Alan Sincic’s short story “The Piney Vista” — a chapter from a soon-to-be-completed novel — was the first runner-up in the 2021 Great American Fiction Contest and his story “The Ripening” was third runner-up in the 2023 Great American Fiction Contest. A teacher at Valencia College, Sincic’s fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, The Greensboro Review, Big Fiction Magazine, The Gateway Review, Cobalt, and other literary journals. For more, visit AlanSincic.com.