New Zealand author Tracey Slaughter's "reasons to end us (an aerial view)" won the €3,000 (about $3,340) Moth Short Story Prize. Noting that the winning story was chosen because "the narrator's voice in this exceptional work is so insistent, so intense, reading it literally took my breath away," author and judge Louise Kennedy said, "Reading the entries reminded me of how delicate and marvelous a thing a good short story is, no other form can carry such emotional heft in so few words.... There is extraordinary control here, but what really sets this short story apart is timing; details--startling in their originality--explode like little bombs and revelations land at precisely the right moment."
Irish writer June Caldwell took second place for "Catastrophic," while third prize went to "Gertrude's Favourite Pfeffernüsse" by U.S. author Melanie McGee Bianchi. The runners-up receive a week-long stay at Circle of Misse writers retreat in France, with an open travel stipend; and €1,000 (about $1,110) respectively.