2025 Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition Shortlist Announcement
Hawkeye is thrilled to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition!
The judges have narrowed down the longlist to create the shortlist of the top 10 entries for this year’s competition. The shortlisted stories and entrants conveyed an excellent grasp of writing conventions and literary themes. Judges noted that the best entries this year were those that both reflected the theme of ‘Lost and Found’ and delivered significant emotional impact within a well-written story.
Hawkeye Publishing Director Carolyn Martinez said, ‘From an outstanding longlist, our judges have distilled this year’s top 10—a shortlist that showcases superb craft, confident command of literary conventions, and stories that linger long after the final line. The finest entries not only illuminated our ‘lost and found’ theme, they delivered a profound emotional punch within exquisitely written narratives. Congratulations to our shortlisted writers, and sincere thanks to every longlisted author—you’ve set a remarkable standard.’
2025 Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition Shortlist, in no particular order:
The Close by Jessica Eve Diez
Tarnished by Laura Morris
The Rabbit by Kylie Kaden
Two Hearts in Pieces by Christine Neumann
Windows into Memory by Des Brady
Once More by Fibiandini Yustiana
You Broke Me by Jared Kranz
Loss by Kenneth J Johnson
Phoenix by Mina Schafer
Salvation by Lee McKerracher
Please join us in congratulating the shortlisted entrants. The judges deliberated extensively over the shortlist as the quality of the longlist was of such a high standard. Judges were especially impressed with entries that grabbed their attention, evoked an emotional response, and created a broader sense of a world beyond the immediate story being told, despite the minimal word count.
The top 40 stories, including the shortlist, will be published in an anthology titled If Found, Please Return, with the cover design based on the winning story.
Longlisted entrants will each receive one complimentary eBook copy. Pre-order your physical copy here. This is a limited-edition publication and is only available through pre-orders until 31 December 2025.
The winners will be announced on 28 November 2025. Ensure you’re subscribed to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Facebook to be among the first to see the competition results.