Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction Guidelines:

OPEN FOR ENTRIES: 1 May 2025

CLOSING DATE: 31 August 2025 at 23.59 UK Time

WORD LIMIT: 250 words (not including the title)

By 15 December 2025, all candidates will be contacted to let them know if they have made it to the short list. 

2026 prizewinners will be announced during the Flash Bash held at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh on Saturday 21 February 2026. The announcement of the winner will be announced on our website, via Facebook, Instagram, and through our newsletters  Sign up for our newsletter here.

Prizes

• FIRST PRIZE: £2,000 plus trophy and one year free membership of the Scottish Arts Club
• SECOND PRIZE: £500
• THIRD PRIZE: £250
• THE GOLDEN HARE AWARD: £500 and one year free membership of the Scottish Arts Club
• WRITE MANGO AWARD: £300 plus the mango trophy and one year free membership of the Scottish Arts Club.
• Five Commendations awarded £100 each
• Up to 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to participate in the annual Flash Bash at the Scottish Arts Club on Saturday 22 February 2025.
• At least five flash mango stories will be shortlisted for the award, included in the overall shortlist for the international competition and offered publication in the anthology.

Eligibility

• The Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award is open to all writers worldwide, published and unpublished, who are over 16 years. Entries can be on any theme or subject but must be written in English. They must also be for adult readers.
• Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
• Simultaneous submission is permitted. Should your flash fiction story win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we may remove your entry from the current award.
• TThe same story may not be entered in both the Edinburgh Flash Fiction Awards and the Edinburgh True Flash Awards. 
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are not permitted in the creation of stories entered for the flash fiction awards. If a writer uses AI in the creation of a work that wins a prize, the writer will be liable to repay the prizemoney and to compensate the Scottish Arts Trust for time wasted and reputational damage.
• No refunds are issued.

Format

• Maximum length is 250 words. The title does not count as part of the 250 word limit.
• Entries should be typed in a plain legible font.
• Entries will be read and judged anonymously. Do not put your name, address, email, telephone number or any personal identifying information on any page of your document.
• Acceptable file types are doc, docx, and pdf. No other format is accepted.

Submitting

• We do not accept postal entries.
• No corrections or alterations can be made after entries have been received. If you want to change the story you will have to submit a new entry.
• Entry is open from 1 May to 31 August (11.59pm UK time)
• You may submit as many entries as you wish.
• All entries will be acknowledged through Submittable.

Payment and Free Entry

• The entry fee is £10 per story.
• The competition is administered through the Scottish Arts Trust, a registered charity in Scotland. All proceeds are used to support the arts in Scotland.
• Applications for free entry through our bursary scheme are open from 1 May to 1 July 2025. Learn more here.

Copyright

• The author will retain copyright to their story.
• All authors will be asked for permission before any work is published on our website or in the anthology. We expect all prize-winning and commended authors to agree to publication.
• All stories submitted must be entirely the author’s own work, and not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body.
• Entries must be in the entrant’s own name/names, not pseudonymous (if successful, you can request use of an alternative name in the anthology and online).
• We do not accept stories that have been created using AI.

General

• Entry constitutes acceptance of all Edinburgh True Flash Award Rules, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policies.
• Entries that fail to comply with rules, terms and conditions, privacy policies and requirements will be disqualified.
• No correspondence can be entered into. Judges’ decisions are final.

Edinburgh True Flash Award Guidelines

OPEN FOR ENTRIES: 1 May

CLOSING DATE: 31 August at 23.59 UK Time

WORD LIMIT: 250 words (not including the title)

On 15 December, all candidates will be contacted to let them know if they have made it to the short list. Prizewinners will be announced during the Flash Bash held at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh on Saturday 21 February 2026. The announcement of the winner will be announced on our website, via Facebook, Instagram, through our newsletters and on YouTube. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Prizes

• FIRST PRIZE: £500 
• Two Commendations awarded £100 each
• At least five True Flash stories will be offered publication in The Edinburgh Anthology.

Eligibility

• The Edinburgh True Flash Award is open to all writers worldwide, published and unpublished, who are over 16 years. 
• Entries can be on any theme or subject and must be written in English. They must also be for adult readers.
• Entries should be memoir, creative non-fiction, auto-fiction or other true story.
• Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
• Simultaneous submission is permitted. Should your True Flash story win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we may remove your entry from the current Award.
• The same story may not be entered in both the Edinburgh Flash Fiction Awards and the Edinburgh True Flash Awards. 
• No refunds are issued.

Format

• Maximum length is 250 words. The title does not count as part of the 250 word limit.
• Entries should be typed in a plain legible font.
• Entries will be read and judged anonymously. Do not put your name, address, email, telephone number or any personal identifying information on any page of your document..
• Acceptable file types are doc, docx, and pdf. No other format is accepted.

Submitting

• We do not accept postal entries.
• No corrections or alterations can be made after entries have been received. If you want to change the story you will have to submit a new entry.
• Entry is open from 1 June to end of 31 August (11.59pm UK time)
• You may submit as many entries as you wish.
• All entries will be acknowledged.

Payment and Free Entry

• The entry fee is £10 per story.
• The competition is administered through the Scottish Arts Trust, a registered charity in Scotland. All proceeds are used to support the arts in Scotland.
• Applications for free entry through our bursary scheme are open from 1 May to 30 June. Learn more here

Copyright

• The author will retain copyright to their story.
• All authors will be asked for permission before any work is published on our website or in the anthology. We expect all prize-winning and commended authors to agree to publication.
• All stories submitted must be entirely the author’s own work, and not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body.
• Entries must be in the entrant’s own name/names, not pseudonymous (if successful, you can request use of an alternative name in the anthology and online).
• We do not accept stories that have been created using AI.

General

• Entry constitutes acceptance of all Edinburgh True Flash Award Rules, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policies.
• Entries that fail to comply with rules, terms and conditions, privacy policies and requirements will be disqualified.
• No correspondence can be entered into. Judges’ decisions are final.

Tips on Using Submittable:

• You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit your entries.
• You can save a draft of your entry form if you would like to finish it later.
• Submittable works on Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. 
• We will follow up with you about your submission by email. Please check your Spam folder if you do not hear from us after submitting your entry.

Technical Questions?

• Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.