The 2026 WestWord Prize is Open — Meet the Judge

Kathryn Aldridge-Morris brings her award-winning flash fiction expertise to our annual contest

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I'm delighted to announce that Kathryn Aldridge-Morris will be judging our 2026 WestWord Prize! If you've been following the flash fiction world (and as a WestWord subscriber, you most likely are!), you'll know Kathryn's name shines bright among contemporary flash writers.

Her debut collection Cold Toast came out with Dahlia Books this May, and her work has graced the pages of Pithead Chapel, Aesthetica, The Four Faced Liar, Fractured Lit, Bending Genres, and so many other great journals. She's won the Bath Flash Fiction Award, The Forge's Flash Nonfiction competition, and Manchester Writing School's QuietManDave Prize. Her stories have also been selected for the prestigious Wigleaf Top 50 and we're so pleased that she’s a part of our prize team for 2026.

Kathryn is also teaching a November workshop for us: Creating Flash Collections: Getting Your Work Out There.

In flash fiction every sentence should carry the weight of three and Kathryn understands this intrinsically – her work demonstrates that beautiful tension between economy and emotion that defines great flash.

Think about subtext – that iceberg beneath the surface that I'm often writing about. Kathryn's stories master this delicate art. They don't tell you everything; they trust you to feel your way to the truth. When you're crafting your WestWord Prize entry, channel this approach. Ask yourself: what am I not saying? What lies in the white space between my words?

From reading Kathryn's award-winning work, it's clear she has captured that beautiful balance between precision and emotion that defines exceptional flash. This aligns perfectly with WestWord's guiding ethos – to share stories that matter, that are told with honesty and care. Stories that reveal something true about what it means to be human.

I'll be bringing you a full interview with Kathryn in January where we'll dive deeper into her approach to flash fiction, but for now, let her published work guide you. Study how she creates immersive stories with emotional resonance within tight word counts, using sensory details that communicate emotion without spelling it out.

The 2026 WestWord Prize has opened for submissions today and you have until March to make your stories shine as bright as they can. Why have I opened submissions so early? Because I believe we need to give our stories time to find themselves. I wrote more about that over at The Mindful Writer today. Read it here.

There's no theme but read this year's winners to see what capture the hearts and minds of our readers and judges. And check out the craft posts I share as they’re full of flash fiction writing advice and prompts.

The deadline is 31st March 2026. Entry fee is just £10 for submission only, or £30 with feedback. Winning and shortlisted stories will be published in June 2026 and the top prize is £400, with cash prizes for second and third place and all shortlisted writers too.

With love,

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