Welcome to the August issue of Net Author's E2K!

If you've been waiting on tenterhooks for the results of the Third Annual Flash Fiction Contest, wait no longer. Read on!

We received almost 250 entries this year, all of which were judged in a completely blind format. Entries ranged from the very short at a mere 84 words to the contest limit at 1000 and covered all genres. And as always, the judges found themselves hard pressed to complete their task. It gives us great pleasure to announce the contest winners in this issue of the journal, and to share the First Place winner with you. We're certain you'll take equal pleasure in the Second, Third, and Fourth place winners, so look for them in upcoming issues of E2K. In the meantime, we know you're dying to know, so here are the results:

First Place (100usd prize): "Shi" by K. Cutter
Second Place (50usd prize): "Orchidae" by Kay Sexton
Third Place (25usd prize): "Dear and Dearly Beloved" by Sarah Brandel
Fourth Place (25usd prize): "Gismond, Splash, and Enrico" by Ellen Lindquist

For our winners, congratulations, and well done. And to all those who submitted entries, we offer a special thank you for your participation.

In this issue, not only will you find the First Place winner of the Flash Fiction contest, but an enticing bit of fiction by Jim Booth. Carol Krauss returns to us with her unique eye for detail, and Tantra Bensko makes her debut with her own "Modeling for Beginning Drawing." Richelle Putnam comes back to us with an excellent discussion about creating characters, and our own staff writers offer their usual excellent reviews.

• Fiction: "Shi" by K. Cutter
• Fiction: "Wonders of the Invisible World" by Jim Booth
• Poetry: "In Dyarbakir, Turkey" by Carol Parris Krauss
• Poetry: "Modeling for Beginning Drawing" by Tantra Bensko
• Features: "Character? What's That?" by Richelle Putnam
• Features: Book Buzz. Review of Stephen Glass's The Fabulist by Julia Brown
• Features: Honing the Craft. Review of Christopher Klim's Write to Publish: Essentials for the Modern Fiction and Memoir Market and Interview by Magdalena Ball