Related Resources:
- What is Flash Fiction? A Complete Guide (blog post)
- How to Write Flash Fiction (blog post)
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DIRECTORY
Showing 81 contests that match your search.
New Deal Museum
Genres: Christian, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Travel
GVCA is excited to announce the ninth annual New Deal Writing Competition! This competition challenges writers to use a painting chosen by the staff at GVCA as inspiration for a short story. This year’s painting is “Playtime” by Fred Ross.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
Publication in newsletter
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)
Sadie Tells Stories
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Young Adult
Are you an author who loves magic? Do you have an idea for a super short story that needs to be shared with the world? If you answered yes to both of those questions this contest is for you! The story can be about anything magical. Maybe it’s something that you’ve experienced in real life or it’s something you’ve created. Maybe it’s the start of a great idea. Maybe it’ll be the thing that inspires you to finally publish your book.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
$150
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)
Stories Through The Ages
Genres: Short Story, Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Non-fiction
Stories Through The Ages - Baby Boomers Plus 2023 is open to people born 1966 or earlier. The deadline for entries is June 15, 2023. There is no prompt for the contest. Authors may write about any topic. The entry fee is $20 ($15 if submitting more than one story). The word count for this contest is 900 - 5000 words. Cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 will be awarded. There will be a minimum of 15 finalists whose story will appear in the book.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $200 | 3rd: $100
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024
Writing Peers
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Romance, and Thriller
Are you seeking lots of feedback? Ever wondered what it’s like to step into the shoes of a jury? Pick one of our prompts and let your creativity soar. Submit your piece, then review other entries and develop an eye for what makes a story stand out. Receive detailed feedback, evolve as a writer and you might even walk away with the prize money!
Top Prize:
$1,000
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: June 21, 2024
Genres: Flash Fiction
The Top 5 Flashes from Team Britain and Team World will duke it out for prizes, glory – and points. The higher you rank, the more points you get for your team. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will get a host of cash prizes. The team with the most points will win additional prizes.
Top Prize:
£100
Additional prizes:
2nd: £50 | 3rd: £25
💰 Entry fee: $6
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Bridport Arts Centre
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
It may be the sprint of creative writing but that doesn’t mean you can rush the creative process. Take us somewhere fast then let your story marinade in the reader's mind. Make every one of your 250 words count. There is no minimum number of words, just like there is no limit to your imagination. They say lightning doesn't strike twice but we want to feel the electricity in your story right from the beginning through to the very end.
Top Prize:
£1000
Additional prizes:
£500 for 2nd, £250 for 3rd
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
Minds Shine Bright
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
Minds Shine Bright is an arts business based in Melbourne Australia committed to supporting the arts and writers. We run two fiction writing competitions; Minds Shine Bright Confidence, a longitudinal look at the theme confidence in fiction and poetry, and Seasons a competition with a changing external theme. Light and Shadow is currently open.
Top Prize:
$500 AUD
Additional prizes:
2nd: $400 AUD | 3rd: $300 AUD | 4th: $200 AUD | Commended entries: $100 AUD
💰 Entry fee: $3
📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of craft and appeal in stories, CNF, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, poems, scripts/screenplays. Literary and genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Berkeley Fiction Review
Genres: Flash Fiction
The Berkeley Fiction Review is a UC Berkeley undergraduate, student-run publication. We look for innovative short fiction that plays with form and content, as well as traditionally constructed stories with fresh voices and original ideas. Currently seeking flash fiction submissions of 1000 words or fewer.
Top Prize:
$150
Additional prizes:
2nd: $100 | 3rd: $50 | Honorable mentions: $25 | Publication
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)
Writers Alliance of Gainesville
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
Bacopa Literary Review’s 2024 contest is open from March 4 through April 4, with $200 Prize and $100 Honorable Mention in each of six categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Flash Fiction, Free Verse Poetry, Formal Poetry, and Visual Poetry.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
100
📅 Deadline: May 02, 2024 (Expired)
Writing Battle
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
Two days to write a 500 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.
Top Prize:
Genre Winner (x4): $1,500
Additional prizes:
Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 | Feedback by industry professionals
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: May 03, 2024 (Expired)
WOW! Women On Writing
Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story
Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants.
Top Prize:
$400
Additional prizes:
2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
Fiction Factory
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Travel
Length of story: max 3,000 words. Entries should be as a Word document. All types of stories are welcome (excluding Children’s and Young Adult Fiction). Entry Fee: £7.00 (£13 for 2 stories, £18 for 3 stories) Winning stories will be published on this website and, at a later date in a planned anthology.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
Publication on website
💰 Entry fee: $7
📅 Deadline: July 31, 2024
Globe Soup
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
Register now for our next 7-day story writing challenge. A secret theme, a randomly assigned genre, and just 7 days to write a story of no more than 2,000 words. Our 7-day story writing challenges take place throughout the year. The challenges are free and you can even get feedback on your story. Take part in one challenge or take part in all of them!
Top Prize:
£500
Additional prizes:
Publication on website
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)
Cranked Anvil Press
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
Our quarterly flash fiction competition is open for entries all year round. The competition is open to any theme or genre, and your story must be a maximum of 500 words (not including the title). You can enter up to two stories in each quarterly competition ($3 to enter one story, $5 for two).
Top Prize:
£100
Additional prizes:
£25, publication online
💰 Entry fee: $3
📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story
Open to writers from around the world, we’re offering a top prize of £1,000, a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200. Any themes/genres are welcome but stories must be 1,000 words or fewer. The deadline is midnight (UK time) on Tuesday 30th April 2024 and £1.00 from each entry will be donated to the creative writing charity, First Story.
Top Prize:
£1,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: £300 | 3rd: £200
💰 Entry fee: $13
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Tadpole Press
Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel
Can you write a story using 100 words or less? Pieces will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and how the story captures a new angle, breaks through stereotypes, and expands our beliefs about what's possible or unexpectedly delights us. In addition, we are looking for writing that is clever or unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling and complete story. The first-place prize has doubled to $2,000 USD.
Top Prize:
$2,000
Additional prizes:
2nd: writing coach package
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Hispanic Culture Review
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction
As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.
Top Prize:
$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $0
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)
Sunspot Literary Journal
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story
Literary or genre works accepted. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Closes: February 29. Entry fee: $12.50. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope
Top Prize:
$500 + publication
Additional prizes:
Runners-up and finalists are offered publication
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)
Ironclad Creative CIC
Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller
We are looking for short stories that respond in any way to: 7:12am. You can use that in the text, as a theme, or any way you want. We accept any prose genre and any length of story up to 6k words. We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us - that can happen in any genre of prose. We’re not accepting plays or poetry for this competition.
Top Prize:
£100
Additional prizes:
2nd: £50 | 3rd & 4th: £25 | 10 short-listed entries: publication
💰 Entry fee: $8
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Brink Literacy Project
Genres: Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
For our contests, we seek writing that pushes boundaries and challenges us to think differently. We like work that features complex characters and strong narratives, and plays with genre, setting, voice, you name it. For Spring 2024, we have Wole Talabi judging Short Story, Sherrie Flick judging Flash Fiction, C. S. E. Cooney judging Poetry, and Marin Sardy judging Creative Nonfiction.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Publication
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: November 03, 2024
Voice.club
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story
Voice.club Writing Contests: Express yourself in a supportive international community, as you develop your writing skills. We invite you to write a story of 350 words or less, based on our current prompt. Our monthly contests are open to writers aged 13 and older from any country, but each story must be written in English. Our April prompt is "Magic."
Top Prize:
$25 USD Amazon Gift Card
Additional prizes:
Publication
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
SmokeLong Quarterly
Genres: Flash Fiction
The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction (The Smokey) is a biennial competition that celebrates and compensates excellence in flash.
Top Prize:
$2,500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $1000 | 3rd: $500 | Finalists: $100 | Publication
💰 Entry fee: $14
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)
Fusilli Writing
Genres: Flash Fiction
Flash fiction competition for stories up to 200 words with a twist. Competition always open, with a winner announced and published online after 50 entries received (story count on website). Entry fee: £2.50, winner receives £30 plus publication on the website. All shortlisted entries get their entry fee refunded.
Top Prize:
£30 + publication on website
Additional prizes:
Social media promotion
💰 Entry fee: $3
📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024
Fanstory
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
Subscribe to Fanstory for $9.95 a month and enter as many contests as you like from their list of writing and poetry contests, updated daily. All participants receive feedback from a community of writers, and the winner of each contest receives a cash prize of up to $100.
Top Prize:
Cash prizes of up to $100
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: January 31, 2023 (Expired)
Lascuax Review
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
Stories may be previously published or unpublished, and simultaneous submissions are accepted. True stories are welcome as long as they’re written in a narrative style. Winner receives $1,000 and a bronze medallion. Finalists receive $100. Winner and finalists are published in The Lascaux Review.
Top Prize:
$1,000
Additional prizes:
Finalists: $100
💰 Entry fee: $15
📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024
Armed Services Arts Partnership
Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story
Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.
Top Prize:
$500 Editors' Choice award
Additional prizes:
$250 for each genre category (prose, poetry, visual art)
📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)
Writer Advice
Genres: Memoir and Flash Fiction
WriterAdvice seeks flash memoir, a personal life story running 750 words or less.
Top Prize:
$150
Additional prizes:
Publication in our e-zine
💰 Entry fee: $5
📅 Deadline: June 02, 2024
Ethos Literacy
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story
The challenge: write a story using 100 words on one of four topics. Open to all ages with a special prize for authors 14 years or younger. The contest supports nonprofit literacy programs.
Top Prize:
$200
Additional prizes:
6 cash prizes of $100 each; publication in digital magazine, inclusion in webcast
💰 Entry fee: $12
📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)
Write By the Sea
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry
Write By The Sea is a dynamic boutique literary festival set in the beautiful fishing village of Kilmore Quay, County Wexford. The independent panel of judges will select the winners of each category and winners will be invited to read their work as part of the Festival.
Top Prize:
€500
Additional prizes:
2nd: €300 | 3rd: €200 | Publication
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: June 21, 2024
Gotham Writers Workshop
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. This years entries will be judged by Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House, Her Body and Other Parties).
Top Prize:
$1000 + free 10 week course with Gotham Writers
💰 Entry fee: $25
📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)
Gotham Writers Workshop
Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, and Non-fiction
Write a great short story in ten words or fewer. Submit it to our contest. Entry is free. Winner of the bet gets a free Gotham class.
Top Prize:
Free writing class from Gotham Writers Workshop.
📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024
Globe Soup
Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult
For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a period in history. As soon as you receive your assignment, you'll have until the closing time to research, write, and submit a short story of no more than 4,000 words, set during this historical period.
Top Prize:
$1,131
💰 Entry fee: $17
📅 Deadline: October 28, 2022 (Expired)
Indignor House Publishing
Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult
Indignor House Publishing is proud to announce that our annual writing competition (INDIGNOR PLAYHOUSE Short Story Annual Competition) is officially open with expected publication in the fall of 2024. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted for inclusion in the annual anthology.
Top Prize:
$500
Additional prizes:
2nd: $250 | 3rd: $150
💰 Entry fee: $20
📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)
Bath Flash Fiction Award
Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction
In addition to winning cash prizes, entrants have the opportunity to appear in our print and digital anthology collections. Our books are published by the award-winning small press Ad Hoc Fiction, and are available to buy from their own independent bookshop as well as worldwide from Amazon. 300 word limit.
Top Prize:
£1000
Additional prizes:
£300 for 2nd, £100 for 3rd
💰 Entry fee: $10
📅 Deadline: June 02, 2024
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