fractured lit micro fiction prize 2022

judged by Grant Faulkner

CLOSES September 18, 2022

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We invite writers to submit to the Fractured Lit Micro Fiction Prize from July 18 to September 18, 2022. Guest judge Grant Faulkner will choose three stories from a shortlist.

 

Thank you for your interest in partnering with us! We're excited to offer the winner of this prize $2500 and publication, while the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive publication and $600 and $400, respectively.

 

Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the co-founder of 100 Word Story, and an Executive Producer of the TV show America's Next Great Author.

 

He’s published All the Comfort Sin Can ProvideFissures (a collection of 100-word stories), and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. He has also published two books on writing, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo, and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide.

 

His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including Tin HouseThe Southwest Review, and The Gettysburg Review, and he has been anthologized in collections such as Norton’s New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction and Best Small Fictions. His essays on creativity have been published in The New York TimesPoets & WritersLitHubWriter’s Digest, and The Writer.

Additionally, Grant serves on the National Writing Project's Writer's Council, Lit Camp's Advisory Council, and Aspen Words' Creative Council. He's also the co-host of the podcast Write-minded and the author of a weekly newsletter: Intimations: A Writer's Discourse.

 

Fractured Lit is looking for flash fiction that lingers long past the first reading. We're searching for flash that investigates the mysteries of being human, the sorrow, and the joy of connecting to the diverse population around us. We want the stories that explode vertically, the flash that leaves the conventional and the clichéd far behind. Fractured Lit is a flash fiction–centered place for all writers of any background and experience.

 

Good luck and happy writing!

 

guidelines

  • Your $20 reading fee allows up to 4 stories of 400 words or fewer each per entry. If submitting more than 1 story, please put them both in a SINGLE document.
  • We allow multiple submissions. Each set of 1-4 micro stories should have a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
  • Micro Fiction only. 400 word count per individual story is the maximum amount of words.
  • We only consider unpublished work for contests. We do not review reprints, including self-published work.
  • Simultaneous submissions are okay. Please notify us and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
  • All entries will also be considered for publication in Fractured Lit.
  • Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font.
  • Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
  • International submissions are welcome, but we only read work in English.
  • We do not read blind. Shortlisted micros will be given to the judge anonymously.

The deadline for entry is September 18, 2022. We will announce the shortlist within 8-10 weeks of the contest's close. All writers will be notified when results are in.

Some Submittable hot tips: - Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com- If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: it happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a non-refundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

 

OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Fractured Lit.

Should your story win, no feedback will be offered and your fee will be refunded.

 

2020 Winners:

1st Place: The Taxidermist and the Baker by Molly Reid

2nd Place: With a Glistening Rush by Ruth LeFaive

3rd Place: Gavin and Merle Are Engaged in a Turf War by Tucker Leighty-Phillips

 

Honorable Mentions:

Fire by Thaisa Frank  

The Eighth Silo by Kathryn Phelan  

Bird Resuscitation by Jamie Cooper  

In Which Sophie and I Clear a Forest by Anita Lo  

And This Is How It Ended by Yasmina Din Madden
 

Editors' Choice:

Origami by Jo Withers  
Numbers by Noreen Hyde  
The I.C.'s by Clare Tascio