Britain’s biggest flash fiction prize – open to writers worldwide
£2,000 prize for writers worldwide and stories on any topic up to 250 words.
We welcome stories in all genres: literary, historic, crime, romance, gritty realism, contemporary, humour and more. Anything that can be packed into 250 words that will transport us in an instant to weird, wonderful, tragic and dramatic moments in time.
Prizes:
- First Prize: £2,000
- Second Prize: £500
- Third Prize: £250
- Golden Hare Award: £500
- Write Mango Flash Award: £300
- 5 Commendations £100 each
- Scottish Arts Club free membership for one year for 1st, 2nd, 3rd prize winners and the winner of the Golden Hare Award.
Publication: The writers of at least twenty short-listed flash stories will be offered publication in our next anthology featuring a fabulous cover by Edinburgh-based artist Gordon Mitchell RSA. The top twenty includes the Golden Hare Award winner plus at least five of the top Write Mango stories. (Plus also the top 20 stories from the Edinburgh Short Story Award and all the short-listed True Flash stories.)
Flash Bash: All short-listed flash writers are invited to the Flash Bash, to be held at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh on Saturday 21 February 2026 when the prize winners will be announced
Entry Fee: The entry fee is £10.00 per story. The competition is managed by the Scottish Arts Trust, a registered charity that is primarily run by volunteers. All funds are used to support the arts in Scotland.
Free entry: Free entry is available for writers through our bursary scheme. Bursary applications for the flash fiction awards are open from 1 May to 30 June every year.
Golden Hare Award
The £500 Golden Hare Award is given to the top story entered in the Edinburgh Flash Fiction Awards by anyone over 16 years who is living or studying in Scotland. Stories can be on any topic up to 250 words. To apply for the Golden Hare Award simply enter your story in the Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction and on the entry form, tick the box that asks if you live in Scotland.
Write Mango Flash Award
Mango stories are fun, amusing, bizarre and as delicious as a mango. Stories can be up to 250 words. If your story is a ‘mango’ tick the box on the entry form. As well as being considered for the £300 Mango prize, your story will also be in the running for the £2,000 Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction. The Write Mango Flash Award is open to writers worldwide.
Pokrass writes books you want on your nightstand to read not once, but again and again. Nin Andrews, author of Why God Is A Woman.
Meg Pokrass will choose the prize-winners. Meg is a flash fiction mentor, early flash influencer and is the Flash Challenge Editor at Mslexia. Her flash fiction collections are widely taught and her stories have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. Meg produces the popular Substack prompt newsletter, Pokrass Prompts, and a separate newsletter, Meg Pokrass Author & Teacher Newsletter, for flash writing discussions and ongoing writing-generative workshops. American born, she currently lives in Inverness, Scotland. Find Out More
