DWF/SWINBURNE MICROFICTION CHALLENGE

From Hemingway’s infamous six-word story, to Lydia Davis’ very short stories and Teju Cole’s small fates, microfiction is both an exercise in precision to inform longer works, as well as an art form in its own right. Sharpen your shorts and hone your storytelling skills by responding to a daily prompt in our Microfiction Challenge.

You can submit once, twice, or every day of the festival – there are up to five opportunities to win. With 24 hours to draw inspiration for a story of up to 500 words, this challenge will be sure to develop your craft.

Oh – did we mention we’re awarding $1000 to an overall winner? There will also be a daily favourite chosen for publication by Seizure.

HOW IT WORKS

Each day from 30 October – 3 November, we’ll publish a one-word prompt at 9am AEDT. Then it’s over to you to get writing! You’ll have 24 hours to write a short story of up to 500 words responding to that day’s prompt. Entries close at 8.59am AEDT the next day, when we’ll publish a new prompt and the clock starts ticking again.

A team of readers will select a daily favourite to be edited and published by Seizure, an online publication with a focus on microfiction and new Australian writing. At the end of the festival, the judges will select an overall winner from the pieces published on Seizure. That winner will receive $1000 cold hard cash thanks to Swinburne University.

While you can only submit one piece per day, we encourage you to submit entries on as many days of the festival as possible!

For more information, visit the website here.