Fractured and Fused Prize | Prize $3500 | Judged by Richard Mirabella

We welcome all of our submitters to return to the off-kilter in our second annual Fractured and Fused Prize, with submissions open from September 21, 2026, to November 22, 2026. 

We want stories where things break, where characters get into trouble and make mistakes, and only a reckoning reveals their true natures. We want big stakes and small, conflicts that shake characters to their core. If it’s broken, find a narrative that fuses it back together; if it’s perfect, find the fissures and show us the cracks. We want to see opposites; we want tension to come from uneven power dynamics, with characters fighting for what they deserve, what they want, what they dream about, and what they’d do anything to have! Get messy with character, structure, language, and plot. Fractured and Fused, but for the better. 

Guest Judge Richard Mirabella will choose three prize winners from a shortlist. We’re excited to offer the winner $3,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively. All entries will be considered for publication.

Richard Mirabella is the author of the novel Brother & Sister Enter the Forest, a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and a nominee for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. His short fiction has appeared in hex literary, Split Lip Magazine, Swamp Pink, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. His flash fiction has been listed twice on the wigleaf Top 50.  

Here’s what Richard looks for in a flash fiction story:

Flash fiction is a varied form, but the work I'm usually drawn to includes movement, someone or something enduring change, time pushing forward (or backward) in an interesting way. There's a freedom inherent in this short form. To me, flash's great-great-grandparent is the fairy or folk tale. Because the writer doesn't have pages and pages, thousands of words, they can get away with the surreal or outrageous. The writer can satisfy the reader with a single moment, a single emotional shift, a disruption. Having said that, satisfying the reader is not always the point. Often, leaving the reader with questions, with feelings they can't necessarily put into words, is the writer's most powerful effect in the flash form.  

GUIDELINES:

• Your $20 reading fee allows up to two stories of 1,000 words or fewer each per entry—if submitting two stories, please put them both in a SINGLE document.
• We allow multiple submissions—each set of two flash stories should be submitted separately, accompanied by a reading fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups will be able to submit for free until we reach our cap of twenty-five free submissions. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
• Please send flash fiction only—1,000 word count maximum per story.
• We only consider unpublished work for contests—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
• All entries will also be considered for publication in Fractured Lit.
• Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable). In the cover letter, please include content warnings as well, to safeguard our reading staff.
• We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• We do not require anonymous submissions. However, shortlisted stories are sent anonymously to the guest judge.
• AI-generated or -assisted submissions will be automatically disqualified.

The deadline for contest entry is November 22, 2026. We will announce the shortlist within twelve to fourteen weeks of the contest's close. All writers will be notified when the results are final. 

Some Submittable Hot Tips:

• Please be sure to whitelist/add this address to your contacts, so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
• If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your submission. We will provide a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Fractured Lit. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.