All are invited to participate in our monthly writing contests! These contests focus on various forms of flash fiction and poetry and come with monthly themes. Winners are featured (with permission) on the Underground Bookshelf Home and Short Stories pages.
About Flash Fiction/Poetry Contests
It's simple, really. I love reading, writing, and supporting the literary community. It's why I created the Underground Bookshelf platform in the first place. One way I can do that is by hosting contests that bring people together to write and share their best work.
These are community contests. They don't work without community. I encourage everyone to not only submit their work, but also read the work of their fellow contestants whenever possible and give each other some love. At the end of each contest, I will post the winners and their stories as well as provide the links to submitted stories (if they are available online) so that we can celebrate each other's work.
Image Description: The tip of an old-fashioned pen runs across lined paper, writing in perfect script.
Credit: Aaron Burden / Unsplash via Webador
| Month | Theme | Formats Welcome | Submissions Open | Submissions Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Magical Realism | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 12/20/2024 | 01/26/2025 |
| February 2025 | Romance | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 02/01/2025 | 02/23/2025 |
| March 2025 | An Unexpected Twist | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 03/01/2025 | 03/23/2025 |
| April 2025 | Water | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 04/01/2025 | 04/27/2025 |
| May 2025 | Poetry Open | all forms/styles of poetry (2,000 words or less) | 05/01/2024 | 05/25/2025 |
| June 2025 | LGBTQ Pride | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less | 06/01/2025 | 06/24/2025 |
| July 2025 | Disability Pride | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 07/01/2025 | 07/27/2025 |
| August 2025 | Feeling Seen | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 08/01/2025 | 08/24/2025 |
| September 2025 | Ancient Mysteries | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 09/01/2025 | 09/28/2025 |
| October 2025 | Horror/Thriller | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 10/01/2025 | 10/26/2025 |
| November 2025 | Myths and Legends | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 10/20/2025 | 11/16/2025 |
| December 2025 | Writer's Choice | flash fiction, short stories, poetry, first chapters (2,000 words or less) | 11/17/2025 | 12/14/2025 |
How to Submit
- Email your completed work to contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com.
- Put the name of the active contest in which you are participating in the subject line of your email (for example: Flash Fiction Contest April 2024: Two-Sentence Horror)
- In the body of the email include:
- your name as you would like to be credited,
- your pronouns,
- the title of your work,
- your complete work of flash fiction OR the link to this work if you have it posted elsewhere on the internet.
**Laura Browne-Lambert is also present on Neobook and Booksie under the name, LauraWrites, and Wattpad under the name LauraBrowneLambert. If you happen to use one of these platforms, you are also welcome to send in your submission through private message on one of these platforms in lieu of email. However, being on these platforms is not a requirement for participating in the monthly contests.**
Rules of Participation
1. Be respectful of one another.
2. Please no NSFW.
3. Please submit stories written in English. (I would love to expand this to other languages in the future, but that will require a team. If anyone is interested in helping make this expansion happen, do let me know.)
4. One entry per participant per contest.
5. No AI generated stories. (I'll accept works that use AI for brainstorming, researching, or conceptualizing, but the story itself must be your own and must be written by you in your voice.)
6. Your work must be complete at the time of submission.
A Quick Note
You retain all the rights to the stories you submit to these contests. If your work is featured on this platform you are still able to publish it in other formats.
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