Stone Soup holds a Flash Contest during the first week of every month. The month’s first Weekly Creativity prompt provides the contest challenge. Submissions are due by midnight on Sunday of the same week. Up to five winners are chosen for publication on our blog. The winners, along with up to five honorable mentions, are announced on the blog. Submit via our Submittable site.
The September Flash Contest is now closed. Come back on October 2nd for next month's Flash Contest prompt!
Every contest has its own winners' page, where you can read all the winning entries for the month. You can find the links to all of those pages below. Note that the first Monthly Flash Contest is #23. For Flash Contest results prior to #23, please check the Weekly Flash Contest Winner page.
We are proud of everyone who takes part in the contest. Thank you for trusting us with your work!
Our September 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #269 (provided by Stone Soup contributor Molly Torinus), which asked that participants write a story from the perspective of a pet. Our submitters wrote about their furry friends' crazy and (often hilarious) adventures. There were plenty of escapes, an ant left behind, a search for tuna, and trips into alternate dimensions. As always, thank you to all who participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “From ForeverPet to Forever Home" by Nikita Fishman, 12 "Mian Mian's Untimely Adventure" by Courtney Fong, 12 “I'll Keep Waiting" by Abigail Lee, 12 “The Life of a Guinea Pig" by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 “Sticky and the Power of Friendship in Warfare" by Aleena Shaik, 13 Honorable Mentions “Forgotten" by Kyle Chinchio, 10 “The Ocean's Presents" by Olivia Hsu, 11 "The (Mis)adventures of Butters the Cat" by Dylan Suggs, 11 “The Dogs Who Hated Their Owners" by Helena Xue, 10 “Visit to the Vet" by Eric Yang, 13 From ForeverPet to Forever Home NIKITA FISHMAN, 12 Monday, May 25 was a special date; I knew from the minute I woke up. Sunlight beamed through the windows, casting a gentle glow that danced on the gleaming, polished floors. Nestled snugly within my sleeping chamber, I found myself sound asleep, oblivious to the world around me. A silly smile adorned my face as I drooled. Suddenly, a jarring phone ...
Our August 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #265 (provided by Stone Soup intern Sage Millen), which asked that participants write a story that ended in someone brushing their teeth. Our submitters certainly got creative, with one story ending in a zookeeper brushing a tiger's teeth, and another ending in a super-powered hamster brushing her teeth after saving a family in Thailand. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Déjà Vu" by Isha Bhadauria, 13 "Brushing Teeth: One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Food" by Jayan Byrapuram, 12 “Pink Magic" by Reese Fujikawa, 12 “Super Peaches: Amini's Rescue" by Greta Garretson, 8 “A Brush with Destiny" by Milly Wang, 10 Honorable Mentions “The House" by Nandan Chazhiyat, 12 “I Broke My Brother" by Kyle Chinchio, 10 "Toothbrush Vs. Candy" by Chloe Lin, 11 “Camping" by Taj Malinis-Jackson, 10 “Click" by Angela Mu, 13 Déjà Vu Isha Bhadauria, 13 Every human knows that at any given day, hour, second, their life could end. However, hardly any human ever really contemplates the prospect of actually dying. Of course, there’s always a few exceptions - a few have scratched the surface of truth; in turn, beginning practices of various religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and many more. However, the brain of a human is simply incompetent to realize the real. To a ...
Our July 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #260, which asked that participants write a story (or poem) that ended in fireworks. Participants were free to interpret "fireworks" however they desired, with most opting for the literal meaning, however some particularly creative submissions had their own interpretations; one story ended in the northern lights, and another ended in a magical flower bloom. Other submissions ranged from a story about a stubborn and crafty dog to a melancholic story about a baby shower to a story about a woman's late-life realization. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Glow" by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 “Reflections" by Zoe Pazner, 12 “Fireworks of the Stars" by Makela S, 13 “The Baby Shower" by Zoey Shield, 13 “A Tail of Fireworks and Wonder: Coco’s Sparkling Adventure" by Milly Wang, 10 Honorable Mentions “It's going to Be Alright" by Kyle Chinchio, 10 “The Deadline" by Mia Goldschmidt, 9 “An Independence Day to Remember" by Isa Hasan, 13 “A Home to Remember" by Madelynn Lee, 12 “Change" by Jeremy Lim, 10 Glow Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 The children dance around the fairy lights Trying to catch them in see-through jars Not sparing a thought that Their gleaming prisoners may die I would not be so unwise To think I could own fireflies That if I captured them As they fled from ...
Our June 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #256 (provided by Stone Soup intern Sage Millen), which asked that participants write an unusually specific story, one in which a parachutist lands next to the protagonist while the protagonist is sitting on the lawn. The rest of the details, however, were left to the brilliant imaginations of our participants, and they did not disappoint. Submissions ranged from a story about a clueless time traveler named Bob to a story about unsuccessfully meeting a Mr. Beast challenge to a story about two boneheaded "heroes" too focused on who saved their town the most. This week, due to a high volume of stories good enough to be selected for Honorable Mentions, we only chose four winners—two of whom are actually twins!—instead of our usual five, because it was too difficult to elevate one of our honorable mentions over the others. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions, listed below, and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “The Spy from the Sky" by Ariel Makri Levy, 11 “The First Snow" by Evelyn Lien, 12 “The Landing" by Isabelle Lien, 12 “Shoot the Moon" by Maya Ruben, 12 Honorable Mentions “Dandelion" by Han-ya Chen, 11 “One Day, One Short Life" by Sophie Li, 12 “Recruiting Mr. Pineapple" by Chloe Lin, 10 “The Heroes of Graztown" by Meg Schmit, 10 “Bob" by Ariel Zhang, 11 The Spy from ...
Our May 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #251 (provided by Stone Soup contributor Molly Torinus), which asked that participants write an enemies-to-lovers story. Molly's prompt resulted in some of the most creative work I've seen submitted to the Flash Contest in a long time, with submissions ranging from a poem about the rivalry between pi and pie, an origin story for the pluot, and a mock interview between vanilla cake and chocolate cake. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “The Big Red Barn" by Elena Bonnette, 10 “The Girl Across the Bridge" by Aaron Duan, 12 “11:06 PM" by Lauren Kim, 13 “The Butterflyherd" by Mary Lane, 11 “The Captain and the Admiral" by Lui Lung, 13 “The Story of the Pluot" by Ariel Zhang, 11 Honorable Mentions “40-Love" by Yuhan Cai, 12 “Yin and Yang" by Inaya Dar, 13 “Of Nighthawks and Roses" by Owen Duan, 12 “Vanilla Cake vs. Chocolate Cake" by Chloe Lin, 10 “Pie and Pi Share the Spotlight" by Ayaan Pirani, 11 “House Animal" by Melody You, 12 The Big Red Barn Elena Bonnette, 10 Once upon a time, there was a Big Red Barn that walked on big, stumpy chicken legs. And inside that Big Red Barn was a big red robot named Pepperoni. And inside Pepperoni was a big red dog with the name Wild Cherry ...
Our April 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #248 (provided by Stone Soup contributor Molly Torinus, which asked that participants write a scene (in prose or verse) from a dysfunctional family gathering. With this prompt coinciding with Easter, a holiday known to often result in dysfunctional family gatherings, some participants had plenty of recent personal experience to draw on, though most submissions focused on Thanksgiving, funerals, or birthdays. Among these fabulous submissions were a story about a family of bumbling animals, a story about a shallow family clamoring for their matriarch's estate, and a story about a family that came together after an unfortunate death. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Our Time" by Lauren Kim, 13 “Aunt Edith, Rest in Peace" by Evelyn Lien, 11 “A Funeral to Remember" by Zoe Pazner, 12 “The Wibblywobbles’ Topsy-Turvy Reunion" by Lucia Tang, 11 “From the Darkness" by Hailey Chua Yixin, 12 Honorable Mentions “The Cohens" by Elijah Dais, 13 “Mischief and Misfortune" by Owen Duan, 12 “Smile!" by Iris Fink, 11 “Stop" by Ella Ka, 1o “Miscommunications" by Peony Katira, 12 Our Time Lauren Kim, 13 I The three of us sit around the circular table, facing each other. Everyone is on their phones, including me, but only so I don’t have to be the first to speak. I just can't. We live in one ...
Our March 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #244 (provided by Stone Soup intern Sage Millen), which asked that participants write a fairy tale with a twist: the princess had to be the villain. With such a fascinating prompt, it's no wonder we got over 40 submissions! Among those 4o+ submissions were a story about a tiger-poaching princess, a story about a space princess, a story about a princess willing to blow up her betrothed, and a story about dueling Disney princesses. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Birthright" by Asha Akkinepally, 12 “Her Carmine Eyes" by Eiaa Dev, 13 “Princess Preservation" by Rhea Kachroo, 12 “The Sun Shines Again" by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 13 “The Princess's Tiger" by Melody You, 12 Honorable Mentions “The Princess Who Didn't Want to Marry" by Isabella Bhagwandin, 12 “A Land Frozen in Time" by Aaron Duan, 12 “Within the Tower Walls" by Juwon Ha, 11 “Warrior Princess" by Kaia Lee, 9 “Damsel of Distress" by Emily Tang, 13 Birthright Asha Akkinepally, 12 He lay on the hard, cold floor. He led his sister to the dance floor. His clothes were ragged and overlarge. His clothes were perfectly tailored and brand-new. The ceiling dripped with a reeking, unidentifiable liquid. The ceiling was hung with glowing chandeliers. He winced as someone cried in pain. He laughed as his sister twirled ...
Our February 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #240 , which asked that participants write a story/poem about love. The love we wanted participants to write about could have been any form of love—platonic, romantic, familial, etc. We received a bevy of submissions interested in all kinds of love, with pieces ranging from a poem from the perspective of a spited and obsessive former lover to a story about the protagonist's love for their dog to a poem about Eros and Aphrodite. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Operation Valentine" by Oola Breen-Ryan, 11 “Teddy" by Aaron Duan, 11 “An Unexpected Valentine" by Violet Kottkamp, 12 “Love as a Blanket" by Claire Lin, 12 “Agapi" by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 Honorable Mentions “Love" by Sofia Grandis-Oliveira, 10 “Because She Never Knew" by Sophie Li, 12 “Lay Me Down Tonight" by Chloe Ruan, 13 “Our Creek" by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 13 “Between Friends" by Joycelyn Zhang, 12 Operation Valentine Oola Breen-Ryan, 11 It’s the Friday morning before Valentine’s Day, and I’m completely panicking. Everyone else in my class has a date for the Valentine’s Dance. Trust me, I have absolutely no interest in going. I’m just planning on staying home and consuming large amounts of chocolate. My best friend, however, is on a different schedule. “You want me to what?!” I exclaim, dropping the chip that I’m ...
Our January 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #235 , which asked that participants write a story/poem in which the protagonist struggled with their New Year's resolutions. We received a dazzling array of submissions, with pieces ranging from a meta-fictional epistolary log of a writer's inability to write their Flash Contest submission on time to a story told from the perspective of a helplessly sleepy cat to a story about foul-tasting vegetables on a fictional planet. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “The Life of a Writer" by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 “Sleepy Saphira" by Josi Prins, 11 “Practice Makes Perfect" by Audrey Ren, 12 “Until It's Time for You to Go” by Chloe Ruan, 13 “Baby Steps" by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 13 Honorable Mentions “Pain" by Sofia Grandis-Oliveira, 9 “Far Off" by Claire Lin, 12 “Big and Small" by Lui Lung, 13 “Tough Reality" by Madeline Male, 14 “Badryi" by Melody You, 12 The Life of a Writer Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 Sunday, 1/1/2023 Today is New Year’s! I’m so excited! Right after I finish writing this journal entry, my mom’s going to take us to the park, and she even says it’s a possibility we could get hot chocolate and a treat at the bakery right by our house! My New Year’s resolution is going to be to not leave my writing for the last ...
Our December Flash Contest was based on Prompt #231 (provided by Stone Soup contributor Molly Torinus), which asked that participants use the Atlas of Emotions in order to research an emotion they had or hadn't heard of before, and to write a story or poem in which the protagonist experienced that emotion. As has always been the case, there was quite a variety of submissions, with pieces ranging from a hybrid story/poem told in a flashback to a story inspired by Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks to a poem written from the perspective of a formerly enslaved person. Since this was the last flash contest of 2022, we encourage everyone to reread the work of past winners via this link, and we hope you'll continue submitting your wonderful work next year! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Flashback" by Kimberly Hu, 10 “Resignation" by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 “Grief" by Vanaja Raju, 11 “Nighthawks" by Chloe Ruan, 13 “Blue" by Emily Tang, 13 Honorable Mentions “Tranquility" by Mordecai Abraham, 9 “Her Argumentativness" by Chen Ziyi Claire, 11 “My Abhorrence" by Zoe Hufnagel, 12 “Survival" by Bela Harini Ramesh, 11 “The Spelling Bee" by Ariel Zhang, 10 Flashback Kimberly Hu, 10 They started when she left. In other words, when I was abandoned. They just came. Came at the most random times ever. Came whenever they wanted. I didn’t control anything. I never controlled anything. It just happened. Life just happened. I didn’t ...
Hi! I know that the November Flash Contest has ended, but I just wanted to ask: Do you have to write a story that matches the prompt if you submit?
Thanks!
Hi Lily,
Yes, all submissions must follow the prompt.
We logged on this morning to get the December writing prompt but we don’t see it yet. What time will it be posted and what time zone?
Should be up now!
The website still says November Flash Contest is closed. Check back on December 6th. I don’t see where the current monthly contest prompt is located.
Hi Laura,
So sorry! It is up now.
We have been checking as well. Still not posted at 8:30 PM ET.
Hi Andrea,
So sorry. It is up now.
I’m having the same problem! It’s December 7th and I still don’t see the prompt.
Hi Lily,
So sorry! It is up now.
It still isn’t up-if anyone can see it, could you please post it?
Hi Caroline,
So sorry! It is up now.
Are flash fiction submissions for a fee, and, if so, how much? Also, just checking, but the next available submission date is January, right? And, since I already have a bout of questions flung around haphazardly, here is one more: If you win a flash fiction contest, can you still win the annual novel contest, or are you exempt? Thank you!
Hi Lola,
1) The Flash Contest costs two dollars to enter. 2) Yes, January third. And 3) You are absolutely not exempt! You can also be selected as a Flash Contest winner multiple times. Hope this helps!
Hey! I was wondering when the January contest will be posted today.
Is there a certain time?
Is the January prompt going to be up yet? Been checking since this morning.
I just want to know where can I see the results for the monthly flash contest? Thanks.
Hi Jaylen,
The results for this February’s Flash Contest will be posted either Thursday night or Friday morning. The rest of the Flash Contest results for previous months are included in this page. Hope this helps!
What time of day is the monthly flash contest prompt posted? It’s 11 am eastern standard time and I don’t see anything.
Hi Lea,
The prompt has now been posted. Apologies for the wait!
Hi everyone
I just wanted to ask, when the April contest will be up,
Thank you!
Hi Sabriah,
It is now up, apologies for the wait! In the future, even if the prompt might not yet say it is up on this page the prompt is likely to have been posted to the blog.
P.S.
It is April 4th right now and I have been checking for a bit, for me, it is 11:08 eastern time and I still don’t see it.
– Thank you for your answer 🙂
Where is the June 6 Flash Prompt? It is June 7th and I am awaiting it.
Hi Ryan,
The contest is now up on this page. In the future if you do not yet see the prompt listed on this page you can find it as its own post on the blog.
Has the June flash contest been posted yet?
Hi Han,
Please refer to my reply to Ryan Stern.
Hello,
I’m wondering when the June contest information will be up on your site.
Thanks,
Martha
Hi Martha,
Please refer to my reply to Ryan Stern.
Hello,
It’s Wednesday, August third, and the flash contest still isn’t up. I’m wondering – is something wrong on my end or has it not been posted?
Thanks,
Caroline
Hello,
It’s August ninth and it says to come back in September, but there was no prompt. Did I miss it or was there an issue?
Thanks,
Wenjing
Hi Wenjing,
You did happen to miss it. The prompt was live between August 1st and 7th.
Hi,
When do the October Flast Contest results come out? Like who won and etcetera?
Thanks!
Hi Eiaa,
Apologies that it took so long for them to go up this week! The winners and their work have just been published.
Hi there, when are the winners of Flash contest from November 2022 going to be announced? Thanks!
Hi Pranoti,
Winners will be announced later today!
Thank you! Will they be announced in an email or on this webpage?
On the webpage!
Is the next contest 5th 2022, because I have been looking through the comments and have seen that they we’re sent in 2021
Yes, the next monthly flash contest starts on December 5th.
Hi! When will the November Flash Contest results come out? Thanks!
They’re up now!
I don’t believe that the atlas of emotions has a list of emotions. Once I tried to click on the bubbles, there were only a couple listed. Can I use a different emotion that I have never heard of, even if it’s not listed on the atlas?
Hi Elise,
I didn’t realize! Yes, you can absolutely use a different emotion you haven’t heard of. I’m sure you can just look up a list of emotions on other sites.
Hi! When will we get the results of this month’s contest?
HI!
When will this month’s (Feb. 2023) prompt be up??
Hi Catherine,
It is up now! Apologies for the delay.
This is my first time submitting. Where do I submit? Can I turn in a story and poem? Thank you.
Hi Michael,
There is a link for submitting on that page, but you can submit via this link: https://stonesoup.submittable.com/submit/173152/monthly-flash-contest
And you can only submit one work, so choose either a story or a poem. This is also specifically a flash contest, so please keep it to approximately less than 1,000 words.
Are we allowed to submit more than one submission for a prompt?
Hi Lucy,
Just one submission per prompt.
When will the February winners be posted? Thank you.
Hi Michael,
They’re now posted.
Hi! I wondered when the April Flash Contest prompt would be posted since it was supposed to be posted yesterday. Thanks!
Hi Alia,
It was posted yesterday, just hadn’t yet updated this page. Are you subscribed to receive the prompts via email? If so, I can sign you up for that.
Hi — When are the monthly contest submissions due?
Hi — When are the monthly contest submissions due?
Is it possible to get them via email as well?
Hi Nalini,
Yes, I’ll sign you up to receive the prompts via email. And submissions are always due the following Sunday after they’re posted. So the next Flash Contest will go up on Monday May 1st and all submissions will be due by 1159 PM on Sunday May 7th.
Can two people work together on a story and put in both their names on the Submittable site?
Hi Sheri,
Yes, as long as both people are under the age of 14.
Oh how I wish you would post the prompt earlier so that my Monday classes could work on them together. Ah me.
Hi! When will the Flash Fiction be posted? Thank you 🙂
Hello,
For “The May Flash Contest is now open! Write an enemies-to-lovers story”, what is the deadline: midnight of Sunday, 6/4 or 6/11?
Thank you!
Hi Andrew,
Apologies, but we just hadn’t updated the page to say that the May Flash Contest was closed. Each Flash Contest runs for one week, starting on the first Monday of the month. The next one opens June Fifth, and will close at midnight June 12.
Got it. Thank you!
Is the flash contest still open? It says that it is but I think one week has passed already.
Hi,
No, the flash contest closes after one week. It just hadn’t yet been updated since it has to be changed manually.
Hi, I have a question. Can only subscribers join the monthly flash contest? Also it said come back August 7th, to get the next prompt, but I am not able to see it. Thank you.
Hi Saanvi,
Anybody can submit! And yes, the prompt wasn’t up but it is now. Apologies.
Hi, I have a question. Can only subscribers join the monthly flash contest? Thank you.
Hi Sunny,
Anybody can submit to the monthly flash contest!
Ok, thank you!
Looking for the August 7 prompt. Can you post it earlier for my Monday classes?
Hi Jennifer,
Apologies that it wasn’t ready early this month. They should usually go out, at least via email, at 2 AM. It is now up.