Flash Fiction Award 2026
Open for Entries
Entries close on 22nd August 2026
Winners will be announced in November 2026
Prizes
Winner – £300
2nd Place – £100
3rd Place – £50
What is Flash Fiction?
Often described as a short short story, flash fiction 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 readers can take a journey.
In this competition, you have just 500 words to capture a whole story, with a story arc. Even if your story doesn’t contain a beginning, a middle and an end, something must move between the open and close of your story.
Your writing must 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, seeking the most hard-working verbs and ensuring every sentence earns its place by moving the reader in exactly the direction you choose.
Quite simply, with no more than 500 words to play with, every word matters.
Read about our judges below, then scroll down for Rules and How to Enter...
Meet Our Judges
Kevlin Henney
Kevlin Henney writes shorts and flashes and drabbles of fiction. His writing has appeared online and in magazines (including Spelk, Litro, Daily SF, New Scientist and Physics World) as well as in anthologies (including We Can Improve You, The Dark Half of the Year, The Real Jazz Baby and The Salt Anthology of New Writing). You can find him in Bristol and online.
As a judge, what will Kevlin be looking for?
In what feels like a time of great disconnection, stories offer the currency of connection. Their worth is found not in their word count but in how far they can move you, whether that is the sound and movement of laughter or the heart and motion of compassion. But careful with the darker and sadder emotions – cliché and bathos are easy to slip into – and steady with that humour – an extended joke with a punchline ending is not a flash fiction.
Judy Darley
Judy is an award-winning writer, editor and workshop leader. 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). Judy's flash fiction Blue-Naped Parrots See More Than They Say appears in the Best Small Fictions anthology 2025. She occasionally infiltrates poetry open mic nights with flash fiction tales.
Find Judy at judydarley.bsky.social
As a judge, what will Judy be looking for?
What 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!
A note from judge Judy Darley
As seasons change and tides shift, so do writing competitions. This year sees a change in the judging of Clevedon Lit Fest’s Flash Fiction Award, as our first ever short story judge Jackie Hales steps down. Jackie brought both her experience and keen eye for detail as a school teacher and head of English, as well as an author, to the first three years of the judging process. I will miss our long conversations about why certain stories shone among submissions and our shared passion for a well-told tale. Thank you for your inexhaustible wisdom and insights, Jackie.
Into the space left by Jackie, we now have Kevlin Henney, a long-term luminary of the UK’s flash fiction scene, as well as, in his words, itinerant programmer, keynote speaker and technologist, among other things. I first met Kevlin when the pair of us were reading flashes as part of a BBC spoken word radio show hosted by comedian Mark Olver, and we went on to volunteer together in Flash Fiction Day’s Bristol chapter. We’ve since shared many stages and literary spaces.
I look forward to discussing your flash fiction entries with Kevlin.
Rules for entry
- The Clevedon LitFest Flash Fiction Award is open to anyone who is resident in the UK and is aged 16 years or older.
- A fee of £6 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.
- 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.
- Entries must be submitted using file types odt, doc, docx or txt.
- Entrants may submit as many entries as they wish, but each entry must be paid for separately.
- Offensive, discriminatory language or language promoting hate speech or violence must not be used. Doing so will lead to disqualification.
- Your name, or any other identifying marks, should not be added to your story.
- 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. - No changes will be permitted once work has been submitted.
- These competitions are not open to any person affiliated with Clevedon Literary Festival, partner organisations or their immediate relatives.
- Entries not following these rules will be disqualified.
- The judges’ decision is final and no feedback will be given.
- Keep your own copy of the work as entries cannot be returned.
- Copyright is retained by the author.
- Prize winners will be notified by email and Clevedon Literary Festival retains the right to publish prize-winning entries online or in print.
- Prize winners will be invited to attend a prize-giving event in Clevedon in October/November 2026 (details to be confirmed).
- 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 22nd August 2026 (entries received after that time and date will not be considered)
Pay your £6 entry fee using the 'donate' button below
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2025 Flash Fiction Award Winning Entries
Lightning image © 2017 Felix-Mittermeier, licensed via Pixabay.