Image by Flickr user Olivander Image by 20090106-literary.jpg

The Charleston Magazine ran a short fiction contest late in 2008. The winners are published in this January's literary issue. The winning stories relate to life in the Lowcountry, and the authors are all South Carolina residents. The winning piece, written by Mount Pleasant author Bessie Gantt, is titled "Sullivan's Island 1951." The story follows a young boy with an avid imagination. He fills his world with fantastic stories of foxes, tunnels, soldiers and mysterious sea creatures.

Here's a sample:

He turns back into the dunes. In between the house and the beach are humps of big green bushes. This summer he made a tunnel and a fox den by breaking off some of the lower branches. In the den, he made a floor mat with dry reeds from the beach. Even when it rains, it usually stays dry in the den because the branches overhead are so thick. Now he rips out more branches to make a tunnel from his den all the way to the beach. He might even see a snake. He doesn’t care.

Read the entire story here.

Other winners include:

* Pink-O (1st Runner Up) by Lisa AnneLouise Rentz
* Saturday Girl (2nd Runner Up) by Stephanie Hunt
* A Roof the Color of Desire (2nd Place) by Patricia Vicino
* Project Asylum (3rd Place) by Prioleau Alexander

Jump over to Charleston Magazine to read all the winning stories.