true, and I'd be happy to spend any amount of words debating the point.

And yet most amazing to me is that it all started here, in this obscure corner of the planet, in San Luis Obispo County, when a bunch of New Times readers with imaginations that extend beyond the reach of even the most inclusive dictionary said, "Fifty-Five words? Sure, I can do that!" Æ

New Times publisher and editor Steve Moss doesn't usually have this much to say.