13 Flash Fiction Contests with Upcoming Deadlines
(January 2024) 4 with no fee! — guest post from Shannan Mann
If you’ve been following along here for a while you know I’m not crazy about contests. But they are an important aspect of submitting and a lot of people like them. So, good news! Shannan Mann who is the Founding Editor of ONLY POEMS, and writes their Substack, loves contests and has agreed to help me out. From now on, every other Wednesday, we will have a contest post. Yay! Money! They will be well-researched with all the details provided and even link to previous winners (damn, Shannan). Still, don’t submit to contests willy-nilly. Some have high fees and it’s not worth it unless you truly think you have something they are looking for. OK, turning it over to Shannan.
Flash fiction – as an encasement for storytelling – goes back ages. Fables, fairy tales, parables, and even longer form poetry like that of Walt Whitman’s was considered more akin to flash fiction than verse. Today, flash fiction comfortably rests between 500-1500 words and most places ask for something that follows some kind of a narrative stream, however minimal.
Still, it can feel tough to define the essence of what a piece of flash truly is. For me, I think flash is fiction, truth, poetry, political chant, thunderous call to revolution, an olive tree planted for peace, the art of love decoded on a page, grief born of surrealism, bizarre bullshit, absurd music, a writer’s retaliation against an old colonial system, everything.
So on that note, if you have some flash festering and flowering on your writer’s desk, consider taking a leap with some of these cool flash fiction contests open right now with deadlines fast approaching!
Globe Soup 7 Day Story Writing Challenges
Deadline: Rolling
1st Prize: £500
Entry: Free
DETAILS
Take place throughout the year.
Each challenge runs for exactly 7 days.
Before a new challenge begins, all those who have registered will be randomly divided into 12 GROUPS. Each group corresponds to a different GENRE.
When the challenge begins, you will receive an email with your randomly assigned genre and the SECRET CHALLENGE THEME.
All participants receive the same theme and must write a short story of no more than 2,000 words, inspired by the theme, written in the genre assigned to them.
You will have exactly 7 days to write and submit your story.
Globe Soup will choose 12 finalists, one from each genre and an overall winner. The winner of the challenge will receive £500.
When you receive the theme and your genre, it is up to you if you want to take part. Once registered, you will be randomly assigned a genre each time a new challenge begins, and there will be a new theme for each challenge. If you don’t feel inspired by the theme and genre, you can wait for the next challenge! There is no need to re-register each time.
You can join our LOVE WRITING FACEBOOK GROUP to meet other writers taking part in the challenge. Share ideas, get advice, and when the challenge ends, you can take part in our FEEDBACK EXCHANGE, allowing you to swap stories with other participants to give and receive feedback.
Not Quite Write Prize for Fiction
Deadline: Jan 21
1st Prize: $1000 AUD
Entry: $25 (Australian)
DETAILS
$60 includes Entry + Personalized Feedback
$100 AUD includes Entry + On-Air Feedback (This one is not for the faint of heart!)
Rising Voices Award
Deadline: Jan 30
1st Prize: $200
Entry: Free
DETAILS:
$150 for 2nd Place, $100 for 3rd place in each division
1x $1,000 Scholarship for the winner of the Rise Up Writing Challenge for Anti-Bullying Related Works
Fiction: 300-2,000 words per piece (up to 3 pieces)
You must be 13-18 years old to submit.
New Writers Flash Fiction Competition
Deadline: Jan 31
1st Prizes: £1,000
Entry: £10 (one entry), £19 (two entries), £27 (three entries)
DETAILS
2nd Place: £300; 3rd Place: £200
Head Judge: Stephanie Carty (Author and Clinical Psychologist)
Publication: The three winning entries will be published on the NewWriters.org.uk website
Word Limit: 300 words (excluding title and line spaces)
Charity: £1 from each entry will be donated to First Story (England’s leading creative writing charity for young people)
Please read the full Flash Fiction Competition Terms & Conditions before entering.
Winners and authors who have made the shortlist will be notified by email no later than Friday 29th March 2024. The announcement of winners and shortlisted entries will also be made no later than this date.
Oxford Flash Fiction Prize
Deadline: Jan 31
1st Prize: £1000 first prize
Entry: ⬇️
£7 for one flash fiction
£11 for two flash fictions
£15 for three flash fictions
DETAILS
1000 words
Font: Arial 12pt
Single spaced word document or PDF.
Shortlisted entrants will be offered publication in our anthology and more. New Voice Award runners-up will receive special editorial guidance on their story.
Full rules: https://oxfordflashfictionprize.com/rules/
Elegant Literature Contest
Deadline: Jan 31
1st Prize: $3000 + Free enrollment in New Novelist Accelerator
Entry: Membership based entry at 27/month or 54/year OR contest only at 10/month
DETAILS:
Only open to new writers
2nd – 10th Place: 10c/word and publication
11th – 35th Place: $20
The Iridescence Award
Deadline: Jan 31
1st Prize: $500 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and Iride
Entry: Free
DETAILS:
entrants must be 18 or older
up to 1000 words
Second Place = $250 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and Iridescence
Third Place = $100 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and Iridescence
6 Finalists receive $25 Amazon gift card and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and Iridescence
6 honorable mentions will receive publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and Iridescence
Winter Flash Fiction
Opens: Feb 1
Prize: $10,000 cash prize pool + Winners published
Entry fee: $25
DETAILS
3 days to write 1000 words
Receive writing prompts
Write one story
Read 10 stories
Furious Fiction
Opens: Feb 2
1st Prize: $500 (Australian Dollar)
Entry: Free
DETAILS
Monthly short story challenge from the Australian Writers’ Centre
55 hours to write a max 500 word story with the key words provided
open worldwide to participants aged 17 years and over
Bath Flash Fiction Award
Deadline: Feb 4
1st Prize: £1000
Entry: £9 for one, £15 for two, £18 for three
DETAILS
Winners announced March 1
£300 second prize, £100 third prize, two £30 commended
We offer full no quibble refunds up to the closing date of the award. Read more in the rules.
Entries are made online via email. Following payment using one of the buttons above, PayPal will email you your receipt. To enter, simply ‘Forward’ that email – ensuring to ‘Attach’ your work – to the email address below: flash@bathflashfictionaward.com
WOW! Winter 2024 Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: Feb 28
1st Prize: $400.00 cash prize, $25 Amazon Gift Certificate, Entry published on WOW! Women On Writing, Interview on the WOW! Women On Writing Blog
Entry: $10
DETAILS
Maximum: 750
Minimum: 250
OPEN PROMPT!
That’s right, this is your chance to shine, and get creative. You can write about anything, as long as it’s within the word count and fiction. If you’re feeling inspired, write something new, or dig out those stories you started way back when and tailor them to the word count.
We’re open to any style and genre. So, get creative, and most of all, have fun.
We are limiting the number of entries to a maximum of 300 stories. Please enter early to ensure inclusion. If we reach 300 entries, we will disable the PayPal buttons.
ENTRY WITH CRITIQUE: $20.00
ADDITIONAL OPTION: Due to popular demand, we now have two options for your entry. For an additional $10.00 you can purchase a critique of your contest entry.
Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize
Deadline: March 1
1st Prize: The winning writer will receive $1000 and a free 10-week course with Gotham Writers.
Fee $25
DETAILS:
Judge: Carmen Maria Machado
Winner announced 2024
Entries should be 750 words or less.
Stories can be on any theme.
The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction 2024
Deadline: April 30
1st Prize: $2500
Entry: ⬇️
Feb 1-Mar 1
One Entry: $14
Two Entries: $18
Up to Four Entries: $30
March 2-April 30
One Entry: $16
Two Entries: $20
Up to Four Entries: $32
DETAILS:
Second place: $1000. Third place $500. Finalists: $100. All finalists and placers will be published in the special competition issue in June 2024.
Anyone aged 18+
Previously unpublished only
Any language is fine but needs an English translation
I linked it up in the intro, but putting the full preview here to Shannan’s OP Substack. If you like this level of research and are a poet, you’ll love what they’ve been doing over there.
Would love to see a flash CNF post! Do any of these contests accept it?