“getaway car” by Taylor Riley

Spring 2026 Winner in Prose

The door shuts with a thud and locks with a click. The engine starts with a gentle grumble, yawning awake. Its steady breath is a soothing rhythm, my heart calms and beats in tune. I shift into reverse and back out of the driveway, the tires squeal against the linoleum garage floor. I head to the highway with no final destination in mind. My only mission is to get away.

My house alternates between being too crowded and too lonely, too overwhelming and too boring, too loud and too quiet. My car is never too anything. In the driver’s seat, I pick the company, the music, the volume. Some days I sit in silence, listening to the engine and my thoughts. Some days I turn the radio up up up until I can’t hear or feel anything else. Some days I clench the wheel with white knuckles and yell things that I wish I would have said in arguments that I lost hours or years ago. I relive, rescript, and revise the endings so I win. In my car, the reality I create is the only one that matters.

One day, I was loudly singing (shouting) along to a song as I parked, and the driver of the car next to mine shot me a judgemental look. I remember wondering how she could hear me. You can’t hear me. You can’t hear me because you don’t exist. My car is its own world and I am the only person in it. And it’s only in my car, where no one can hear me, that I truly feel heard.

From the prose editors…

All three of the prose editors, before we even began discussing the recipient of this prize, found “getaway car” a formidable contender. The narrative is short – only two hundred and sixty-eight words – and treads the line between loneliness and relatability. Every single moment can be heard by the reader and every single word holds tremendous weight. The consonance of structure and sound throughout the piece creates a rhythm all its own, and the reader can’t help but relate to the speaker. This piece represents a true mastery of sound imagery and emotional impact, and we look forward to reading any and all future work!

Congratulations Taylor,

Nina Clayton, Miriam Fabrycky, Taylor Nisbet