The Little Room Above:

• Semi-Finalist in the 2009 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Contest: "an original, new twist on the hallucination/reality thriller ...interesting subject matter that generates a fair amount of psycho- analytical intrigue ... one of the more intersting scripts I've read in this year's competition ... strong thematic work on the nature of existence ... fantastic and imaginative [dialogue], really fleshs out the cast ..." -- Austin Contest Reader Notes.

• 3rd place in the 2008 StoryPros Screenplay contest: "a strong and distinctive psychological horror script... nightmarish in tone...action description is concise and punchy while dialogue is consistently strong..." -- StoryPros Script Analysis

Slasher :

• Semi-Finalist in the 2009 Shriekfest Screenplay Contest: "Well-written, flowing, darkly cerebral without a typical ending which I found refreshing; something I would like to see." - Shriekfest Contest Reader Notes

• This story won me over with its character depth and gonzo attitude. – Terry “Horns” Erwin, Editor of Deathgrip 3: It Came From the Cinema

"Sam Minier is a terrifically talented writer--innovative, creative, unusual, a lateral thinker." - Sandri Kasturi, Chizine Publications

Stagnant:

• Finalist,  2009 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Screenplay Contest

"The Third List": [S]imply masterful. Each time the reader thinks he knows what's happening, Minier spins his plot elegantly sideways, leading us somewhere new but equally compelling ... The Third List is wonderfully descriptive and effectively gruesome and eerie to boot, making it a pitch-perfect dark holiday fable. A+  -- Monica S. Kuebler, Rue Morgue Magazine

“The most thought-provoking offering in the issue… Minier takes a hard look at society's obsession with the pureness and innocence of babies and our equation of youth with purity… the unexpected ending lobs an extra level of surrealism onto this grim tale.” – Suzanne Church, Tangent Short Fiction Review

--Grand Master of Horror Ramsey Campbell

"Stuck": a particularly   well-written piece, subtle and  heart- wrenching, even to the  bloody end. --Nickolas Cook, HELLNOTES.COM

...started off like it was going to be one of those Alzheimer's stories that I've certainly had more than enough of, but then it zags when I expect a zig … this story is funny and gross and horrifying… the ending is disturbing and fitting - Minier straddles well the line of humor and horror. I found this the best story of the issue.” --   LiveJournal review

This is good stuff .... It deals with abuse and dysfunctionality, it deals with children and wonder, it deals with blood and horrific things. I liked it, but it wasn’t a pleasant read. Not all good fiction is... Rating: 8 anonymous stars out of 10.  -- Anonymous review at theanonreader.wordpress.com

"Behind the Walls":

This is not a pleasant story, but neither is it trite nor shallow; Minier handles his difficult subject matter well and succeeds in creating characters who feel like a real family—dysfunctional but trying to be loving, too, and struggling to make life work. -- Alex Dally Macfarlane, The Fix Short Fiction Review

“Golden Shimmering” : ‘Golden Shimmering' immediately grabbed me and I wanted to read it again and again.   It's a tale close to my heart and a discovery that I'm proud to present to you. -- Rabe Phillips, Editor of Darker Than Tin, Brighter Than Sin.

"Quiet Flickings, Milky Darkness", Vol. 14

"Figment and Other Bedtime Friends", Vol. 15

"Fair Day", Vol. 19