Editor Interview: Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction

Flash fiction -open genre

I’m a huge fan of the competitive flash fiction circuit. Aside from running and judging the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction, I also like to compete myself in NYC Midnight, Writing Battle and Twisted Tournament. While those comps don’t all publish their winning stories, they’re a great vehicle for building a portfolio of stories for lit mag submissions.

I love reading a variety of flash fiction, but when the following authors pop up on my feed, I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to read their work: Emily Rinkema, Sumitra Singham, Chloe Paige, Ben Daggers and my beta bestie, Dean Koorey.

Not Quite Write is known for publishing a huge, cross-genre variety of flash fiction, however we’re best known for publishing “low brow” comedy. There aren’t too many places where you’ll find a literary masterpiece alongside a fart-based romantic comedy, but we’re equally proud to showcase both!

If you’re thinking about entering the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction, the best place to start is to listen to the Not Quite Write podcast!
‘Longlist’ episodes feature detailed chats about the submissions we receive each round. In ‘Shortlist’ episodes, we deliver dramatised readings of the Top 6 stories along with our judging notes. And in ‘Daredevil’ episodes, we read and dissect entries to the competition, providing detailed critique on each story’s strengths and weaknesses.
There’s so much to learn together about the art and craft of writing flash fiction, and we love providing the space to have that conversation!

We’re very open about what makes our winning stories rise to the top. We provide articles on our website along with detailed insights on our podcast. Personally, I’m most impressed by a story that impacts me emotionally - and I don’t care which emotion it triggers! A story that takes a universal human experience and makes it feel very uniquely real will always catch my eye.
I’d encourage those interested to check out the podcast to hear much more about what all the Not Quite Write Prize judges are looking for.

Our submission process is fairly straightforward, but what trips most people up is the time zone maths! Sydney, Australia is ahead of most other time zones in the world, and we use daylight saving time for part of the year, so it can get a little confusing. We provide a countdown clock on our website to make it easier.

Our judging process is blind, so you don’t need to include a cover letter or author bio.
Having said that, we LOVE to get to know our authors, and we strongly encourage entrants to engage with us on social media if they want to join the conversation. Many of our entrants have become our friends this way, and we love to follow their writing journeys outside of our competition.

At least two judges read every single word of every single entry submitted to the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction, and we often read the stories more than once.
Each story is given due consideration. At the end of the day, MANY of the stories we receive are fantastic, so it’s a battle to rise to the top!

A story needs to earn a place on the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction shortlist to feature in our anthology. That means it needs to be one of the Top 6 stories as determined by our judges.

Cracking open our submissions is always a thrill! We never know what we’re going to get, and I carry the excitement in my mind, with each story I open, will THIS be our winner?

Recently, I’ve been editing a collection of entries to FLESH Fiction (our erotic fiction competition) and the editing process has been extensive, however for entries to our regular Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction, our editing process is very light.
We might fix typos and punctuation, but other than that we rarely edit our winning stories before publication (unless the author has asked us to). We chose them for a reason, so we like to retain that experience for our readers as well.

We submit to the Pushcart Prize each year, and we can’t wait for the day that prestigious publication finally accepts a Not Quite Write story into its pages!

Entry to the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction is subject to a fee. The fee funds our cash prizes, allows us to pay our judges for their work, and covers the significant administrative costs of running the competition.
It’s a bit like organised sport - if you want to compete, you have to be prepared to contribute to the running costs.
Whether they win a prize or not, our entrants get their money’s worth through the our extensive post-comp podcasts, and the fun of taking part!

The Best of the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction anthology is available from book stores and in our local libraries.
We celebrate our authors on the podcast, and their stories are enjoyed by readers and listeners around the world.
It is our honour and privilege to promote our authors’ work.
We hope you’ll join their ranks by entering the next Not Quite Write Prize!