Toxicity in this thread aside, I am honored and at a loss for words to see my story in the top spot. It was rather personal, and difficult at parts to write.
The overall quality in this comp was amazing, and I could envision many others up there in the top three. Hopefully I never have to be in the position to pass judgment. Serious congrats to those both in and out of the top 10.
It's also wonderful to see so many new authors here making a big splash with excellent writing like JLA (you should all read what else she has posted here if you haven't already), Ophelia, and Ceebees (sorry if I missed someone). I hope this is only the beginning of your writing here.
An anthology of stories from the competitions (with permissions from the authors) to be sold to help fund the site as long as the authors get to keep their copyright and republish/sell elsewhere if they wish simultaneously sounds fair for a not-for-profit free stories site. I hope this can be discussed more and I'm more than happy to allow my writings to be used. Excellent idea.