Contest Submissions

Do you want in-depth feedback on your stories instead of getting a standard rejection?

Do you want to win these awesome prizes?

• 1st Prize = $500, publication on the website and in our next anthology.
• 2nd Prize = $300, publication on the website, and consideration for our next anthology.
• 3rd Prize = $200, publication on the 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 decided to design 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 our magazine is run by writers, just like you!

The Feedback We Provide

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:

1. Strengths: The editor will identify where the story is strongest and most effective.
2. Weaknesses: The editor will address elements of the story that could be stronger.
3. Revision Suggestions: The editor will provide suggestions for revision and editing.
4. 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

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

Timons Esaias – Guest Editor

Timons Esaias is a satirist, writer, and poet living in Pittsburgh. His works, ranging from literary to genre, have been published in twenty languages. He has also been a finalist for the British Science Fiction Award, and won the Asimov’s Readers Award. He was shortlisted for the 2019 Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize. His story “Norbert and the System” has appeared in a textbook, and in college curricula. His SF short story “Sadness” was selected for three Year’s Best anthologies in 2015. Recent genre appearances include Asimov’s, Analog and Lightspeed.

He is Adjunct Faculty at Seton Hill University, in the Writing Popular Fiction MFA Program. People who know him are not surprised to learn that he lived in a museum for eight years. He collects chess sets and elephants. It is alleged that he goes on and on when asked a question.

Genevieve Allen

Genevieve Allen is from Cornwall in the UK. She enjoys both contemporary and historical literature, and the reimagining of myth and folk stories. She studied Creative Writing at the University of Gloucestershire and has had her work published in the anthology Smoke, as well as adapted for the stage at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. She is particularly interested in play writing and likes pieces that are relevant and resonate with audiences. Her fiction work has most recently appeared in Toasted Cheese Literary Journal. She firmly believes a good book is best enjoyed with a cup of tea, and as such, her mug collection is getting rapidly out of control. She’s on Twitter @GenAllen52.

Sophia Huneycutt

Sophia Huneycutt is a native Floridian working as a freelance copywriter in Berkeley, California. As a fiction editor, her passions are language, grammar, and character interiority. Sophia holds a degree in English literature from Davidson College and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing from UC Berkeley Extension. She’s a two-time alumna of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop summer graduate intensive, and regularly attends workshops at The Writing Salon in Berkeley. Her work, which primarily explores Southern culture’s struggle to redefine itself in the modern era, has been published in Jabberwock Review and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. She currently owns 24 potted plants, and spends way too much time trying to revive them. She’s on Twitter @sophiahuneycutt.

Contest Guidelines and Entry Fees

• Entry fee = $30 per story.
• Deadline = When we reach 130 submissions. 
• We are only accepting 130 submissions, so your odds are better than most contests.
• All stories will be considered 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.