Clevedon LitFest
Flash Fiction Awards 2025
Prizes: Winner £200 + two runner-up prizes of £25
Closing date: 11.59pm 8 August 2025
What is flash fiction?
Flash fiction is often described as being a short short story. However, it is defined by far more than its brevity. Written with skill, it layers the power of a far longer piece, even a novel, into the space of a paragraph or two where characters live and breathe, and your reader goes on a journey.
Flash Fiction has been likened to the flash of a camera, capturing an episode in time. It can be as long as 1,000 words, but it is often much shorter. In this competition, you have just 500 words to capture a whole story, with a story arc, and even if your story doesn’t contain a beginning, a middle and an end, something must shift between the open and close of your story.
Your writing needs to be evocative enough for readers to feel nothing is missing, yet concise, with vocabulary and imagery selected and crafted for impact. This means leaving out unnecessary words, choosing strong verbs and exploiting the senses. Nothing should be gratuitous, and nothing should be a cliché (unless that is deliberate).
Quite simply, with no more than 500 words to play with, every word choice matters. As author and poet Tania Hershman says, “Every word, every comma, every line break is crucial in these tiny fictions… These are not ‘fragments’, they are complete unto themselves.”
Read about our judges below, then scroll down for Rules and How to Enter...
Judy Darley
Judy is an award-winning writer, editor and workshop leader who relocated to Clevedon in December 2023. She is the author of short fiction collections 'The Stairs are a Snowcapped Mountain' (Reflex Press), Sky Light Rain (Valley Press) and 'Remember Me to the Bees' (Tangent Books).An excerpt from Judy’s hybrid memoir-in-progress was shortlisted and highly commended for the Laurie Lee Prize 2024.
She previously judged competitions for National Flash Fiction Day UK and Oxford Flash Fiction Prize, among others.
Judy occasionally infiltrates poetry open mic nights with flash fiction tales.
Find Judy at https://bsky.app/profile/judydarley.bsky.social
As a judge, what will Judy be looking for?
I want to be moved by what I read. A flash fiction tale should work like a pebble dropped into a pool of water, casting ripples that travel beyond the page. A skilled writer should be able to create a story arc within the 500-word limit. There should be some sense of change in the story, if only in the protagonist’s thoughts. I want to read stories that ignite my imagination and capture my heart. Good luck!
Jackie Hales
Jackie has been an enthusiastic judge for our short story competitions since 2023, having had previous experience of judging writing competitions and teaching Creative Writing modules for many years. She is looking forward to celebrating the power of the written word in reading this year’s entries.
Author of two published novels, “Shadows of Time” (2022) and “Nana Boo” (2024), with a third novel accepted for publication, Jackie has had a variety of short stories, memoir and poetry published online since 2020, as well as appearing in print in “Words on the Wire” (2023) and “Train of Thought” (2024).
As a judge, what will Jackie be looking for?
I’m looking for writing that prompts a response in me, draws me into its world through originality, impact and engaging characterisation, with a hook and a story arc that make me want to read to the end. I want to feel the power of language use in transporting me or stirring my emotions, carefully crafted for maximum effect. Can the story successfully communicate what is in the imagination of the writer to the mind and heart of the reader?
Clevedon LitFest Flash Fiction Award 2025
Rules for entry
1. The Clevedon LitFest Flash Fiction Award is open to anyone who is resident in the UK and is aged 16 years or older.
2. A fee of £5 per entry must be paid via the payment link below (scroll down to end), and any entry for which payment has not been received will be disqualified. You must use the same email address when paying your fee and emailing your entry.
3. Entries must be no longer than 500 words (excluding title), typed (a sans 12pt font with 1.5 line spacing preferred) and written in English.
4. Entries must be submitted using file types odt, doc, docx and txt.
5. Each entrant may only submit one piece of flash fiction
6. Do not use offensive, discriminatory language ,or language promoting hate speech or violence in your flash fiction. Doing so will lead to disqualification.
7. Your name, or any other identifying marks, should not be added to your story.
8. The story must be your own, original work and should not have won another competition or been previously published in print or online. Any story created with the aid of any AI application will be disqualified.
9. No changes will be permitted once work has been submitted.
10. These competitions are not open to any person affiliated with Clevedon Literary Festival, partner organisations or their immediate relatives.
11. Entries not following these rules will be disqualified.
12. The judges’ decision is final and no feedback will be given.
13. Keep your own copy of the work as entries cannot be returned.
14. Copyright is retained by the author.
15. Prize winners will be notified by email and Clevedon Literary Festival retains the right to publish prize winning entries online or in print.
16. Prize winners will be invited to attend a prize-giving event in Clevedon in October/November 2025 (details to be confirmed).
17. Clevedon LitFest reserves the right to publish video footage, screenshot images and/or photos gathered from the prize giving event on its website and social media platform accounts. You must inform us if you wish to opt out of this.
How to enter
a) Your entry can only be submitted by email, as an attachment, using the email address given when you paid your entry fee.
b) The subject line must be 'Flash Fiction Award 2025’
c) The body of the email should include your name, a title for your story, and your contact details.
d) Send your email, with your entry as an attachment, to: competitions@clevedonlitfest.org.uk
e) If entry details are NOT completed as above, an entry may not be accepted. CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: 11.59pm on 8 August 2025 (entries received after that time and date will not be considered)
Pay your £5 entry fee using the 'donate' button below
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