Contest: NPR Three Minute Fiction

As a loyal NPR listener I couldn’t let this one fall by the wayside; it sounds like too much fun to miss.  The program “All Things Considered” has started holding a flash fiction contest.  Each month has a different judge and a different prompt.   This month’s round is judged by Ann Pachett, best-selling author of Bel Canto and The Magician’s Assistant.

Round one’s criteria was only that it had to be read in three minutes or less or be no longer than 600 words.  Round two, the story had to start with the phrase “The nurse left work at five o’clock.”  Round three used a picture prompt.

For this round, the story has to use the words plant, fly, trick, and button, and be no longer than 600 words.

The winner of this round receives an autographed copy of each of the Ann Patchett books “Truth & Beauty: A Friendship” and “What now?” and will be interviewed and have his/her Story read on-air during Weekend All Things Considered.  Talk about some great publicity!

All top submissions are available on the site.  There are some real gems to read in there.

The deadline for this contest is this coming Sunday, April 11.

Go to the website

Contest rules and submission guidelines

What are you waiting for? Go for it!