L Magazine recently announced its fourth annual Literary Upstart competition, a contest for “pocket fiction” of the short-short (under 1,500 words) variety. Semi-finalists will face each other this spring in a series of readings in New York City bars, where a live audience will goad them on but decisions will ultimately be made by a panel of judges that includes New Yorker editor, short story writer, and musical theater genius Ben Greenman. The winners of three preliminary events will then read their stories in a final competition to be held in June.