Crime Flash Fiction competition, deadline 3 March 2015

Thanks to my fellow blogger Blog About Writing, here are the details of a crime flash fiction competition:

Rules and prizes 2015

Can you commit a crime story in just 150 words?

‘A shot rang out’ is four words, but it packs a hell of a punch. Flash fiction is the art of surprise, illumination, punch.

Think short fuse, short-arm, Get Shorty. Did you know ‘flash in the pan’ originated with the priming of guns? And flashnotes are counterfeit notes… We could go on, but we won’t, because we’re big on brevity. Surprise us. Burn us. Write us. Whatever you do, do it in a flash.

Bang bang, you’re read.

PRIZES

1st prize is two weekend passes to CrimeFest 2016 (access to all interviews, panels and receptions, exc. accommodation, dinner, travel)

2nd prize is one weekend pass to CrimeFest 2016

3rd prize A special CrimeFest delegate bag with books and other goodies

In addition to the above, all those on the shortlist will be invited to attend the Crime Writing Day on Friday 15 May 2015, when the winners will be announced.

RULES

Max 150 words. No minimum. Title not included in word count. One entry per person. £2 entry fee to cover our admin, to be paid via PayPal. No entries from established crime authors, please. No other restrictions apply, but you’ll want to be able to attend CrimeFest in Bristol in the UK in May 2016 if you win (NB: travel and accommodation are not included in the prize).

Entries by midnight BST on 3 March 2015.

How to Enter

When you’re ready to submit your 150 words to our judges, first pay your £2 entry fee via PayPal. You’ll receive a confirmation from PayPal with a transaction ID. Copy and paste your transaction ID into the body of an email, together with your 150 words.

In the subject line, write Flashbang. In the body of the email, put your name, address and email. Stories will be cut and pasted into a document for blind reading by the judges so don’t repeat your name under your story title. Send the email to this address, replacing the bits in brackets as appropriate: flashbangcontest (at) gmail (dot) com.

You’ll receive an automated email confirming its safe receipt. If you don’t receive the confirmation email, please leave a comment here and we’ll investigate and/or contact you as necessary.

Copyright remains with the author at all times. We reserve the non-exclusive right to publish winning and commended stories here and on the CrimeFest site, for a period of up to 12 months.

Longlist will be published here April 7. Shortlist will be published here April 21. Winners will be announced at CrimeFest15, May 14-17 2015. Judges’ decisions are final. Good luck, and get flashbanging.