I spread my legs, drawing up my sarong, the colour of burnt dust, past my thigh. The fabric clings to my skin, wet with sweat. Every Friday, Nikola takes the long way home, circling the brittle edge of our camp in Coober Pedy like a dingo sniffing heat. Nothing’s pretty in this part of Australia.Continue reading “First Place: Dugout by Emma Oldham”
Tag Archives: fiction
Second Place: Diva by Cate McGowan
She didn’t sweat. That was the first thing I noticed about her. This was Georgia in July. Church fans fluttering like moth wings, sundresses sticking to the small of your back. Pews tacky to the touch. But that girl, that new girl in the peach dress, stayed dry as chalk. No pit stains. No shineContinue reading “Second Place: Diva by Cate McGowan”
Third Place: Beneath the Judas Hill by Glyn Matthews
Maggie Shaw lived below a bleak escarpment, hard against an unforgiving sky. A sore rib jutting from the Pennines, a shaper of winds. A place where Judas might have hanged himself. A place where ravens come to die. She was born there, helpless as any child. She lived and died by candlelight, departing as sheContinue reading “Third Place: Beneath the Judas Hill by Glyn Matthews”
New Voice Award: Mrs Mabli and the Weather Committee by Sharon Hier
In the Welsh village of Tywydd, it was widely accepted that the weather had moods. If the sheep escaped, it would rain. If Dai the Butcher was late opening, it would snow. If Mrs Jenkins sang while hanging out washing, clouds would scatter like gossip after chapel. Nobody could explain it, but nobody needed to.Continue reading “New Voice Award: Mrs Mabli and the Weather Committee by Sharon Hier”
The 2025 short-list
We are thrilled to announce our short list for the winter Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2025. 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 LISTED STORIES We will be in touch with the authors of each over the next fewContinue reading “The 2025 short-list”
The 2025 long-list
We are thrilled to announce our long list for the winter Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2025. Congratulations to all of the authors who reached the list and for all those who entered this round. As always, we saw a wonderful range of genres, topics and stories from all over the world, and it was hugelyContinue reading “The 2025 long-list”
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”
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 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”
Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 