Flavorwire is thrilled to announce its first-ever short fiction contest. In honor of May’s National Short Story Month, we’re offering a prize of $500 for one outstanding short story. To enter, simply send a story of 5,000 words or less — in the body of a message, not as an attachment — along with a brief author bio and all relevant contact information to flavorwirefiction@gmail.com by Friday, May 17. Flavorwire Literary Editor Emily Temple will judge all entries and announce the results on the 24th. We’ll publish the winning story, along with a handful of honorable mentions, on Flavorwire throughout the final week of May.

While all styles of short fiction are fair game, we can’t consider nonfiction or poetry submissions. Due to time constraints, Flavorwire can only accept entries via email and will be unable to provide feedback on individual stories. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but only previously unpublished work will be eligible; entrants must notify us immediately if a story is selected for publication elsewhere.