Her Name was Half Calf - Award Winning Short Story

Winner’s Circle 

The winning story in the September 30 contest is “Her Name Was Half Calf” by S.A. Molteni. She has won a cash prize of $50 and is eligible for entry in a quarterly contest for a $100 cash prize. Congratulations!

In General

Our Contest Rules provide the winner is selected based on the combined placement in three categories:

1) The number of FB likes. This is the (only) quantitative or popular category.

2) The persuasiveness of high-quality comments. Unlike the FB likes, which is strictly quantitative, the judges look for persuasiveness in the high-quality comments following the stories in a contest. We are always very pleased when writers receive many comments and support from readers. In judging, however, we focus only on high-quality comments. Please see the FAQ page for this reference and examples of high-quality comments.

3) Opinions by visitors from the Closing Arguments page. To leave an opinion on the Closing Arguments page, a visitor must read all the stories in the contest and post comments to at least three stories in the contest. Visitors abiding by the terms of the Closing Arguments page become surrogate judges offering a top pick. A story cannot win first-place without at least one favorable opinion by a visitor from the Closing Arguments page.

No story in the September 30 contest placed first in all three categories.

September 30 Contest

Placement in Categories

At the closing time of the contest (noon PT October 6), “Her Name Was Half Calf” had 64 Facebook thumbs up (“likes”).  “Silver Linings” 26 and “The Winner” had 20. “I’m Approachable” and “Isn’t Half a Century Worth Something?” had single-digit FB likes.

In the second category, the judges look at the persuasiveness of the high-quality comments. (See the above explanation.) “Her Name Was Half Calf” and “The Winner” were in a virtual tie for first-place in this category. “I’m Approachable” took second place. “Silver Linings” and “Isn’t Half a Century Worth Something?” were tied for third place in this category.

In the third category, “Her Name Was Half Calf,” “The Winner” and “Isn’t Half a Century Worth Something?” were the only stories in the contest that received at least one favorable opinion from the Closing Arguments page. As mentioned above, a story must have at least one opinion by a visitor from the Closing Arguments page to win the contest.

“Isn’t Half a Century Worth Something?” received this one favorable opinion advocating the story for first-place:

[This story] should win because it is upbeat, well-written, and makes growing older actually sound like fun! I hope to get a shirt like the one the author described when I’m fifty — she made me see that there is humor in yet more birthdays!

The Judges determined that “Her Name Was Half Calf” and “The Winner” were in a virtual tie for first-place in the Closing Arguments category.

Here is one opinion for “The Winner” by a visitor favoring the story as the top pick in the contest:

[This] is a visual story. The author makes it visual from beginning to end. I laugh at “Glitter Eyes,” wondering if she’ll ever read it. It’s great when a writer can create funniness, and Robin has mastered at it. It takes all kinds to make the world go around. After reading Sterling’s story, “Glitter Eyes” had me off the earth and on another planet!

Here is one opinion for “Her Name Was Half Calf” by a visitor that favoring the story as the top pick in the contest:

[This story] is a powerful piece about the emotional connection between a human being and a calf. The author’s opening was very descriptive and caught my attention, immediately. Most people don’t write about a calf and how much it means to them, after all they are farm animals. Strong verbs moved the story along as we encountered the crisis as the animal became ill delivering its calf. I was very moved by the description. I could “see” the whole experience as tears fell down my own cheeks. The ending closed the story, allowing the reader to feel the pain the author is still feeling long after having had her pet put down. It was a difficult piece to read, but as we all know, some pieces really touch the emotions. This one sure touched me.

Conclusion

 The judges thought “Her Name Was Half Calf” and “The Winner” are both deserving of first-place. Both stories were in a virtual tie in two categories: high-quality comments and closing arguments. The FB likes category was decisive in choosing the first-place story because the placement of these two stories was otherwise so even.

“Her Name Was Half Calf” placed first in FB likes, and the story eked out a victory over “The Winner,” an equally worthy opponent, in the September 30 contest.

We hope all the writers in the contest are pleased with the many encouraging comments received by the readers. The stories are now on our Archives. Thank you to our visitors for their great comments.