Are you working on a flash fiction collection or novella-in-flash, or want to develop your general flash writing skills? Our Flash Mentoring Contest can help! Winners will receive mentoring from Amanda Saint to help them take their flash writing to the next level.
Just send us your best flash fiction story to be in with a chance of winning. We can accept previously published stories as long as you retain the rights and the story was published before September 2022.
Word count limit: 1000 words
Deadline: 30th April 2023
Entry fee: £8
First Prize
4 months of mentoring – send flash stories totalling up to 2000 words every month and receive written feedback and a Zoom session with Amanda to talk through the development. Story published on the website.
Second Prize
3 months of mentoring – send flash stories totalling up to 1500 words every month and receive written feedback and a Zoom session with Amanda to talk through the development. Story published on the website.
Third Prize
2 months of mentoring – send flash stories totalling up to 1000 words every month and receive written feedback and a Zoom session with Amanda to talk through the development. Story published on the website.
ABOUT AMANDA SAINT
Amanda Saint started Retreat West in 2012 and launched Retreat West Books in 2017 (Winner: Most Innovative Publisher 2020 Saboteur Awards). She has been designing and teaching online courses, and live workshops, for many years and has worked as an editor on hundreds of manuscripts.
She’s the author of two novels, As If I Were A River (2016), which was longlisted for the Guardian Not The Booker Prize, a NetGalley Top 10 Book of the Month and a Book Magnet Blog Top 20 Book of 2016; and Remember Tomorrow (2019 ). She is now working on a novella and a flash fiction collection; and is training to be a mindfulness teacher and counsellor.
Amanda’s stories have been widely published in journals and anthologies; long/shortlisted in the Mslexia Flash Fiction Competition, Fish Flash Fiction Prize, Ink Tears Short Story Prize, Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition, Flash 500 and V300; nominated for Best Small Fictions 2023; and won the Editor’s Choice Prize at 101 Words.
Competition Rules
- The competition is open to writers worldwide but stories must be written in English.
- Submit stories through Submittable using the button above by 23.59 GMT on the deadline date. You will have to create a free Submittable account to enter. No email entries will be accepted.
- Do not include your name on the story or submission title but provide a short bio in the body of the message in Submittable as we can’t see this until shortlists are chosen. All stories are read anonymously so any showing the author’s name will be automatically disqualified.
- Stories must be your own original work and can have been previously published as long as you retain the rights.
- Please do not include any copyrighted material in your entry (e.g. song lyrics)
- By entering the competition you agree to your story being published on the website.
- Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction. Please no racism, sexism, or any kind of hate.
- You can enter as many times as you like but all entries must be made separately and the entry fee paid each time.
- The judge’s decision is final.
- If you book feedback and then win a prize you can send an alternative story (up to 1000 words) for feedback.