STREETLIGHT’S 2025 FLASH FICTION CONTEST
Send us your shorts by September 2nd!
1st Prize — $175 2nd — $75 Entry Fee: $10
CONTEST GUIDELINES:
- Up to 500 of your best, previously unpublished words. Any subject.
- Multiple submissions are fine -- one work per entry.
- This is a blind contest. Please remove all personal information from the story pages.
- We encourage simultaneous submissions but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, inform us at fiction@streetlightmag.com, right away.
- Contest deadline is Monday, September 1st, 2025 midnight EST.
- Competition winners will be announced September 15th, 2025. Only winning authors will be contacted. However, all entries will be considered for general publication in Streetlight. If your narrative is a good fit for a subsequent issue, we will get in touch to see if it is still available. All published entries will also be considered for podcast performance.
- Winners will be chosen by a committee of Streetlight staff led by fiction editor Erika Raskin.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice stating that it was first published at Streetlight Magazine.
- Our editors do not decline contest entries nor close them out. After the contest deadline, winners are announced, and non-winning entries are considered for general publication.
- All winning entries will be published online this Fall, as well as in the 2025 Streetlight annual print anthology. Some stories may be selected for podcast performance.
Erika Raskin, Streetlight’s fiction editor, is the author of Best Intentions and Close. Her non-fiction work has run in a variety of publications and on public radio. Her wry world view can be found at erikaraskin.com.
As with our regular essay/memoir submissions, we are seeking strong and stirring personal stories. STREETLIGHT'S 2025 ESSAY/MEMOIR CONTEST GUIDELINES:
- Send us a minimum of 800 and maximum of 2400 words. Please do not submit previously published work.
- Please submit only one written work per entry--multiple entries are permitted, but please make a separate submission for each entry.
- Simultaneous submissions at other magazines are okay. Notify us immediately if a piece is accepted elsewhere.
- Contest deadline is, April 7, 2024 midnight EDT.
- Winners will be announced on April 21st, 2024, and all winning entries will be published online on Streetlight and in print in Streetlight's annual anthology. Additionally, all contest entries will be further considered by our non-fiction editor for general publication in Streetlight's essay/memoir category.
- Entry fee: $15
- Winners will be chosen by a committee of Streetlight staff led by Susan Shafarzek, our Essay/Memoir editor.
This is a blind contest and your name will be hidden from our judges--do NOT include your name or address on the pages containing your work. CASH PRIZES (paid by check):
- 1st place: $125.00
- 2nd place: $75.00
- 3rd place: $50.00
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice stating that it was first published at Streetlight Magazine.
- Streetlight will only mark contest entries as ACCEPTED. Our editors do NOT decline contest entries nor close them out. After the contest deadline, winners are announced, and non-winning entries are considered for general publication.
- All winning entries will be published online, as well as in the 2024 Streetlight annual print anthology. Some stories may be selected for podcast performance.
Susan Shafarzek lives in Charlottesville, Va. Besides editing essays for Streetlight, she is a poet and photographer, blogging occasionally at Whaddyameanrosebuds.com.
As with our regular essay/memoir submissions, we are seeking strong and stirring personal stories. STREETLIGHT'S 2024 ESSAY/MEMOIR CONTEST GUIDELINES:
- Send us a minimum of 800 and maximum of 2400 words. Please do not submit previously published work.
- Please submit only one written work per entry--multiple entries are permitted, but please make a separate submission for each entry.
- Simultaneous submissions at other magazines are okay. Notify us immediately if a piece is accepted elsewhere.
- Contest deadline is July 14th, 2025 midnight EDT.
- Winners will be announced on July 28th, 2025, and all winning entries will be published online on Streetlight and in print in Streetlight's annual anthology. Additionally, all contest entries will be further considered by our non-fiction editor for general publication in Streetlight's essay/memoir category.
- Entry fee: $10 for up to three poems
- Winners will be chosen by a committee of Streetlight staff led by Susan Shafarzek, our Essay/Memoir editor.
This is a blind contest and your name will be hidden from our judges--do NOT include your name or address on the pages containing your work. CASH PRIZES (paid by check):
- 1st place: $150.00
- 2nd place: $100.00
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice stating that it was first published at Streetlight Magazine.
- Streetlight will only mark contest entries as ACCEPTED. Our editors do NOT decline contest entries nor close them out. After the contest deadline, winners are announced, and non-winning entries are considered for general publication.
- All winning entries will be published online, as well as in the 2025 Streetlight annual print anthology.
Sharon Ackerman is an Appalachian poet residing in central Virginia. Her poems have appeared in the Southern Humanities Review, Atlanta Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Roanoke Review, Appalachian Places, Still: The Journal, and several others. She has one poetry collection, Revised Light (Main Street Rag, 2021), and a second in the works.
Frederick Wilbur received his BA from the University of Virginia and an MA from the University of Vermont. He has authored three books on architectural and decorative woodcarving. His two poetry collections are As Pus Floats the Splinter Out and Conjugation of Perhaps. His work has appeared in many print and on-line reviews including Shenandoah, The Atlanta Review, The Comstock Review, The Dalhousie Review, Rise Up Review, and Mojave River Review. He was awarded the Stephen Meats Award by Midwest Quarterly (2017).
We seek to publish all types of well-crafted poems which go beyond description, and resonate with rich language, clear images and a voice. Streetlight Magazine welcomes work by both emerging and established poets. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know immediately if your poetry is accepted elsewhere. Send us 3-5 unpublished poems in a single document. A cover letter is not necessary, but please include with your submission a 2-3 sentence biographical note that will be used if your work is accepted.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice of the first printing appearing in Streetlight.
- All accepted entries will be published in the Streetlight annual anthology.
We are looking for elegant and memorable writing, both traditional and experimental. Send us stories up to 2,000 words in length. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice of the first printing appearing at Streetlight.
- All accepted entries will be published in the annual Streetlight anthology.
- Accepted entries may receive an audio production for the Streetlight Voices podcast.
We seek creative non-fiction and essays that examine issues from fresh, new angles. Send work that arcs towards truth--as ephemeral as that may be--whether by examining real life, or through the exercise of pure thought. Send us work that can change our minds and our way of seeing the world. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice of the first printing appearing at Streetlight.
- All accepted entries will be published in the annual Streetlight anthology.
- Accepted entries may receive an audio production for the Streetlight Voices podcast.
Streetlight seeks original art submissions -- paintings, photography, pastels, pen and ink -- that will make us pause and consider. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- By submitting your work, you grant Streetlight Magazine first North American print and electronic publication rights and guarantee that the submission is your own, original writing. All rights return to the author after publication.
- If you publish your work again at a later date, we request that you include a notice of the first printing appearing at Streetlight.
- All accepted entries will be published in the annual Streetlight anthology.
We welcome guest bloggers -- it's free to submit a blog to Streetlight Magazine.
We're interested in topics about the literary and visual arts as well as personal perspectives, humor, commentary, and interviews with writers and visual artists. Blogs should be between 300-700 words long and may be edited to fit our website's format and style.
- You may submit previously published blogs, and we will credit your blog accordingly.
- Casual, informal writing is okay.
- Authors retain all copyrights and their content will appear on the Streetlight Magazine website with the author's permission.