Best Flash Fiction Writing Contests in 2026

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Oxford Flash Fiction Prize celebrates flash fiction, encouraging new voices and showcasing creativity in under 1000 words. This biannual competition invites writers to submit their stories for the chance to win cash prizes and publication.

Genres: Flash Fiction

An annual competition celebrating excellence in flash fiction. Previous winners have been published in notable anthologies.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Scribes Prize is an annual writing contest open for submissions from July 1 to October 1. It invites stories between 90-110 words, with a focus on various genres of fiction and creative nonfiction. Winners will be published in ScribesMICRO and receive digital award seals.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, and Flash Fiction

The Wonder 2025 Flash fiction Battle is part of the Writing Battle series, where participants write stories based on prompts. Participants receive feedback from professionals.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

The Verdant Owl Battle is a contest focusing on short stories where writers receive prompts to inspire their narratives. It fosters a supportive community, allowing participants to share and receive feedback on their stories.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Established in 2023, this contest is a platform for writers and poets to get their work published. Categories include various forms of poetry and fiction, excluding erotic work. Winners receive feedback and cash prizes, while all approved submissions will be included in the anthology.

Genres: Christian, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Mystery, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Travel

The New Deal Writing Competition invites writers to create a short story inspired by a specific painting. The current painting is 'Playtime' by Fred Ross. This is the ninth annual contest, intended to celebrate creativity and connect art and writing.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The competition invites submissions of flash fiction with a maximum word count of 999. Entries can be on any topic, allowing writers to showcase their creativity.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize aims to celebrate new short fiction under 2000 words and provide visibility to winners through various publishing opportunities. This year, the prize includes cash rewards and writing retreats, alongside publication chances in several literary journals.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The F(r)iction Flash Fiction Contest invites writers to submit flash fiction pieces of up to 1,000 words. The winner will be published in F(r)iction. The contest embraces experimental and boundary-pushing literature, encouraging creativity.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction invites writers to break traditional writing rules while crafting compelling stories. Participants have 60 hours to produce a story of up to 500 words in response to prompts. The contest is held quarterly, with cash prizes totaling AU$4,000 each round.

Genres: Flash Fiction and Fiction

This contest invites submissions of flash fiction and other prose forms, including creative non-fiction. Pieces should focus on critical moments in the protagonist's life, with a maximum length of 750 words. All entries receive consideration for publication, and those selected as winners receive small cash prizes.

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

The Mini Moon Writing Contest challenges participants to write entries of 10 words or less, with no theme required. The contest is designed to encourage creativity and quick thinking.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The Places Writing Competition invites stories and poems about places that inspire or challenge writers. It includes various categories like poetry, short stories, and flash fiction, and aims to highlight the significance of places in literature.

Genres: Flash Fiction and Non-fiction

The WAWA challenges writers to explore the theme of 'Endings' through short stories of up to 500 words. Entries must not include the word 'endings' in the title or story itself. Winners will be announced in March 2025.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The contest encourages participants to submit one fictional story (max 350 words) for a chance to win a prize. The contest requires a minimum of 10 shortlisted submissions to award a prize, which is a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fiction

The Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest invites entries of any subject and length. Unpublished stories are accepted, and multiple entries are allowed. All entries are treated anonymously during the judging process.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The competition invites writers to submit original 100-word stories that include one of the specified words: PLACE, PLACED, or PLACES. The competition aims to celebrate concise storytelling.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The WOW! Winter 2026 Flash Fiction Contest invites writers globally to submit original fiction entries. The contest encourages creativity across all genres and styles, operating under an open prompt. Since its inception in 2006, the contest has awarded over $150,000 in prizes.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize aims to discover and support new writing talent on an annual basis. The prize includes financial support for the best pieces of writing submitted on an announced theme. The contest is open to all writers aged 18 and above, regardless of nationality.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

Green Stories is running a flash fiction competition for stories under 500 words on the theme of ‘epiphanies’. The writing competition invites writers to submit a story about transformation, when a moment of epiphany causes one or more characters to change for the greener. The transformative realisation could relate to any attitude or behaviour with environmental implications (e.g. food, travel, consumption, gardening, cleaning, etc.), or the story could focus on the benefits of any greener alternative (e.g. environment, health, status, spirit, soul). We call it fiction, but you can write about any personal epiphanies too, using storytelling techniques to give it drama and emotion.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

The Flash Fiction Competition invites writers to submit stories of up to 500 words. It's a quarterly competition with prizes awarded for the top three entries each quarter. Winning entries are published on the website.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA) organizes an annual writing contest to celebrate and recognize talented writers across various genres. Participants can submit original works in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry. The contest promotes writers' creativity and provides valuable feedback from experienced judges.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The competition invites short story submissions of up to 8,000 words from writers of all genres. It aims to encourage creativity and provide feedback opportunities. Participants retain ownership of their work, with the winner receiving a cash prize along with chances to win in a bonus draw.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Bridport Flash Fiction Prize invites writers to submit stories of up to 250 words. It aims to celebrate the art of brevity in storytelling. The winning entries receive the opportunity for publication and recognition.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The contest invites participants to write a micro-flash story of 39 words, inspired by John Buchan’s 'The Thirty-Nine Steps.' Submissions must fit the theme and will be featured in an anthology. Winners will also be showcased in a public online event.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story

The WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest aims to inspire creativity and recognition for writers. Open to all genres of flash fiction, it has been running since 2006 and has awarded over $100,000 in cash prizes to participants. The contest allows entries globally, and submissions must be in English.

Genres: Flash Fiction

The New Writers Poetry Competition offers a £1,200 top prize (with £1,800 total) and publication for the top six poems in its next New Writers Anthology. It is open globally to any English-language poet aged 18+. 10% of proceeds will be donated to charity. The head judge is prize-winning poet, Katrina Moinet.

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

The Write by the Sea Writing Competition features four categories: Fiction Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Memoir/Personal Essay. It includes cash prizes and publication opportunities.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fantasy

The Not Quite Write Prize for FLESH Fiction invites submissions of erotic stories up to 1,500 words based on the theme 'Making the unsexy irresistible'. The competition is open to adults worldwide, free to enter, and aims to explore creative interpretations of erotic fiction. Judging is blind, and winners will be announced publicly.