Unicorns, murders and happy endings
Today, The Acorn reveals the winners of its first fiction contest. By happy coincidence, all live locally, in Oak Park, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. A lot of great entries were received from writers in other states; the rules never prohibited out-of-towners. But the locals won in a fair contest.

More than 70 entries were mailed or e-mailed to The Acorn. A 6-year-old girl wrote about the world's biggest bubble; an 8-year-old printed her story about space aliens in pencil on pink-lined paper.

Many authors evidently took a hint from the contest announcement's advisory: "Make it sci-fi, drama, adventure, romance . . . ," as most of the stories fell into distinct categories: extraterrestrials, death, loss, old age and transcendent love. Other popular themes were murder, dogs and food ("If I could change one thing, I'd rid the world of bad food"), and there were birds, lots of birds.

In the adult division, Lorin Michel, 45, took first place with "The End," an ambiguous scenario that each judge seemed to perceive differently, and Scott Hutchinson, 44, was runner-up with his "California Sunset." Both told their stories in exactly 100 words, the maximum allowed.

Natalie Olson, 12, and Jessica Wall, 11, tied for first place in the 18 and under category, and 17-year-old Kevin Cho received an honorable mention for his "Seven Years of Bad Luck." Natalie's "The Truth About Cantaloupes" and Jessica's "A Comet in the Night" both featured fantastical beings and were early favorites of the judges, as was Kevin's sad story about a small boy and a broken mirror.

Each entry received was printed out and placed in a manila folder labeled "over-18" or "under-18" and read by the six judges, who initialed the stories they liked best. The panel included a senior editor, several copy editors, and a well-read production executive who quotes H.P. Lovecraft by the horror master's given name, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

As August neared its end, stories with at least two or three judges' initials became finalists, and the winnowing out process shifted into high gear. Repeated votes were taken and some
finalists--the canoe, the streets paved with gold, the driving exam, the soul-sucking laptop--were eliminated.

Then the judges closed the door and the debate began, mostly in civil tones. Stories that remained in the running were boosted by backers and discounted by detractors.

And in the end, "The End" won, and two young girls' tales of imaginary creatures shared top honors in the under-18 division.

The stories and author bios are featured in the Community section of the paper.