Flash Prose Contest
Celebrating brilliant short-form writing from our annual competition
Each year, Writers' Morning Out hosts a flash prose contest showcasing the power of concise storytelling. Browse our past winners below.
Contest Categories
- One-Syllable Words – 300 words maximum, using only single-syllable words
- Multi-Syllable – 300 words maximum, no syllable restriction, added 2020
- Flash Non-Fiction – Added in 2023
2025 Winners
Memory Rental
by Penny Cottrell
“Lydia stood next in line at the Memory Bank. A light flashed over window number six. She approached and scanned the code tattooed on her right wrist.…”
2nd PlaceFlash FictionNo Way Out
by Tom Scheve
“In 1954, on a hot August Sunday morning, I was six years old when I watched my mom grab a shovel in our backyard, walk up behind my dad, and swing it…”
3rd PlaceFlash FictionAnnie
by Phyllis Olson
“I pulled into the visitors parking lot at Garden Pointe and hurried inside. Annie, along with five other listless souls restrained in their…”
2020 Winners
Empty Rooms
by William Polf
“He drove straight through, despite his full bladder and his aching left knee. He wanted to get to the summer house before sunset, and he still had…”
1st PlaceOne-SyllableJust Once
by Jane Shlensky
“Since the stroke, his words won't come—hide and seek, smudge and slur, thoughts and tongue as thick as mud yet clear to him. "Speak?" He is urged by…”