Jan 2021 Contest Results
Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners, via our Subscribe page, social media channels, and this page.
The Winners and Honorable Mentions will be listed here.
1st Place, $1,000: The Following Patient, by Shira Gorelick
2nd Place, $500: Summer Camp Scout, by Riley Montag
3rd Place, $250: An Old Quaker, by Arsh Haque
The 18 Honorable Mentions will be posted throughout 2021 and added to this list as they are posted.
The Spy Who Shushed Me, by Kathi Kuehnel
Jerry, by Katherine Shadrach
A Runner on the Beach, by Kelly Trumbull
Sweet Daddy, by M. Jean Pike
The Cookie Giver, by Timothy Moore
The Weary Firefighter, by Melissa Lowell
Brandon’s Mom, by Jessica Conaway
Lady at the Bar, by Darlene Casas
The Marine, by Lisa Regler
Coconut Connoisseur, by Robert Taylor
Maryann, Not Shopping, At the Mall, by Brenda Hajec
The Acrobat, by Julia Richieri
New England Bus Man, by Jennifer “P”
Man Who Saved My Flight, by Sarah Paris
Namaste Boy, by K. Jastrow Davis
Stairwell Observer, by Melanie Garbaini
The Technician, by M.J. Weisen
JUDGES WERE:
Nylah Burton
Nylah Burton is a writer with bylines in New York Magazine, British Vogue, ESSENCE, and more. She writes about mental illness, race, the climate crisis, and relationships. Her forthcoming memoir, LOVE/SICK, will be published by Penguin. LOVE/SICK explores romance and mental illness, and its intersections with fashion, race, religion, and art.
“Like many writers, I wander. I walk around cities for hours, ride long-distance trains, and loiter in odd places. And when I wander, I often stumble into conversations with strangers that change the way I see myself or the world, inevitably changing the way I see my writing as well.”
- Nylah Burton
Irene Choi
Irene is an actor best known for her role as a series regular on Insatiable. Notable guest star roles include Community, Mozart in the Jungle, The Good Doctor, and Grey’s Anatomy. She was also featured as a guest judge on Netflix’s Sugar Rush and guest contestant on E!’s The Funny Dance Show.
“I never get tired of hearing about the experiences that make us uniquely human. We often overlook the interactions we have with strangers, dismissing them as trivial and forgetting that even the simplest and shortest encounters can leave lasting meaningful impact. I’m looking forward to reading about these 30 Second Friendships, reminding us that we’re never quite as invisible as we think we are in this busy world.”
- Irene Choi
Robert Heavrin
Robert is the founder of 30 Second Friendships and munDAAANG! Mag. Both projects focus on finding beauty in the mundane. Robert spends his days marketing buses. In a previous life, Robert was a green-marketing columnist for MediaPost.
“It is easy to focus on the ugly in the world and overlook the simple beauty of day-to-day interactions. I’ve been jotting down anecdotes about brief moments with strangers for years, frustrated that there wasn’t a place to properly give tribute to these meaningful moments, so I created 30 Second Friendships. I can’t wait to read everyone’s stories!”
- Robert Heavrin
R. Eric Thomas
R. Eric Thomas is a national bestselling author, playwright, and screenwriter. His debut memoir, Here for It, or How to Save Your Soul in America, which Lin-Manuel Miranda hailed as “pop culture-obsessed, David Sedaris-level laugh-out-loud funny”, was published by Ballantine Books in 2020. For years, he wrote “Eric Reads the News” a daily humor column covering pop culture and politics on ELLE.com.
“One of the most magical parts of being a human in the world is the possibility of unexpected connections. A chance conversation in line at a store, a wrong number, a seatmate on a plane--there's potential in every encounter to feel less alone. That's what I love about 30 Second Friendships: they offer a glimpse of that human magic.”
- R. Eric Thomas
Contest Details Were:
Deadline: January 31th, 2021,
Prizes: 1st Place $1,000; 2nd Place $500, 3rd Place $250
Submission requirements:
Stories must be about a brief encounter with a stranger
Stories must be true as remembered by the story-teller
Submissions should be fewer than 700 words, ideally less than 500 words
Submission tips to increase your chances of winning:
Title your story after the 30 Second Friend.
Read existing 30 Second Friendship posts to get a sense of the vibe
Write in present tense
Try to avoid stories where someone else is the primary beneficiary for your good deed. 30 Second Friendships are mutually beneficial or you derive more benefit than the other participant.
Avoid including a moral to the story. Let the story speak for itself. Don’t spoon feed the conclusions to readers.
Fine Print: While you retain copyright of your submission, submitting a story gives 30 Second Friendships authorization to make small edits to and publish your story on our website and post snippets of it in promotional materials on social media.