It’s Valentines Day—which for us here at TGS is always the day when we post the winner and honorable mentions in the Winter Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition. Our 2026 winter winner is Ralph Wales Huntley, of Portland, Oregon, for his timely and topical sudden-fiction piece, “Influencer.” In addition, Ralph is also one of our honorable mentions—the first time in more than a decade that’s ever happened. His honorable mention piece—one of three we’re publishing—is titled “Rough Patch.” As most TGS fans likely are already aware, we usually only honor two honorable mentions in each iteration of our contest—but sometimes the competitive quality of several stories forces us to make an exception . . . and this was one of those times. So now you’ve got four brand-new, never-before-been-published, chilling and/or though provoking pieces of supernatural sudden fiction to read over the course of several cold winter nights. They’re available, along with all of our many past winners and honorable mentions, right . . . HERE. Enjoy.