Hall of Fame
During our fabled run, the Gauntlet has seen first-timers win it all, and some champs do it more than once. I could give you the line about hurricanes, hospitalizations, and sleep deprivation, but you already know. Here are the Gauntleteers who showed us the most, and gave us some serious thrills. Our history’s as real as it gets.
Travis Burnham
2022 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
Travis is no stranger to running, and winning, the Gauntlet. He secured the brass ring for the first time in 2016. Now, under his canine tribute pseudonym, Princess Vee, he’s back to do it again. With this alias, and even more world travels under his belt, Travis turned in some of the best stories and critiques of the 2022 tournament. His creativity with our prompts was particularly noteworthy, especially in the “Aesop’s Morality” final round. You can see just what we’re talking about below.
2022 Judges
Chy Burch, J.B. Ezar, Tobias Backman, Steven Lugo
2022 Challenges
Flashes of Brilliance (Flash fiction)
WYRM Arcade (“What Remains of Edith Finch”)
In the Beginning (Prologue review)
Aesop’s Morality (What is the opposite of a fable?)
Total Gauntleteers: 9
Dimitra Nikolaidou
2021 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
Tales of the Wyrd
2021 saw the Return of the Gauntlet, and the the longest period of Sudden Death in this, or any, competition. Yet, in a year of firsts, one thing that did not change was the dominance of our Champion, Dimitra. Winning her third championship, Dimitra submitted high quality reviews and stories throughout Sudden Death, cementing her place in Gauntlet lore. She is, as ever, the Destroyer From the Mediterranean. Now you can read a sample of her 2021 winning story below.
2021 Judges
Chy Burch, J.B. Ezar, Steven Lugo
2021 Challenges
The Little Storm (“Nanny Anne and the Christmas Story” by Karen Jay Fowler)
A Fistful of Letters (Write us about a story)
Time Enough for Us (Time travel without time traveling)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 31
Dimitra Nikolaidou
2019 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
Dimitra on Facebook
One of the major subplots of the 2019 Gauntlet was a new Greek invasion. This influx of writing Spartans was spearheaded by Dimitra, who made her return four years after winning the tournament in 2015. She has been busy publishing and translating with her workshop Tales of the Wyrd, and has only grown stronger since we saw her last. Not only has she become just the second ever two-time champion, but has also done it in a year which saw a record number of entrants for us. Perhaps that is why she is thought of as The Destroyer From the Mediterranean. In the Final Round, Gauntleteers were asked to scare the judges with a story. Here is a sample of her story.
2019 Judges
Chy Burch, Beth Sadler, Gale Peterson, Stephanie Cassey, Tobias Backman, Steven Lugo
2019 Challenges
The Storybook (“King Midas and the Golden Touch”)
The Writing on the… (Live with it!)
The Chemicals Between Us (“The Alchemist’s Feather” by Erin Cashier)
Can You Fear This? (Scare us with a story)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 58
Shawn Proctor
2018 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
@shawnproctor
For a lesson in perseverance, look no further than four-time combatant, Shawn Proctor, who brilliantly revealed that ‘Wilma Combs’ was just an alias after all. Shawn is a Pennsylvania writer of both novels and short fiction, and associate editor of Cast of Wonders, the YA fiction podcast. His story “The Day Time Stood Still”, which drew inspiration from a Gauntlet round, recently appeared in Galaxy’s Edge. Below is a sample of his 2018 winning story, “In the Teeth of the Earth.”
2018 Judges
Chy Burch, Beth Sadler, Gale Peterson, and Steven Lugo
2018 Challenges
Harlan Ellison Memorial Round (“He Who Grew Up Reading Sherlock Holmes”)
Don’t Dream It’s Over (continuing Ellison’s tale)
Leaf on the Wind (Steven Brust pens FireFly fanfic)
The Phantom Word (A concept which cannot be named)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 34
Samantha Jenkins
2017 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
The history of regaining a major championship is marked by perseverance and commitment. This individual has a lot in common with competitors who have done this very thing. For boxing, it’s Floyd Patterson. For MMA, you may think of Randy Couture. But if you’re a writer and critic, and the Gauntlet is where you compete, then there is only one Sammi.
Click Here to Read a Sample of “Doing Life in Samarkand Sulci”
2017 Judges
Tobias Backman, Beth Sadler, Gale Peterson, Chy Burch, & Steven Lugo
2017 Challenges
Paper Tiger (Ken Liu’s “Paper Menagerie”)
The Unreliable Narrator (Corpse Husband’s Video)
Take Me Back to the Start (Review What You Love)
A Distant Place and Time (Assigned Location)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 18
Travis Burnham
2016 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
travisburnham.blogspot.com
2016 was the year of Travis Burnham, a writer, teacher, and adventurer who had traveled the globe before taking on the Gauntlet. Was the Gauntlet his greatest adventure yet? You be the judge by getting to know Travis, and by reading a passage of his winning story, “The Long, Small Hours” which was based upon a movie trailer.
2016 Judges
Beth Sadler, Gale Peterson, Chy Burch, & Steven Lugo
2016 Challenges
Times Like These (Time Travel in Fiction)
Tell My Story (Second Person POV)
Regarding Fanfiction (A Particle, A Wave)
Trailer for Your Muse (Movie Trailer Inspiration)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 33
Dimitra Nikolaidou
2015 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
@D_Nikolaidou
In 2015, a rising author joined us from Greece, and aimed to show us a thing or two. Our final round was philosophical in nature, and asked, ‘What if a quote had built a world?’ Dimitra entered “Blindness” for the win.
2015 Judges
Gale Peterson, Sheila Beebe, Cathy Douglas, Chy Burch, & Steven Lugo
2015 Challenges
Natural Selection (Nature’s Futures)
Cure THIS (Cure Prompt)
Gauntlet’s Razor (Paragraph Review)
Their Quote, Your World (Proverbia)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 35
Julian Mortimer Smith
2014 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
julianmortimersmith.com
In our 2014 edition of the Gauntlet, Julian gave us “Practice” which secured his victory after three prior rounds of writing, reviewing, and time limits. He’s the real deal. And if you like stories about reality, or that manipulate reality, then you won’t mind if we share a snippet.
2014 Judges
Gale Peterson, Sheila Beebe, Cathy Douglas, Chy Burch, & Steven Lugo
2014 Challenges
Irish Blues (Stray Sod, Graphic Novel)
Don’t Be Creepin’ (CreepyPasta)
Review Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self
The Object of My Reality (Reality Manipulation)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 15
Samantha Jenkins
2013 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
And here she is, the baddest and the raddest, the first Gauntlet winner of the new age! Samantha has won the 2013 WYRM’s Gauntlet! Congratulations, Champ.
2013 Judges
Cathy Douglas, Chy Burch, Sheila Beebe & Steven Lugo
2013 Challenges
The Nuclear Option (Nuclear Family)
Monsters With Issues
Livin’ in a Bubble (Plume, Graphic Novel)
The Mind-Expander (Doppelganger)
TOTAL GAUNTLETEERS: 18
Before We Broke Out
Before we broke out on our own, we held our contest as a subsect of another website. We started in 2007 and have crowned a champ for as many years. Here are all of our champs prior to 2013. These are the originals, the daredevils that could, the Gauntleteers that took a chance and won big.
Some of our former champs have elected to use their partial names or to go by a nickname (sometimes lovingly chosen by a member of WYRM). If you’re a former champ and want to reach out to us about changing your name in the Hall of Fame, or give us permission to display a sample of your winning story, drop us a line and we’ll getcha sorted.
He Asked Lots of Questions
2012 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
The Mean Sister
2011 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
S. Cassey
2010 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
Jace Milner
2009 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
Sheila Beebe
2008 GAUNTLET CHAMPION
The One We Almost
Thought Was Nice
2007 GAUNTLET CHAMPION