Congrats to the Quarterfinalists!
Ever sit through the nerve-wracking experience of a live-action slush? Ever wonder what those editors were thinking? Like, seriously, why are they all so judgey like that?
Well, the first page of a story is a little window into the entire piece. And we peek through many (many — like, thousands!) of panes per year. So we decided to bring you the First Page Cage Match to recreate the experience of a live-action slush reading, and to shed some light on just how challenging it can be to have a story (even a really, really great one) find a home.
With limited page space, publications do need to get a little, shall we say, particular. And, as you’ll see, sometimes the decisions are subjective. We don’t always go with our head — the heart and the gut get votes, too.
And rest assured: to be certain that all is fair in literary love and writerly war, we read all of the entries with the names of the authors removed.
Here’s what’s happened so far:
To generate the longlist for the First Page Cage Match each submission was read by two judges. We marked them based on whether we found a red flag that made us want to stop on the first page (0 marks) or the second page (1 mark). For submissions on which we reached the end, we gave 2 marks to ones that didn’t leave us wanting to read more, and 3 marks to those that had us hooked.
The longlist comprised all the submissions that got full marks from at least one editor.
What made us stop reading
Of the pages that didn’t make the cut, several had author names on the document or filename, were not fiction, or exceeded the allowable word count. Authors, make sure you read the contest guidelines carefully!
Technical details aside, a common failing was that, despite some beautiful writing, we weren’t given a reason to care about the protagonist. A first page should give the reader a sense of setting, genre, tone, and a hint of the central conflict. If you’d like to see where exactly your manuscript fell through the cracks, you can still order editor feedback on the contest page.
The Quarter-finalists
From the longlist of eighteen, we brought in three more editors to help to pare out half of these excellent starts and crown our quarter-finalists. Most of these had at least two editors hooked, and none had red flags.
Now, here are the nine contenders, along with a peek into the minds of our editors.
The Wren Girl by Caitlin Quinn
This was a split decision. Three of our editors were put off by the heavy use of dialect, but Jenn, Jen, and Sierra were all intrigued enough to want to find out what happened next. Our suggestion to the author would be to tone down the dialect, especially at the start.
Sounding the Dark by Angela Kenyon
One editor did not make it past the first paragraph because of too many factual details in the first lines, and two more commented that those few lines nearly turned them away. (See how important your opener is?) However, they perservered and by the next paragraph wanted to keep reading. Five out of six editors rated this a 3 for the clear vision and interesting surprises.
Bosporus in Blue by Deniz Soykurumcetin
Another split decision, Mark, Sierra, and Jenn were hooked by the immersive prose and intriguing plotline with plenty of personal tension. The other editors all made it to the end of the piece, but were either confused or not engaged enough in the setting and plot to want to read more.
Medusa Gorgon by Sandra Kasturi
This piece received the highest average score, with all the editors interested in reading more. Jen was initially put off by the tautological title, but agreed with the other editors that the tone was fun, and the take on Greek myth fresh enough to draw readers in.
Read Sandra Kasturi’s Magpie Award-winning poem ‘Apiography: A Fragment’ in Pulp Literature Issue 46, Spring 2025.
Jason, Not Jesus by Scott Kemp
Five out of six editors wanted to read more of this. Mark, Mel, and Amanda were concerned that the premise might not support an entire novel but wanted to read more to find out. Jen felt she had already read too much in this vein (eg Preacher and The Chronicles of Wormwood by Garth Ennis) but she agreed with Sierra and Jenn that the pacing, tone, and humour evolved naturally and was well-written.
A Palace of Memories by Dhivya Ganesh
Jenn loved the microtension right off the top in this story, and Amanda was intrigued by the destination. Mark and Mel found the dense dialogue too much for an opening page. Sierra and Jen were curious, but wanted more clarity on genre and where the story was headed.
The Mute Room by Deepthi Atukorala
The responses to this were mixed. Amanda was fully engaged until the last paragraph when some large grammatical errors threw her, and Mark felt the backstory of the characters needed a different treatment. Mel’s and Sierra’s interest waned with the lack of a clear conflict, but Jen wanted to read more despite the somewhat confusing start, and Jenn was blown away with how much the author said in so few words.
Find more of Deepthi Atukorala’s award-winning writing in Pulp Literature Issue 23, Summer 2019.
Almost Love: A Past-Life Destiny by Leakhena Ly
All the editors agreed these first pages need work, perhaps by moving the scene from a few weeks earlier to the start, cleaning up the voice, or clarifying the conflict. However, at least half the editors enjoyed the setting an premise enough to want to read more.
The Truth The Dead Know by MJ Huntsgood
Amanda and Jen liked the strong voice and setting, and the sense of place in what seems like it will be a post-apocalyptic ghost story. All the editors, especially Jenn, wanted to to read more.
Stay tuned to the Pulp Femme newsletter to discover which of these advance to the semifinals!
Thank you to all who entered! And a deep bow to these eight brave souls, who joined the sometimes scary, occasionally surprising, and (*fingers-crossed*) often insightful live-action slush!
And for all the latest from Pulp Literature, stay tuned to the blog! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky.
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