SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED
The Flash on the Fly Challenge begins now
Submissions are open as of Saturday November 9 at 10:00AM EST and will close in 48 hours on Monday November 11 at 10:00AM EST. No submissions will be accepted outside of that window.
Theme: TEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD
Write a horror flash fiction story, 500-1000 words (FIRM LIMITS) that fits the theme “TEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD”. We are open to any interpretation of the theme. See the judge’s notes below for tips.
Please keep reading for full guidelines!
(Please note: “Flash on the Fly” means flash fiction written quickly & without much preparation. It does not mean flash fiction about The Fly.)
- Stories should be previously unpublished, original work by the writer. No generative A.I. permitted.
- Stories should be written in standard manuscript format and sent as a .docx file attachment
- Name your .docx file with your story title and your last name, then attach it to the email.
- STORY TITLE, LAST NAME should also be in the subject box of the email.
- Submit to:
redacted - Following the guidelines makes it easier for us to stay organized, but please don’t stress over this part. Nobody will be auto rejected because of formatting.
Stories will be judged on adherence to the theme, quality of storytelling, and originality. Given the speedy nature of this challenge, minimal judging will be based on typos. But please at least do a self-edit before submitting.
- We will aim to select a winner within 4 weeks of the closing deadline and will announce the winner publicly on our website and across social media.
- Due to the fast turnaround of this contest, only the author of the winning story will receive a response.
- The author of the winning story will receive $50.00 USD via PayPal (other payment arrangements within reason can be made if necessary)
- Publisher will receive rights to publish the story on our website. Author will retain all rights to their story. Feel free to look at a sample of our winner’s publishing agreement here: Flash on the Fly Publishing Agreement.
- Stories will be judged by L.P. Hernandez. (Follow L.P. on: Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads)
TIPS from L.P. Hernandez:
The stories that most resonate with me create a feeling of wonder. There is a delicate balance between posing questions and answering them. The characters will have lives beyond The End. What about their journey is left off the page and will have me thinking about them months or years later? Think about a question that keeps you up at night. Frame it within a story about the aftermath of the end of the world and you’re off to a great start!
Best of luck to all who enter!
Subscribe for updates:
DEATH KNELL PRESS 
Are previously written stories eligible or do you have to write the story within the 48 hour window? Thanks
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We prefer stories that were written specifically for the challenge; however, there’s no way for us to know if a story had already been written, so there’s no specific rule against it. If using a trunk story, we highly recommend making sure it fits the theme well and is within the word count.
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Hi. I hope this is okay. I use OpenOffice, which only allows me to save .doc files, not .docx, so I’ve attached a .doc and a .odt just in case.
Love your theme, hope this fits your criteria.
All the best,
Jai
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Shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll make it work. Thanks for entering!
-Red
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Should I include my name on the first page of the story? (I understand it should be included in the document name, and subject box of the email.) Or do you prefer “blind” entries? Thanks.
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Contest entries aren’t required to be blind, so either way is fine.
Thank you for checking!
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