I remember you running faster than the other mums on sports day, I remember you saying, I’m not like the others I’m way out weird, I remember you saying, dry it up and put it away, never leave anything by the sink, I remember you singing on your guitar, oh the buzzing of the beesContinue reading “First Place: Hold by Andrew Lang”
Yearly Archives: 2024
Second Place: The Worst-Case Scenario by Emily Rinkema
At the end of the first week at my new job, Tina from Sales makes me go to a lunchtime baby shower with her. I can’t think of many things that could be worse–maybe a pap smear, maybe a water park, maybe a plane crash–but she tells me I have to go, that it’ll makeContinue reading “Second Place: The Worst-Case Scenario by Emily Rinkema”
Third Place: More Sky Than Anywhere by Chris Cottom
By the morning, the storm has blown itself out but left the village with no electricity. We wrap up and stroll down the hill to the ramshackle barn where, in faded black paint, a sign proclaims ‘Veg in Shed’. I point out the cluster of nests under the eaves and you tell me to expectContinue reading “Third Place: More Sky Than Anywhere by Chris Cottom”
New Voice Award: The life cycle of frogs by Victoria Harris
5. Tadpoles There they are: translucent blobs and tails like commas wriggling and squirming in the tank. Little mouth parts mowing away at the algae. Andie’s face is pressed up against the tank, big green eyes growing wide like forest pools as she watches. It’s the first time her parents have brought her to seeContinue reading “New Voice Award: The life cycle of frogs by Victoria Harris”
Oxford Prize: She writes herself a different life by Susan Wigmore
One in which her mother doesn’t die tragically giving birth even though it means sacrificing any likeness to Mary Shelley. One in which her father spends weekends at home (like other dads) instead of showing people Grand-Design houses he wants himself. One in which her older brother isn’t in his room all day listening to DarkContinue reading “Oxford Prize: She writes herself a different life by Susan Wigmore”
The 2024 summer short-list
We are thrilled to announce our short list for the summer Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2024 in partnership with the Bodleian Libraries’ Kafka: Making of an Icon exhibition at the University of Oxford. If your story is listed, please do not identify which story belongs to you, as the judges are hard at work making their decisions. SHORT LISTEDContinue reading “The 2024 summer short-list”
The 2024 summer long-list
We are thrilled to announce our long list for the summer Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2024 in partnership with the Bodleian Libraries’ Kafka: Making of an Icon exhibition at the University of Oxford. Congratulations to all of the authors who reached the list and for all those who entered this round. As always, we saw a wonderfulContinue reading “The 2024 summer long-list”
As The Deer Watched by Anne Falkowski
When the baby inside me was no bigger than a bean, deer began eating out of my hand. Well, only one deer and it was a carrot I stored in my jean pocket before I set out on my daily hike. Actually, there were two deer. Only one ate out of my hand. The otherContinue reading “As The Deer Watched by Anne Falkowski”
Jigsaw Pieces by Susan L. Edser
11 I feel the woman’s gaze infiltrate me, as she looks for secrets that only she suspects. There is a tension, which is held by the birdsong that drifts between us. ‘I heard you sing,’ she says. I am awkward and notice heat reddening my cheeks. I’m at that age when my body is growingContinue reading “Jigsaw Pieces by Susan L. Edser”
Numbers by Tom Vowler
97 You stay up all night, watching as Tory behemoths are slain one by one, waltzing around his living room in your underwear as he sings ‘The Internationale’. It’s safe to make babies now, he says, shaping your breasts as if they are clay. 33 Cyprus Avenue. Friends scowl a little at your haste toContinue reading “Numbers by Tom Vowler”
Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 