Reflex Fiction Autumn 2019 Winners!

Spring 2020 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition shortstops Jan
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We operate a choose your own entry fee system.

Autumn 2019 Winners

At the end of December, we published the three winning stories from our Autumn 2019 flash fiction competition as chosen by Naomi Booth. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

You can read Naomi’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Winter 2019 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Winter 2019 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of March.

Spring 2020 – Choose your own entry fee

We’re also accepting entries for our Spring 2020 competition. For this round, we’re delighted to have flash-fiction legend Kathy Fish as our judge.

We’re continuing with our choose-your-own-entry-fee system. If the suggested entry fee of £7 is prohibitive, just pay what you can afford. If you’d like to support a writer who can’t afford the full fee, why not add a pound or two? More details on our website.

Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: Choose your own
Entries close: 29 February 2020
Judge: Kathy Fish

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

The Reflex Spring 2020 flash fiction competition is open!

Spring 2020 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition shortstops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

We had a fantastic response to our Winter ’19 competition: 515 entries from 30 different countries. We’re busy reading and judging in preparation for announcing the longlist on 1 January. In the meantime, the next round of the competition is now open for entries.

We’re delighted to have flash fiction aficionado Kathy Fish acting as judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry fee: Choose your own!
Deadline: 29 February 2020
Judging: March 2020
Longlist announced: 1 April 2020
Judge: Kathy Fish
Submissions: via our online entry form.

Flash Fiction Editor Vacancy

We’re currently recruiting an editor to manage flash fiction submissions for online publications. See our website for all the details.

The A3 Review’s New Contest Themes

issue_11_cover_grandeThe A3 Review has recently launched Issue 11. We’ve also just posted new themes for our monthly contests. Publication and cash prizes for winners. To enter and for more details, please visit our Submittable page by clicking here. The next few themes will be included in our “T” issue, so we’re looking for short stories (as well as poems and artwork) about : Tablets, Transformations, and Thanatos.

The two winning entries from September 2019 to February 2020 will make up the list of contributors to Issue 12 (The “T” Issue). From this list, three overall winners will receive cash prizes: 1st = £250, 2nd = £150, 3rd = £75. Issue 12 will appear in April 2020.

The word limit is 150 words, so we’d particularly like to see flash fiction and mini essays. Our $5 (approx £3.50) submission fee helps us cover admin and printing costs and makes sure we can keep offering cash prizes.

Visit The A3 Review’s website to see some back issues. The A3 Press also publishes chapbooks and is open for submissions until December the 10th.

Reflex Fiction Summer 2019 Winners!

Autumn 2019 Winners - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - shortstops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Summer 2019 Winners

At the end of September, we published the three winning stories from our Summer 2019 flash fiction competition as chosen by Claire Fuller. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: The Puncture by Lauren Collett
Second Place: Do Not Tell Me We Are Friends by Alice Franklin
Third Place: Growing In the Dust by Dona McCormack

You can read Claire’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Autumn 2019 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Autumn 2019 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of December.

Winter 2019 – Choose your own entry fee

We’re also accepting entries for our Winter 2019 competition. For this round, we’re delighted to have Barbara Byar, author of the forthcoming Reflex Press book Some Days Are Better Than Ours as our judge.

We’re continuing with our choose-your-own-entry-fee system. If the suggested entry fee of £7 is prohibitive, just pay what you can afford. If you’d like to support a writer who can’t afford the full fee, why not add a pound or two? More details on our website.

Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: Choose your own
Entries close: 30 November 2019
Judge: Barbara Byar

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

 

Spring 2019 Winners & Choose Your Own Entry Fee

Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction - Spring 2019 Winners - ShortStops

Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Spring 2019 Winners

At the end of June, we published the three winning stories from our Spring 2019 flash fiction competition as chosen by Alison Moore. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: Cooped by Andrew Stancek
Second Place: Big Strong Giant by Billy Cowan
Third Place: Happicabs by Night by Izzy Paprika

You can read Alison’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Summer 2019 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Summer 2019 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of September.

Autumn 2019 – Choose your own entry fee

We’re also accepting entries for our Autumn 2019 competition. For this round, we’re delighted to have 2018 Guardian ‘Not the Booker’ Award shortlisted writer Naomi Booth as our judge.

For this round of the competition, we’re inviting you to choose your own entry fee. If the suggested entry fee of £7 is prohibitive, just pay what you can afford. If you’d like to support a writer who can’t afford the full fee, why not add a pound or two? More details on our website.

Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: Choose your own
Entries close: 31 August 2019
Judge: Naomi Booth

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

 

The Autumn 2019 Reflex flash fiction competition is open

Autumn 2019 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - shortstops

Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

We had a fantastic response to our Summer competition: 413 entries from 25 different countries. We’re busy reading and judging in preparation for announcing the longlist on 1 July. In the meantime, the next round of the competition is now open for entries. In the interest of making the competition more inclusive, we’re trialling a choose your own entry fee system for this round. Visit our website for more details.

We’re delighted to have Naomi Booth, 2018 Guardian ‘Not the Booker’ Award shortlisted author acting as judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry fee: Choose your own
Deadline: 31 August 2019
Judging: September 2019
Longlist announced: 1 October 2019
Judge: Naomi Booth
Submissions: via our online entry form.

Witches Sail in Eggshells by Chloe Turner

Witches Sail in Eggshells coverWe’re excited to announce our first publication under the Reflex Press banner. Witches Sail in Eggshells by Chloe Turner is a collection of seventeen short stories and is available to order now through our website. You can also read a taster story from the collection, ‘Hagstone’, online here.

Reflex Fiction Winter 2018 Winners!

Summer 2019 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - ShortStops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Winter 2018 Winners

At the end of March, we published the three winning stories from our Winter 2018 flash fiction competition as chosen by David Swann. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: The Endless Conversation With My Mother by E L Norry
Second Place: Still Warm by K M Elkes
Third Place: Heartwood by Johanna Robinson

You can read David’s thoughts on the winning stories (and many of the long-listed ones) here.

Spring 2019 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Spring 2019 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of June.

Summer 2019 Open for Entries

We’re also accepting entries for our Summer 2019 competition. For this round, we’re delighted to have Desmond Elliott Prize winner Claire Fuller as our judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7
Entries close: 31 May 2019
Judge: Claire Fuller

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

The Summer ’19 Reflex flash fiction competition is open

Summer 2019 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - ShortStops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

We had a fantastic response to our Spring ’19 competition: 394 entries from 19 different countries. We’re busy reading and judging in preparation for announcing the longlist on 1 April. In the meantime, the next round of the competition is now open for entries. We’re delighted to have Claire Fuller, the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize winner, acting as judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry fee: £7
Deadline: 31 May 2019
Judging: June 2019
Longlist announced: 1 July 2019
Judge: Claire Fuller

Submissions

Submissions should be made via our online entry form.

Rules

Stories must be fiction, must be the entrant’s own work, and must be between 180 and 360 words inclusive. See the Reflex Fiction website for full Rules.

Reflex Fiction Autumn 2018 Winners!

spring 2019 - reflex fiction - flash fiction competition - shortstops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Autumn 2018 Winners

At the end of December, we published the three winning stories from our Autumn 2018 flash fiction competition as chosen by Annemarie Neary. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: The Real Jazz Baby by Fiona J Mackintosh
Second Place: Vespertine by Alex Reece Abbott
Third Place: The Sound of Her Singing by Karen Ashe

You can read Annemarie’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Winter 2018 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Winter 2018 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of March.

Spring 2019 Open for Entries

We’re also accepting entries for our Spring 2019 competition. For this round, we’re delighted to have Man Booker Prize shortlisted author Alison Moore as our judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7
Entries close: 28 February 2019
Judge: Alison Moore

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

Reflex Fiction Summer 2018 Winners!

Winter 2018 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - ShortStops

Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Summer 2018 Winners

At the end of September we published the three winning stories from our Summer 2018 flash fiction competition as chosen by Sherrie Flick. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: Crowbar by Lyndsay Wheble
Second Place: Consanguinity by Fiona J Mackintosh
Third Place: Skin by Donna L Greenwood

You can read Sherrie’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Autumn 2018 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Autumn 2018 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of December.

Winter 2018 Open for Entries

We’re also accepting entries for our Winter 2018 competition. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Entries close: 30 November 2018
Judge: David Swann

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

 

Introducing the Flash Fiction Forum

Flash Fiction Forum - Reflex Fiction - ShortStops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Flash Fiction Forum

We’re very excited to announce a new feature on our website: the flash fiction forum – a place to share advice, ask questions, discuss stories and share your success. To celebrate the launch, we’re giving away ten free entries to our competition. Head over to the forum page for more details on how you could win a free shot our £1,000 prize.

Autumn 2018 Open for Entries

The entry period for our Autumn 2018 competition closes in one month. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Entries close: August 31, 2018
Judge: Annemarie Neary

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

Thieves and New Contest Themes

new themes 2 copyOur next contest deadline is July the 28th, and we also have new monthly themes for other A3 Review contests till November. We’re looking for short fiction, mini essays, poetry and artwork on the theme of Ears, Hats and Triangles, for example.

Visit our Submittable page for all the details.

The next theme is Thieves. Hearts, heists, identities, or apricots from a neighbour’s tree. We like work that feels immediate and edgy, so check out the prompts and start creating now! We welcome submissions from around the world.

Three winners per issue receive cash prizes, and all monthly winners receive contributor copies, back issues and Writing Maps. All the details are here.

You can read some of the work that we feature in The A3 Review on our Instagram page.

Any questions, please do write to us at a3 [at] writingmaps.com

Reflex Fiction Winter 2017 Winners!

Summer 2018 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition shortstops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Winter 2017 Winners

At the end of March, we published the three winning stories from our Winter 2017 flash fiction competition as chosen by Shasta Grant. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: Anger Management by Charmaine Wilkerson
Second Place: Shrink by Julia Paillier
Third Place: Storm Drain by Billy Boyle

You can read Shasta’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Spring 2018 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Spring 2018 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of June.

Summer 2018 Open for Entries

We’re also accepting entries for our Summer 2018 competition. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Entries close: May 31, 2018
Judge: Sherrie Flick

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

 

Can You Play the Guitar?

a3 guitar contestAnd even if you can’t play the guitar, you’ve probably tried, or know someone who plays, or wanted to play, or serenaded you. The A3 Review‘s March contest theme is: GUITAR. For immediate inspiration, listen to BB King and write the blues.

You could write about a busker who becomes a star, or the family that jams together, or write about your first guitar teacher. Write an ode to your favourite chord: E, Dm7, or maybe C major 7 as a barre chord. Explore guitar-related settings like a Flamenco bar, the campfire on a holiday beach, or being part of the crowd at a music gig. Write about a late-night smoky blues bar in New Orleans.

Have you ever boarded a plane with a guitar? Read Debra Marquart’s beautiful poem “Traveling with Guitar” to trigger your memory.

Click here for more inspiration and ideas, and details about our contests and prizes.

Deadline is Saturday, 24th March.

We invite you to use the language of guitars as prompts for prose or poetry: riffs, licks, hammer, pull, slide, bend, distort, reverb, overdrive. Listen to an album by your favourite guitar band on a loop as you write, imagine being on a festival stage with a wild crowd in front of you, just about to strike your first chord…

The A3 Review publishes short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

Visit our Submittable page for more inspiration and details.

PS. Our Issue 8 is almost ready to launch. Click here to pre-order your copy.

Reflex Fiction Summer 2018 Flash Fiction Competition Is Open

Summer 2018 - Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - ShortStops
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

We had a fantastic response to our Spring ’18 competition: 287 entries from eighteen different countries. We’re busy reading and judging in preparation for announcing the long-list on April 1. In the meantime, the next round of the competition is now open for entries. We’re delighted to have Sherrie Flick, series editor for Best Small Fictions 2018, acting as judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Deadline: May 31, 2018
Judging: June 2018
Long-list announced: July 1, 2018
Judge: Sherrie Flick

Submissions

Submissions should be made via our online entry form.

Rules

Stories must be fiction, must be the entrant’s own work, and must be between 180 and 360 words inclusive. See the Reflex Fiction website for full Rules.

6 New Themes at The A3 Review

new themesHappy New Year from the editors of The A3 Review. We’re looking forward to another year of inspiration. There are still a couple more themes – Losing It and Brief Encounters – till we start putting together Issue 8 (The Gold Issue). For prompts and more details, click here to visit our Submittable page.

And already the work on Issue 9 has begun, too… the new themes for Issue 9 (The Circle Issue) are up on our Submittable page. Check out our monthly contests and send us your flash fiction, poetry and artwork inspired by thieves, guitars, wheels, and the moon. We hope you’ll enjoy the new prompts and that they’ll inspire you to try out new themes in your work.

Happy Writing!

Shaun Levin and KM Elkes, Editors, The A3 Review

Reflex Fiction Autumn 2017 Winners!

Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition - Winter 2017 Winners

Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

Autumn 2017 Winners

At the end of December, we published the three winning stories from our Autumn 2017 flash fiction competition as chosen by Tim Stevenson. Here are the winners and links to the stories:

First Place: Jimmy Choo Shoes by Shannon Savvas
Second Place: Stolen Hours by Sophie van Llewyn
Third Place: Pandora’s Cat by Tracy Fells

You can read Tim’s thoughts on the winning stories here.

Winter 2017 Long-List

We’ve also just published the long-list for our Winter 2017 competition and have started publishing stories as we count down to the announcement of the winners at the end of March.

Spring 2018 Open for Entries

We’re also accepting entries for our Spring 2018 competition. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry Fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Entries close: February 28, 2018
Judge: Michelle Elvy

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

 

The Gilded Lily & Gold Lamé Shorts

The prompt for this month’s A3 Review contest is: Gold Things. We suggest writing about all that gliters and is gold. Submit flash fiction, brief essays and poems about lost wedding rings, edible gold leaf and hidden gold bullion. Tell the story of a heist in 150 words, or write a poem about a heist gone wrong. Tell the story of a day in the life of a detectorist. Write the story behind the gold medal you won, or almost won, or wish you’d won.

You could explore different idioms with “gold” in them: a heart of gold, good as gold, silence is golden. Write about rainbows and what’s at the end of them. You could write a non-fiction piece about the brutal reality of gold mines. Tell the story of a person looking back at the golden age of their life, or make it your story.

Be inspired by Rachel Hadas’ poem “Green and Gold” and Sandra M. Gilbert’s “Gold Tooth” – then write about your own golden fruit and gold tooth.

Some suggestions for opening words… start with “Gold is the colour of…” or “When I think of gold…”

This month’s contest is inspired by The Description Writing Map.

As always, The A3 Review welcomes short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

Come say hi on Twitter @TheA3Review

Reflex Fiction Spring 2018 Flash Fiction Competition Is Open

Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Contest - Spring 2018
Reflex Fiction is a quarterly international flash fiction competition for stories between 180 and 360 words. We publish one story every day as we count down to the winner of each competition.

We had a fantastic response to our Winter ’17 competition: 250 entries from nineteen different countries. We’re busy reading and judging in preparation for announcing the long-list on January 1. In the meantime, the next round of the competition is now open for entries. We’re delighted to have Michelle Elvy, Assistant Editor, International, for the Best Small Fictions series, acting as judge. Here are the important details:

Prizes: £1,000 / £500 / £250 (or the equivalent in your local currency)
Entry fee: £7 / $9 / €9
Deadline: February 28, 2018
Judging: March 2018
Long-list announced: April 1, 2018
Judge: Michelle Elvy

Submissions

Submissions should be made via our online entry form.

Rules

Stories must be fiction, must be the entrant’s own work, and must be between 180 and 360 words inclusive. See the Reflex Fiction website for full Rules.

Windows and Reminders

stamp windowWe’d like to remind you that Issue 7 of The A3 Review is here. Click here to order a copy. We’d also like to remind you that the November deadline for our monthly contest is just a few days away. November the 25th is when we start reading submissions for our WINDOWS-themed contest.

Click here for inspiration and prompts, and for submission details. You could write about windows you’ve looked into and windows you’ve looked out of. Or write about a character standing at a hotel window, witnessing something they’ll never forget, or something that makes them laugh. Look into the metafictional potential of the window

You could write about broken windows and throwing pebbles at a lover’s window. Write about glasshouses. Write about a particular type of window, anything from a witch window to a bay window. Write about eyes, for they are the window to the soul. Write about a character who loves to window shop, or a day in the life of a window dresser.

You could write about the windows in your day, or a character’s day and call it “All the Day’s Windows” or “A Day of Windows.” You could write a piece and start with the words: “The tiny window in his cell…” or “From the hospital bed she could see…” or, to steal the opening lines of a famous song: “Looking out on the pouring rain…”

This month’s contest is inspired by the Write Around the House Writing Map. As always, we welcome short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

One more reminder… our Brief Critique option is still only $15 (that’s about £11, depending on the state of the world on any specific day!). More and more writers are taking us up on the offer, and this is what some have said: “Very constructive. Good level of detail… Intelligent, direct, and useful suggestions for improvement.” For just $15 we’ll provide a line edit of your submission and feedback on ways to take your work to the next level. Choose the Brief Critique add-on, and you’ll be able to pay together with your entry fee. Critiques are provided after the month’s winning entries have been announced.

And one fnal reminder… Write! Write Write! Write wherever you are. Here’s some suggestions from The A3 Review‘s editor, Shaun Levin.