Submissions are closed until October. Join the waiting list below.
Do you want in-depth feedback on your stories instead of getting a standard rejection?
Do you want to win these exceptional prizes?
- 1st Prize = $500, 1 year subscription to ProWritingAid, publication on our website and in our next anthology.
- 2nd Prize = $300, publication on our website, and consideration for our next anthology.
- 3rd Prize = $200, publication on our website, and consideration for our next anthology.
Additional Prizes and Benefits:
- Every winner gets lifetime access to our Flash Fiction Masters Writing Community.
- The winners are featured in our Story Time LIVE event on Zoom.
- Winning stories are heavily promoted.
There are a lot of contests out there, but very few provide the level of feedback we do.
You also compete with hundreds or thousands of stories which reduces your odds of winning, but we designed a contest with excellent odds, great prizes, and most importantly:
In-Depth Feedback on Every Story
We know how valuable feedback is to writers, because writers run our magazine!
When you enter our contest, you’ll get valuable developmental feedback from experienced editors who have read and edited thousands of stories.
Every submission receives feedback that focuses on the following:
- Strengths: The editor will identify where the story is strongest and most effective.
- Weaknesses: The editor will address elements of the story that could be stronger.
- Revision Suggestions: The editor will provide suggestions for revision and editing.
- Rejection Reason: If the story is rejected, the editor will provide a reason.
Testimonials from Participants
You found the perfect way to run a contest! I got the thrill of entering. (I literally couldn’t sleep the night before because I didn’t want to miss the submission window.) And, of course, I had to deal with the sadness of rejection. BUT, the feedback was so thorough! I never expected line edits and detailed suggestions. I feel like I got as much from this as from taking a semester class.
Kait
You know what? This feedback alone was worth my entry fee. Thanks so much! I’ll be back for the next contest too (whenever that is). Count on it. Thanks so much!
J. David Thayer
I really struggled with the thought of paying for editorial feedback when submitting a piece of flash fiction.
However, I had been struggling for months with a piece that I knew was close, but not quite there. Sophia did an unbelievable job with her feedback, simultaneously telling me what she loved in the story, and most important, what needed work. In the end, my fragile ego remained intact, and after taking her suggestions to heart, the redraft was not only accepted by another literary magazine, but named as a finalist in one of their short fiction contests.
Thank you again; I’ve seen the light.
Dutch
Feedback on my story was fantastic. Helpful for me in knowing where to go with this story and how to write better stories moving forward. You will see more pieces from me.
Thank you for responding to all of my emails. Flash Fiction Magazine has me hooked.
Patti
I wanted to thank you for taking the time and energy to provide your very thorough review of my piece. I found your feedback most helpful, and I’ve already made some revisions based on your suggestions. Your editorial critique is one of the best ones I’ve received, and I’m profoundly grateful for it. Thank you so much!
Victoria
Thanks for your excellent comments on my story. I wasn’t expecting such a thorough—or helpful—review, but I’m delighted to have your suggestions.
Ann Russell
Whilst unsuccessful, Sophia Huneycutt’s feedback was absolutely FIRST RATE. Her carefully tailored comments and recommendations made me feel as if my piece was the only story in her brief.
Barry
I wanted to personally thank you for your professional and informative review of my recent submission.
Your time, comments, and suggestions are very much appreciated, and will be useful to me in reworking this piece, and in future efforts.
Kent Bush
Contest Editors
K.B. Carle – Guest Editor
K.B. Carle lives and writes outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the Associate Editor at Fractured Lit. and Editor at FlashBack Fiction. Her stories have appeared in Bending Genres, No Contact Magazine, Passages North, Porcupine Literary, Apiary Magazine, Jellyfish Review, and have been nominated for Best Small Fictions and the Pushcart Prize. Her story, “Soba”, was one of the winners of Sundress Publications’ 2020 Best of the Net Anthology.
K.B. can is online at kbcarle.com or on Twitter @kbcarle.
Rhonda Schlumpberger
Rhonda Schlumpberger writes speculative fiction and contemporary literature, drawing on her chameleon DNA as a warfighter, salesperson, and nonprofit novice. Her work appears in Pulp Modern Flash, Silver Blade Magazine, Bewildering Stories, and other online and print publications, and in various anthologies. She’s a Longform Fiction “Fiction Pick of the Week” and a Faithwriters Editor’s Choice winner. She holds an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She’s a First Reader with Space and Time Magazine. Her flash craft passions are structure and story set-up, and the reader’s experience. She writes under a pen name and lives in SoCal. Incidentally, she likes her coffee with hazelnut sweetener only.
Rhonda is on Twitter @rhondaschlumpb1.
Susan Jessen
Susan Jessen enjoys reading, reviewing, and writing fiction of various genres. In addition to her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, where she wrote an urban fantasy novel for her thesis, she’s taken undergraduate writing courses from Northwestern University, Loyola University of Chicago, and the University of Alaska. She has four years of experience of evaluating unsolicited manuscripts for a boutique publisher, which included providing constructive feedback to authors. After taking numerous courses at SavvyAuthors, she acts as a moderator for their writing webinars. Her editing interests include character development and clarity of language. Her short fiction has been published under a pseudonym in magazines such as The Arcanist, Space and Time Magazine, and more, and in several anthologies. Art in all forms is a passion, but she prefers painting with words to adding color to canvas.
Susan is on Twitter @SuzJay11.
Contest Guidelines and Entry Fees
- Entry fee = $30 per story.
- Deadline = When we reach 130 submissions.
- Do NOT submit previously rejected stories.
- We are only accepting 130 submissions, so your odds are better than most contests.
- We will consider all stories for publication in Flash Fiction Magazine unless you indicate otherwise.
- You are allowed multiple submissions.
- All decisions regarding the winners are final.
- No contest entry fees will be returned.
- By submitting, you agree to all contest rules.
The Stories We Accept
- We accept fiction stories between 300 and 1000 words.
- We do not accept previously published work. This includes stories published at FFM.
- We do not accept poetry.
- We do not accept children’s fiction.
- We do not accept erotica. Adult themes including sex, violence, and even politics are fair game.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Let our editors know if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Previous Winners
- Ballad of the Wren
- A Childhood Ago
- Kettlebell Kate and Handsome Jake
- Dandelion Ghosts
- Spanish Ham & Cigarettes
- Mathieu