Limited Demographic: American writers

the problem
We believe that, particularly now, as we found this annual anthology, America has lost its cool. Accusation, envy, deception, and snarky exchanges have not only coarsened American discourse, they've caused the coolest people to fear, to seek cover from the fray, to play it safe by not writing and submitting short stories, or at best by typing up mere manuscripts that don't allow their storytelling instincts to sing.

The result, we've found, is that published short stories of late have felt--to us at least--like academic exercises and preachings to choirs more than they've felt like those startling oral tales your wisest, funniest aunt might share with you, or those nearly incredible anecdotes your life-of-the-party friend told as everyone within earshot went silent and felt their hearts beat harder.??
our goal
Remember that twisty-turny story you once read that removed you from this world completely, that actually caused you to think Wow, or maybe even led you to say out loud, "That was a cool story"? We do. And we miss stories like that. And we want to encourage people of all ages (yes, we think teenagers and octogenarians can write cool stories) and social classes (yes, we think privilege and education can cause storytelling to become stilted) to write the kinds of stories they want to read.

We want America to be cool again. And we believe that the most earnest, unafraid, engaging storytelling--if it could be published and read and therefore given a chance--could make empathy and kindness fashionable again and thereby bring American coolness about. Hence our annual anthology.