Three-minute fiction

This election season, Three-Minute Fiction is getting political. Weekends on All Things Considered has a new judge, a new challenge and a new prize for Round 9 of our contest.

A reminder from weekends on All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden that Round 9 of Three-Minute Fiction is still open for submissions. Our judge, Brad Meltzer, is looking for an original short story that revolves around a U.S. president — fictional or real — in under 600 words. Listeners can submit their story online at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, September 23, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz checks back in with the winner of the last round of Three-Minute Fiction, Carrie MacKillop of Charlotte, Vt. Round 9 of the writing contest has begun and runs through next Sunday. Listeners can submit their story online at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction.

The end of Round 8 of our Three-Minute Fiction contest has finally arrived. We've read through more than 6,000 stories, and now our judge for this round, novelist Luis Alberto Urrea, has picked his favorite.

More than 6,000 original stories were submitted to this round of Three-Minute Fiction and we're on the quest to select just one winner. Until then, we'll be reading a few of the stories that catch our eyes. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz presents this week's stand out stories: Pilgrims by Catherine Carberry from Metuchen, N.J., and Fireflies, by Delia Read from Fairfax, Calif. To see these stories and others go to npr.org/threeminutefiction.

More than 6,000 original stories were submitted to this round of Three-Minute Fiction. Host Guy Raz presents this week's stand-out stories: Rid Yourself of this Pest Today! by Elizabeth "Bitsy" Hawes Unangst and Just In Case by Robin McCarthy.

Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz checks-in with Three-Minute Fiction judge Luis Alberto Urrea to hear how the reading process is going and to hear some of his favorite stories thus far.

Author Luis Alberto Urrea reminds listeners that the deadline for Round 8 of Three-Minute Fiction is tonight, Sunday, March 25, at 11:59 p.m. ET. All submissions must be received by then to be considered a valid entry in the contest. The story must begin with the sentence: "She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door". As always, the story must be 600 words or less. To submit a story, go to npr.org/threeminutefiction.

In Round 8 of our Three-Minute Fiction contest, listeners were given this challenge: Begin a story with this sentence: "She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door." And, as always, the story must be 600 words or less. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday.

When 11-year-old Kahlo Smith found out she couldn't enter Three-Minute Fiction she wanted to why.