3rd Annual FlAsH Fiction Writing Contest
The contest runs for one month: May 1 - May 31, 2023.
Final entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm U.S. Central time on May 31st.
FAHns from all over the world may submit their writing. Please make sure to read all the rules and guidelines on this page before you submit. This is incredibly important!
General Categories: short stories & poetry
3 winners in the short story and poetry categories (1st, 2nd, & 3rd)
1 Honorable Mention in each category
Special Category
Special Writing Prize in Honor of Lorilie Atkinson
Winners and Honorable Mentions will be contacted after June 15th.
All winners will be announced across social media sites by June 30th (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). *Winners can choose to be listed by their social media handle, anonymous, or by their real names.
Winners and Honorable Mentions will be published on Academicfahn’s website with permission of the author.
Writing:
Generally:
Submission Guidelines (Foil: “the guidelines are our friend”)
Short Story
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All short stories should be 1500 words or less, (including the title, if applicable.)
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FAH focused flash fiction should engage the reader quickly and present an interesting, emotional or funny story that is relatable and clearly has something to do with the range of FAH material available via YouTube, Patreon, etc.
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A short story (ideally) has a beginning, middle and end; a story arc, in other words. The characters go somewhere, do something compelling, or show action that is provocative or at the very least thoughtful.
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A short story should show more than it tells. The reader needs to “be” in the narrative immediately because this is a short story, after all.
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It should have a strong and clear narrative voice: first person, omniscient, third person, etc.
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A good explanatory title that has something to do with the narrative. In other words, it should relate to the plot of the story.
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Please make every effort to proofread your writing to the best of your ability.
Short stories are NOT scripts. All script submissions will be disqualified from the writing contest.
Poetry
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Every piece of FlAsH poetry should be 25 lines or less (including the title, if applicable) and can be either fiction or non-fiction. That is, it's entirely possible to write a poem about a FAH character or sketch or a prop for fictional content. It is also possible to write about a personal experience in the fahndom or with FAH, or a reaction to a stream, or a live show, or anything that seems pertinent to expressing oneself in a poem on a personal level.
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Like FlAsH fiction, the subject matter of the poetry should relate entirely to FAH and their range of materials on various sites, including but not limited to Patreon, interviews, video clips on YouTube, etc.
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It should be clear in the poem that it is FAH focused. For example: just using the word “Thursday” in a poem in no way says anything about FAH or their canon of comedy.
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Poetry can be in rhyme or free verse. Poems can be funny or serious. Poems can be in any format, as long as it is clear that the poem is indeed a poem.
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Lines of poetry should be clear and recognizable and be fictional or non-fictional (personal.)
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Please make every effort to proofread your writing to the best of your ability.
Subjects of FlAsH Fiction
Any and all characters in FAH's sketches can be written about in the short story and poetry categories. Anything FAH related at all, including interviews, advertisements, voiceovers, and anything else that FAH has worked on or published themselves.
Genres: any genres are accepted, including (but limited to): adventure, crime, romance, fantasy, fairytale, thriller, science fiction, and humor, of course.
Please do not use anything at all from FAH's current live show, Hogwash.
A Special Note: If you've decided to write about Seán Finegan, Conor McKenna, and Seán Flanagan, the story or poem must be respectful, kind and in good taste in order to be considered.
In writing about anything concerning FAH, their characters, and any details from interviews or the like, we would urge all writers to think wisely about subject matter and what might be appealing to a wide audience of fahns.
Google Form / “Blind” Submissions
This year every effort is being made for the panel of judges [see below] to read “blind” without any identifying information on the short story or poetry submissions.
Therefore, this year’s contest is once again being streamlined through the use of a Google form that all participants will fill out in order to submit and be read. Please make sure that you read every question carefully. And that you do not include any identifying information on your piece(s) of writing.
FAHns may submit to BOTH the short story and poetry categories, but ONLY once each. Please use a separate Google form for each category submission.
Please note: If submitting poetry, it is not possible to submit to both the general poetry category and the bi-lingual category. You must choose just one category to submit to in poetry.
Judges
This year there will be a panel of judges who will read all submissions, blind. This will be: Academicfahn, Martina Straetz and Sue Cole. Click on the button below to read the judges' criteria for both categories. The judges' criteria for the separate Bi-Lingual poetry category is also included.
Prizes
This is a FAH endorsed and supported contest. There will be prizes for the winners in the short story and poetry categories (1st, 2nd, & 3rd). FAH will decide prizes by the end of June.
Permission to Post Winners / Honorable Mentions
Every piece of writing submitted has the potential of winning and, therefore, authors need to give permission to post winning work on Academicfahn’s website. Please make sure you answer this question on the Google form when submitting your piece(s).
Any questions, concerns, worries, and / or queries should be addressed to connect@academicfahn.com.