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: writing
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”
First Place: Hold by Andrew Lang
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”
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”
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”
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”
Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 