Meet the Winner! Gary Wadley
Read Gary Wadley’s story, “Magic Bus,” coming January 3, 2025
“I had to read your email several times, and even now don’t fully comprehend that I won,” says Wadley on learning that his short story “Magic Bus” won first place in the 2025 Great American Fiction Contest and a prize of $1,000. “When I saw that I had won, I called my wife over, showed her your communication, and we had a little hug fest!”
In the winning story, two strangers — one young, one old — share one thing in common: both are heading west to put distance between the past and the future.
“‘Magic Bus’ is about a journey of leaving and arriving,” the writer says. “Many of us (at times) think of leaving everything behind and starting over — for better or worse, by impulse or plan. It may be inward or outward, may be applauded or condemned, and probably both. There are many reasons to just go away.”
In writing the short story, he “saw the interstate highways as our rivers of today, their exits as eddies, snags, and boulders. … I think of the thousands of stories that pass our houses and offices every day on these rivers of asphalt. I wanted to explore one of these stories.”
Wadley, who earned his BFA from Florida Atlantic University, says he “dabbles in this and that” — including photography, graphic design, acting, and writing — “anything to keep my creative spark kindled.” He has written several short plays and is two-time winner of the Academy Arts Short Story Contest. Wadley is also the author of three self-published books — Cedar Key Stories, Psalms of Cedar Key, and Poems: Life, Death.
When does he find time to write? “I just know it is time to write when I have something to say, even if only to myself,” he says. “I need to seek a little clarity through the distillation of words. I suppose a short story is a sort of microscope, revealing hidden things that live between the lines.”
Meet the Runners-Up
Each runner-up receives $200 and publication of their work on our website. We salute these fine writers and the more than 250 others who entered our 2025 contest. —The Editors
James Kerr
TITLE: Ruthie’s Garden (posting January 10)
STORYLINE: When the time is right, he will tell her. But sometimes there is no right time.
BIO: Kerr earned an MFA in creative writing from Temple University. His work has appeared in Sewanee Review and other literary publications. This is his first story published by a national consumer magazine. More at peaceableman.com.
Scott Davis Hendrix
TITLE: The Breakout (posting January 17)
STORYLINE: The boy was 12 years old and had never been fishing. Chief would change all that, and so much more.
BIO: Hendrix holds a B.A. in communications from Mississippi State University. The author recently completed his third selfpublished novel. This is his first story published by a national consumer magazine. More at scottdavishendrix.com.
Dana Jaye Cadman
TITLE: The Winds (posting January 24)
STORYLINE: Aunt M was a witch, but love was the one thing magic couldn’t do anything about.
BIO: An assistant professor and director of creative writing for Pace University, Cadman holds an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers-Newark. She is currently at work on two novels and a collection of short stories.
Dana Formby
TITLE: Orion’s Belt (posting January 31)
Storyline: For the children living in Open Plains Mobile Home Park, many questions go unanswered.
BIO: Dana holds an MFA in playwriting from Ohio University. Her full-length play American Beauty was published by Bloomsbury Methuen. She is currently at work on her second novel, Just Another Trailer Park Fairytale. More at narrativemonster.com.
Katrina Hutchins
TITLE: Exasperated Children (posting February 7)
STORYLINE: Every Thursday, Mary drove her daughter Sam to piano lessons, but who were the lessons really for?
BIO: Hutchins graduated from Hobart and William Smith college. She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and 2-year-old son. This is her first work of fiction ever published.
This article appears in the January/February 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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