Synaesthesia Flash Fiction Contest 2018
We're delighted to announce the 2018 Synaesthesia Flash Fiction Contest with an exciting first prize in store – and special guest judge, Lara Williams!
This year, we're celebrating shorts. In November, we'll be publishing our 20th issue (!) SHORT SHORTS – honing in on short works with big hearts: flash fiction, flash poetry, and flash creative nonfiction.
To celebrate, we're looking for writing that stimulates the senses – and there's no place better to find that than in flash fiction, the home of brevity. The winners of this year's Flash Fiction Contest will be published here – plus more tasty prizes up for grabs.
What's more, we have special guest judge Lara Williams on board, whose short stories and flash fiction always have us grasping for more, like in AND SO IT BEGINS published in Litro. (Watch out for our interview with Lara soon to find out what she'll be looking for in entries, and why flash fiction rocks.)
As well as cash prizes, here's what you could win:
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first Prize
The winner will receive £200 (approx $264) and will become our
Resident Writer 2019. That means that the winner will be specially commissioned to write a story for each issue that we publish in 2019 (two min), with the opportunity to work alongside our editors in an online Synaesthesia workshop to get it ready for publication.
The winner will be interviewed, with their winning flash published in our SHORT SHORTS anniversary issue in November. They will also receive a copy of our first print issue WE ARE WOMEN.
second PRIZE
The first runner-up will receive £100 (approx $132) with their winning story published in our SHORT SHORTS anniversary issue in November, as well as an interview on our blog. They will also receive a copy of our first print issue WE ARE WOMEN.
third PRIZE
The second runner-up will receive £75 (approx $99) with their winning story published in our SHORT SHORTS anniversary issue in November, as well as an interview on our blog. Each winner will also receive a copy of our first print issue WE ARE WOMEN.
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Here's what you need to know:
- The 2018 Synaesthesia Flash Fiction Contest opens on Wednesday 18 July at 00:30 and closes on Sunday 5 August at 23:30 (BST British Summer Time).
- All stories will be read blind and shortlisted by our editors, with Guest Judge Lara Williams making the final decision.
- The competition is open to anyone from any country and welcomes unpublished fiction (in English only) up to 500 words in length (not including the title).
- Entry fee per story is £5; every single entry fee goes towards the cash prizes.
- Finalists and winners will be announced in autumn. All of our finalists will be considered for publication.
- Submissions will only be accepted via our Submittable Flash Fiction Contest category. Please do not email submissions as these will not be considered!
- Please ensure you read our FAQs before submitting.
Happy writing – and good luck!
Lara Williams
Lara Williams is a writer based in Manchester, UK. Her debut short story collection Treats was published by Freight Books in 2016; and was published in the US by Flatiron in October 2017 under the title A Selfie As Big As The Ritz. The collection was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. She has published short fiction in Lenny Letter, Electric Literature, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Litro, Little Fiction and Metazen. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Her novel Supper Club is forthcoming in Spring 2019 from Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Putnam & Sons (US). She has had essays, feature and culture pieces published by The Guardian, The Independent, New Scientist, New European, Times Literary Supplement, Dazed & Confused, Vice, Oh Comely, and others. She is a graduate of the Manchester Writing School.
Illustration BY Manon Le Gall
Manon Le Gall is a young, self-taught illustrator based in Paris. She uses drawing as a loophole and plunges us into her often melancholic universe. She illustrates women in scenes of daily life mixing poetry and girl power. Instagram: @mlgillustrations
