Overview

The PING app is now live on the phones of everyone you know. It’s a notification system that shows, by tapping into your unique frequency, exactly who is thinking about you, and if they’re thinking about you with fear or love-related emotions. It’s a constantly updating digital pulse on your screen, a signal simultaneously incredibly intimate and unflinchingly judgmental.

The PING Anthology is a collection of 25 original stories bound together by this single, unsettling premise. From the suspenseful to the romantic to the mind-bending to the heartbreaking, these writers explore what the world becomes when emotional privacy is a relic of the past.

This anthology presents the winning entries of an international short story contest that explores the invasive impact of this technology on our society, our relationships, and our self-esteem. These stories map a world uncomfortably close to our own—a world where the last private space we had, our own minds, has been opened to the public. You will discover a genre-hopping collection of tales about people who have learned more about the minds of others, and themselves, than perhaps they ever should have.

Five judges were involved in scoring and curating the entries. First, second, and third place winning stories are featured, along with several honorable mention “Judge’s Pick” stories that have comments by the judge at the start, along with the most compelling submissions which scored the highest.

Fans of “The Black Mirror,” psychological fiction, suspense, twisty thrillers, and even spice and supernatural dread will find something for them in these pages.

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Awards & Recognition

Celebrating the 25 most compelling stories chosen for the Anthology.

First Prize

$500

+ Lead Anthology Placement

Babs Rudlin
"Early Access"

Second Prize

$250
Jodie Winter
"RED"

Third Prize

$150
Katie Kent
"Big, Fat Zero"

All 25 selected authors will receive a Hard Copy of the finished book.

The following Judge's Picks will have a preview sentence added before their selected stories:

Rai Furniss-Greasley, “The Dark Raven"
Vince Arnold Savarin, "THE PING REVOLUTION OF DOMINICA"
Destiny Roberts, "The Wrong Man's PING"
Nyssa Drake, "Ping Me Green"
Nadili Soman, "PING"
Elisha Vee, "Threshold"

These stories were selected from the submissions for inclusion in The PING Anthology:

James Adams, “Jealousy in the Legacy Feed”
Matthew Christensen, “The Second Slot”
SD Davis, “Reveal”
Jonathan B. Edvane, “Beatrice and the Thing Named App”
Jamey Gilbert, “The Date”
Claire Hill, “Murderous Appetite”
Kevin Hopson, “Crimes Against Pizza”
Tammy Jean, “Til Death Do Us Part”
SVB Jackson, “Mama's Avenging Angel”
Michelle Lehman, “Unresolved”
Charlie Moon, “Never Just A Memory”
Amy-Adele Richardson, “Echoes in the Feed”
Rabea Scholz, “Ten Per Cent Red”
Djidjelly Siclait, “Last Visit”
Kathleen Solis, “The Firing”
Jo Summerlin, “Trivia Night”

Judges Panel

James Hanna
James Hanna is a retired probation officer and a former fiction editor. His work has appeared in over thirty journals, including Sixfold, Crack the Spine, and The Literary Review. He is also the author of seven books all of which have won awards. Global Book Awards gave James a gold medal for contemporary fiction. His short story collections embody the best of unexpected, quirky, and speculative writing.

MJ Huntsgood
MJ Huntsgood is a speculative literary and horror author who enjoys exploring the use of perspective and deep POV in her work to find the nightmare not just in a situation, but within ourselves. She has been in over two dozen literary magazines and has been published in anthologies with Timber Ghost Press, Red Cape Publishing, and Macmillan Children’s Books. She is the loser of various awards including the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net, and an applicant for many others. She lives in an unreasonably haunted townhome in Washington DC with her ever dwindling number of underwatered plants, 2 cats and trophy husband.

Ally Ladner
Ally is an independent fantasy and sci-fi editor and writing coach who specializes in helping authors elevate their stories through what she calls Manuscript Magic™. She believes that powerful, unputdownable novels are born at the crossroads of creativity and storytelling science—and that bridging the gap is where the magic truly happens.
When she’s not wielding her enchanted red pen and teaching authors how to make magic through her educational Instagram page, she can be found in sunny San Diego, CA, with her husband, two sons, their insanely energetic dog, and one very testy orange cat—who is (understandably) fed up with the dog’s eternal antics.
And if you couldn’t already tell, she’s a champion of the em dash—you’ll have to pry them from her cold, dead hands.

Dr. Julie McNairn 
Dr. Julie McNairn (publishing as Julieanna Mac) holds a PhD in Medical Physics and Neuroscience and has published in academic journals. After serving on a corporate leadership team, she stepped back from the rat race to pursue her passion for storytelling, launching her debut novel Born from the Broken on April 1st, 2026. As founder of Narratoria Creative Co-Op, Julie is dedicated to making publishing accessible to all writers and amplifying voices that deserve to be heard. When she’s not championing indie authors or working on her next book, she can be found in Scotland with her husband, two sons, and dog (though she admits the order of affection varies by the day).