Tag: Micro

Poster for Briefly Write's 'Write 10' competition 2023-24

Launching Our Ten-Word Story Competition 2023-24

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The rules are the same. The prizes are bigger…

Write 10 is the third instalment of Briefly Write‘s annual ten-word story competition. In 2021 and 2022, we followed a simple premise: Write 10 to Win 10. This year, we’re mixing things up a bit.

Theme: Destiny / History

The theme this year is Destiny / History. Use this loosely or literally – the choice is yours (or is it?!).

We want to see creative interpretations of the prompt. We want to see a tiny story with a full narrative arc. Or a snapshot of a moment. Or a moment snapped and shot. MAKE. EVERY. WORD. COUNT.

More Winners, More Winnings

Send us ten words (plus a few more for the title). Send us a story that makes us fall out of our chairs, fall out with each other, fall into a daydream or fall head over heels. Choose your words carefully.

Then we will read them all. And again. Andagainandagainandagain. Then we will choose (carefully) the ones that fell just right… and reward them with praise, publicity and a few pound coins.

If you would like to help increase the prize pot, please consider supporting us here – every penny we receive goes towards paying writers and artists!

Competition Guidelines

  1. Free to enter. One entry per person.
  2. Only entries made using this form will be considered.
  3. Story must be exactly 10 words and relate to the theme ‘Destiny / History’. Title is not included in word count.
  4. Please do not submit work that is under consideration elsewhere. Once submitted, your entry cannot be withdrawn.
  5. Opens: 10 December 2023. Deadline: 21 January 2024 @ 23:59 GMT.
  6. Entries judged anonymously. Editors’ decision is final.
  7. Winning and shortlisted stories will be paid and published online. All entrants will be contacted by email.
  8. Results published online by the end of March 2024. If this needs to change, an update will be provided here.
  9. By entering Write 10, you are granting us first electronic rights only. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication.
  10. If anything isn’t clear, send any queries to contact [at] brieflywrite [dot] com. Please do not email your entry.
ENTER YOUR TINY STORY

Briefly Write Prompt Game (2.7)

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The Briefly Write Prompt Game aims to inspire bold, succinct micro fiction and poetry. 

Every Wednesday, we will provide a brief prompt to inspire your boldest prose or verse. The prompts will be released on Twitter (via @BrieflyWrite) and right here on the website.

Your creation can take any form and any style. The prompts can (and should) be interpreted loosely.

This week’s prompt ~

Use the word UNDERWHELMED in your micro story or poem

‘Write 10, Win 10’ 2021

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A huge thank you to everyone who submitted to our inaugural micro competition. We received 116 entries and thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them. Entries were read anonymously by a panel of four judges.

We were treated to an inspiring mix of discoveries: everything from witches, treasure hunters, weddings, gods and new books to space, presents, mirrors, moons and murderers.

After many hours of deliberation, we are delighted to reveal that the winner is Rebecca Kinnarney. Rebecca’s story stood out for its humour, clever construction and inventive take on the theme.

The following writers made the shortlist: Laura Besley, Mandira Pattnaik, William Davis, Jessica Klimesh, Ruth Callaghan do Valle, Susy Churchill, Linda Sejung Park, Rita Lazaro and Gunnar De Winter. They all managed to tell a full story in ten words, hiding layers of meaning beneath the surface.

You can read our 10 selected stories below.

WINNER (£10)

10th January. One mince pie left. It must be love.

Rebecca Kinnarney

SHORTLIST

Letters unearthed. “Dad’s dead, you said.” “Sorry, love” Mum whispered.

Laura Besley

Childhood friend. Shared bed, dreams. Got married. Discovered a stranger.

Mandira Pattnaik

we sailed amongst the unnamed latitudes trading words for home

William Davis

Fumble for glasses, lamp. Open door to crickets singing summer.

Jessica Klimesh

Explorar: Explore / Exploit – An isthmus in ink – In Brazil landlessness

Ruth Callaghan do Valle

He emptied drawers, dispatched belongings. Every space revealed her face.

Susy Churchill

In bulging bags of homemade food, I found her heart.

Linda Sejung Park

Blue Light. Human gone. Empty bowl. Cat affronted. Now alone.

Rita Lazaro

“Look,” said grandfather, “endless worlds await.” He opened the book.

Gunnar De Winter

Judges’ notes:

  • The quality was exceptionally high. From our longlist of 30, we had a hard time getting down to a shortlist of 10.
  • The winner and shortlisted entries all told a story. It didn’t matter whether this was a grand tale of adventure or a tiny snapshot of a moment; each one narrated a full story in 10 words.
  • The best stories adhered closely to the theme, but perhaps approached ‘discovery’ from a less obvious angle.
  • It was important not to waste any words. Some promising stories that made the longlist were dropped on the basis of a single word that felt forced or out of place.
  • Clever use of punctuation made some stories stand out. Breaking up the 10 words allowed them to go further.

Submit to Briefly Zine

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Briefly Zine is a literary journal seeking bold, succinct writing and photography. We publish writers and photographers from the UK and around the world. Free to submit… and we pay!

Submissions for Issue 12 are now closed. We will re-open in September 2024 (THEME: TBC).

We’re looking for:

  • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • POEMS – up to 16 lines
  • STORIES – 6 to 300 words

Writing that blurs genres (prose poems, poetic prose, etc.) is welcome.

BRIEFLY RIGHT:

  1. Submit up to three pieces of your best brief writing
  2. Paste your work into the body of an email and send it to submissions@brieflywrite.com
  3. Include a short third-person bio (under 40 words). Please don’t feel any pressure with this – we choose our favourite photos, poems and stories, not the publication history of the author
  4. Please only submit previously unpublished work, i.e. nothing that has appeared in print or online (including on a personal website or social media)
  5. Simultaneous submissions are OK, but please please please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere
  6. Please wait for our reply before sending more work. If we publish your writing, please wait at least two issues before submitting again

BRIEFLY WRONG:

  1. We will not publish writing or photos that are sexist, racist, classist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or speciesist
  2. We are unlikely to be interested in gratuitous sex or violence

Our response time is up to three months, though will usually be quicker. If you haven’t heard back after ten weeks, feel free to send us a gentle nudge.

There is no submission fee. There will never be a submission fee. Art belongs to everyone and financial barriers should not stop people sharing their work.

We pay our writers as much as we can. Currently, this is not a lot. If you would like to help us pay more, please consider making a small donation. We also offer expedited responses from only £4 (see below).

By submitting to Briefly Zine, you are granting us first electronic rights. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication.

Expedited Response

Get a faster response and support our little literary space…

For Issue 12, donate £4 or more on our Ko-fi page to get a one-week guaranteed reply.

Submit your photography, poetry or prose in the normal way, mentioning in your email that you have donated.

NOTE ~ We publish our favourite writing and photography: whether or not you donate will have no impact on the outcome of your submission. We do, however, greatly appreciate any support. Every penny we receive is spent directly on the costs of running Briefly Write (i.e. website + paying writers).

Support Briefly

Photography Submissions

Please attach up to 3 images to an email and send it to submissions@brieflywrite.com

We are looking for original and unpublished photographs only. All work must be your own.

We want creative, thoughtful and thought-provoking images.

In the body of your email, please include a short third-person bio. You can also add links to your website/social media, which we would be happy to promote.

We respond to photography submissions within two months, probably sooner. If you haven’t heard back after this time, please contact us to check your email hasn’t gone astray.

You retain the rights to your image(s).

Photo by Marcelo Moreira