Cicada, by Michael Sweere
Copyright © 2014-2016

Online lit journal KYSO Flash (Knock-Your-Socks-Off Art and Literature) seeks to publish memorable literature and visual arts. Celebrates short forms (fiction, faction, poetry, and hybrids), up to 1,000 words each. Original, unpublished works only. Writing contest with cash prizes now open for Issue 5. Reading Period: 15 December 2015 thru 7 February 2016. Entry fee: $5 (USD). Detailed guidelines follow below.

Announcing the KYSO Flash “Triple F” Writing Challenge

$300 First Prize
$200 Second Prize
$100 Third Prize
$50 Honorable Mentions (3-5)

Genres: Micro-fiction, prose poetry, hybrids such as haibun stories and tanka prose, and/or lineated poetry (both free and formal verse)

Submission Period: From 15 December 2015 through 7 February 2016. (Submissions will close at midnight PST on 7 February.)

Word Count: No more than 500 words per piece, including a mandatory title of any length. Word-count restriction also refers to poems, as we do not count lines.

“Triple F” Prompt Words: Each piece must include the three words listed below, used as seamlessly as possible. Plural forms are allowed, although variations such as “flickering” and “foolish” are not. You may use these words more than once in a single piece, as long as each word appears at least once:

1. fierce
2. flicker
3. fool

Suggested Theme (optional): Spring, the season of growth and renewal, the return of warmth and hope and light—or cruelty, as TS Eliot warned—and what marvelous timing, given that April is National Poetry Month.

Restrictions:

1. No children’s stories
2. No gratuitous violence
3. No gratuitous obscenities
4. No pornography; however, literary erotica and works containing sexual themes will be considered.

Electronic Submissions Only: Entries in the English language will be accepted from writers worldwide, via Submittable.

Entry Fee (in USD): $5 per piece entered, with no limit on total number

The fee for three pieces would be $15, for instance; and the entries may be all one genre (from those listed above), or various combinations instead, such as one micro-fiction, one haibun story, and one sestina, for example.

Each piece must be uploaded as a separate file in our form at Submittable. Documents with these file formats will be accepted: DOC, DOCX, and RTF.

Simultaneous Submissions: Are allowed, provided you promptly withdraw your work via Submittable if it has been accepted elsewhere.

Original Works Only: Entries must be unpublished, and must not have been chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. Works that have appeared on an author’s website or blog, as well as on social media sites, are considered published, and will be disqualified. Entry fees cannot be refunded.

Formatting: 11- or 12-point Verdana. Micro-fictions, prose poems, and hybrids such as haibun stories may be double or single spaced. Please single space poems, with line and stanza breaks as you wish them to appear on-screen.

Submissions Must Be “Blind”: Do not include your name, or any identifying information, on any page of your document; nor in the headers or footers of the document; nor in the file name itself.

TIP: Do not name your file generically, such as “KYSO Flash Contest.” Instead, please use a short title specific to the piece itself.

Contact info and bios should be entered in the boxes provided by Submittable.

No Cover Letters: If you have specific questions about the contest that are not addressed in these guidelines, please contact us via Submittable.

Judging: Entries will be judged on artistic merit by KYSO Flash editors. All decisions made by the judges are final.

Publication Rights: Authors whose works are selected will be asked to sign an agreement electronically which grants exclusive first-time worldwide publication rights to KYSO Flash, as well as non-exclusive reprint rights to KYSO Flash Press.

Print Anthology: All entries submitted will be considered for publication, both in KYSO Flash online (Spring 2016), and in our print anthology scheduled for release in November 2016. While we cannot offer monetary payment for rights to publish beyond the cash prizes listed above, all authors whose works are selected for the anthology will receive a complimentary copy of the book.

Results: Winners of the KYSO Flash “Triple F” Writing Contest will be notified by email just before results are announced officially, on 31 March 2016.

Payment of Awards: Will be made electronically via PayPal in USD (United States Dollars) to winners residing in countries other than the United States. Winners in the US may choose to receive payment via bank check or PayPal. Any taxes due on contest winnings are the sole responsibility of the prize winners.

Individual authors may receive only one cash prize; however, multiple entries by the same author may be selected as finalists and published.

Note: This contest is void where prohibited by law.

We look forward to reading your entries.

Many thanks for considering KYSO Flash, and all best wishes!