The Frazzled Lit Flash Non-Fiction Award 2026

Rules and Terms & Conditions

The competition

1. The Frazzled Lit Flash Non-fiction Award will be judged by award-winning author Kerry Neville, who will pick three winners from the final ten pieces selected by our editors and peer reading team.

2. Prizes are as follows: 1st prize: € 300; 2nd prize: € 200; 3rd prize: € 100

3. Shortlistees, finalists and winners will have their pieces published in a special edition of Frazzled Lit (Issue 6), and will be eligible for future Pushcart and Best Of The Net nominations.

4. The competition opens at 00:01 hrs GMT on November 22nd 2026.

5. The competition closes at 23:59 hrs GMT on December 19th 2026.

6. All pieces submitted to the competition will be blind-read.

1. This is an international competition, and is open to writers in every part of the world, but please note that all entries must be in English. Note that you may use non-English words or phrases in your story, provided that English is the primary language used.

2. Writers submitting to this competition must be 18 years of age or over at the time of submission.

3. The entry fee of €12 must be paid for each submission of up to three pieces. Early bird entries of just €7 will be open from 00:01 GMT on November 12th 2026 until 00:59 GMT November 21st 2026.

4. Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast in any form, and must not have won any previous competitions.

5. This is an unthemed competition, and we are happy to read work on any theme and subject, provided it is not racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, ableist, or hateful towards any person or group. Further, we do not wish to read anything that is gratuitously violent or erotic, or contains excessive gore. Animal cruelty of any sort is not acceptable to us.

6. Pieces generated using AI or for which AI has been used to help in their creation will be disqualified, and no refund of the entry fee will be given.

7. It is a condition of the competition that the shortlistees, finalists and winners agree to allow publication of their competition entries in Issue 6 of Frazzled Lit.

1. All submissions must be made via Duosuma. We will not accept entries sent to us by email.

2. You may enter as many pieces as you wish, provided the entry fee is paid for each group of up to three pieces submitted.

3. All pieces submitted to the competition must be in English.

4. Submissions must be between 300 and 1,000 words, excluding title.

5. Stories should be in Times New Roman 12 pt, and one-and-a-half spaced.

6. The file name must be the name of your piece, or if it is untitled, the first five words from the opening line. DO NOT include your name in either the story document or the document file name.

7. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know as soon as possible if your piece is accepted or shortlisted elsewhere.

8. You may provide a brief bio with your submission if you wish, but we won’t read it until winners have been selected.

9. Entry to the competition will implicitly indicate your acceptance of all Rules and Terms & Conditions for the Frazzled Lit Flash Non-fiction Award 2026.

1. Frazzled Lit holds first serial publication rights for three months after publication. This means that by accepting publication, writers agree not to publish, authorise or permit the publication of any part of the material for three months following first publication by Frazzled Lit.

1. Depending on the number of submissions we receive, we hope to announce the longlist by the end of December 2026 or earlier, with the shortlist two weeks later, and the finalists stories shortly thereafter.

2. Winners will be announced in early January, with prize money being sent out to the winners via PayPal within two weeks of the announcement.

1. We are committed to protecting your data privacy, and won’t ask you to provide private information unless we absolutely need it for the operation of the competition.

2. We won’t share your private information with anyone, unless we are required to do so by law.

1. While we hope it won’t be necessary, Frazzled Lit reserves the right to extend the deadline or cancel the competition in the event that we do not receive enough entries to make up the prize fund plus costs. If we cancel the competition, we will refund entry fees for all eligible stories.

2. Frazzled Lit reserves the right to alter the Rules and Terms & Conditions of the competition without prior notice, as the editors of Frazzled Lit deem necessary for fairness, and the smooth running of the competition.

3. Errors and omissions in the Rules and Terms & Conditions for the competition are excepted.

Submit