MAYDAY

March Madness Flash Fiction Contest!

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We are currently accepting submissions for the March Madness Flash Fiction Contest!

  • Entry is free.
  • The first place winner will receive $100 and second place $50.
  • The Final Four contenders will be published and receive prize boxes including books and other goodies from our co-sponsors, including New American Press, Milkweed Editions, Copper Canyon, the Colorado Review, Moon City Press, f(r)iction, Orison Press, Unnamed Press, Autumn House Press, Unsolicited Press, and others.

To participate:

  1. Follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) and like or share one of our posts before submitting your story.
  2. Then send one flash fiction story (about 100-500 words) by March 1.

The top 16 contenders will be selected by MAYDAY fiction editors and the winners will be determined by popular vote on social media platforms beginning March 14.

MAYDAY is interested in original and engaging literary short fiction. We love innovative, strong writing that trusts the reader and is true to its author regardless of genre. We are committed to featuring a diverse range of content and authors, including LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and international voices.

Further Reading

CACTUS (THE IMMORTAL PALM) 仙人掌 by Xiao Qiao (translated by Cindy M. Carter)

The Chinese word for cactus, 仙人掌, translates as “Palm of the Immortals.”   The cactus grows not from immortal arms, but vainly from the sands, thirsting for a surgery: Oh cut me, cut me open, let me hear the water gush from me… Comes a western trader, peddling wigs as sleek as silver, whose merchant-eyes pierce […]

Five-hundred Sirens by Jay Shearera

That night the moon was the thing, maybe even more than the sirens. It was laughing. That’s what I saw anyway. The same basic premise of the man in the moon, only here he looked like he was cracking up. A vague effect—at least at first—that leapt out at you like a corny cartoon the […]