Follow these guidelines and your entry could take over the world.
– All submissions must absolutely be under 1,000 words, and we tend to look more kindly on 750 or fewer because… ACORN-STEALING SQUIRREL!
– All contest submissions will be read with identity concealed, so we won’t be playing favorites.
– We don't like opening attachments, so please paste your entry into the corresponding field. Do not list your name anywhere or we’ll assume you don't know to read.
– Costs $10 to enter. (Sorry, no refunds.)
– We reserve the right to extend deadlines if necessary (and you can expect our usual Slacker Special).
– Submissions must be previously unpublished work, and you will retain copyright (duh). By entering this contest, you give us permission to publish your work (if selected for our Top 10)
– No limit on how many entries you can submit, but you must submit them one at a time. Don’t just mash them all in there.
– Contest deadline is end of day (PST) Monday, May 5th, 2025. Winners announced on May 19th and we'll unleash the Flash Villain mega-issue shortly thereafter.
– And, most importantly, this is a FLASH VILLAIN contest, so you must include some sort of antihero, villain, malevolent force, or malicious act. But again, this can be in almost any form imaginable.
Submissions must not exceed 1000 words unless those extra words are fucking genius. Even so, you'd be wise to keep it under 1000, with priority given to fiction that tells the most engaging and self-contained story in the fewest words (average length of accepted pieces is around 300-600).
Include a clever two-sentence bio in the space provided. You can list all the publications in which your previous work has been featured if that gets you off, but we prefer insight into who you are or imagine yourself to be.