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Flash contest - under 500 words

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verbal
Kaiju-adjacent
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I'm just passing this along. Cash prizes, no fee, a new contest every month, NOT limited to "cosmic horror." I can't vouch for these guys, but they look legit. I'm entering! (Let me know if I posted this in the wrong place, Bill usually posts this kinda stuff.)

 ___

https://www.cosmichorrormonthly.com/micro-madness/

Cosmic Horror Monthly  wants to find the very best cosmic horror flash fiction. SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT.

Submissions will be ongoing and open the first week of every month for that month’s contest. THREE stories will be chosen per month to be published the month after they were submitted. (If you submit a story on October 3rd and it is chosen, it will be published in November.)

Submissions are open monthly from the 1st to the 7th.

Submission close at 12 am (midnight) eastern standard time.

One entry per writer per month please!

No simultaneous submissions.

All stories accepted must be currently unpublished.

Once a story has been submitted, please no resubmissions!

We are looking for flash fiction (500 words or less) that can be classified as cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird. If you are unsure if your work qualifies, submit it and let us be the judge!

Payment

1st place: $100

2nd place: $50

3rd place: $25

Make all submissions to . Paste a cover letter with your information, publishing history, and word count into the body of the email. Attach the manuscript as a word document (.docx).

Thank you and best of luck!  

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Ping
Magnificent Bastard
0 likes

Hmmm… my worm story, perhaps? How about the doll one I just sent you?

$100 buys a lot of motorcycle kilometres. 

Iconoclastically incorrigible or just a silly dumb ass...
Verity
Active Ink Slinger
1 like

I love a bit of comedy but I don't think I could do a funny horror 👀

Mendalla
Crazy old ape
0 likes

Don't have any cosmic horror lying around right now. The ones I have on here are too long. Will keep this in mind for the future, though. Cosmic horror is pretty much my favorite sub-genre.

A mighty warrior meets an unusual challenger. The Last Challenge of Jadek Prynn.

Unknown User
1 like

What exactly is cosmic horror? 🙄

Ooh, emoji button… how long’s that been there? 🤣

Mendalla
Crazy old ape
0 likes
Quote by Welshdreamer42

What exactly is cosmic horror? 🙄


It's a school of horror usually traced to American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, though I know of some good examples that predate him and were influences on him (early twentieth century English writer William Hope Hodgson would be one). Basically, instead of supernatural evil being the core of the threat as you see in something like Dracula or horror involving the Devil or demons, the horror is due to the essential indifference of reality. We live in a vast universe that doesn't give a poop whether we live or die and that tends to be hostile to human life by nature rather than due to "sin" or "the Fall" or whatever. There is no God or other benign creative power looking over/after us and that makes the universe darned scary. Crosses don't repel vampires and an exorcism requires an act of dark sorcery, not faith. The monsters are generally alien (from other planets or dimensions) or even natural forces rather than supernatural ones. In terms of well-known examples (besides Lovecraft), the original Alien is often cited as a modern example. While I have not read the novel or seen the movie, Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation gets described as cosmic horror a lot, too.


I would say that if you want to read one example that really exemplifies the genre, read "The Colour Out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft. Others might disagree, but I find that to be one of the best examples of cosmic horror. Apparently, the latest film version starring Nicholas Cage is a bit of a mixed bag, but does get the cosmic horror.

A mighty warrior meets an unusual challenger. The Last Challenge of Jadek Prynn.

verbal
Kaiju-adjacent
0 likes
Quote by Ping

Hmmm… my worm story, perhaps? How about the doll one I just sent you?

$100 buys a lot of motorcycle kilometres. 

The worm one fits their vibe well. Send it! Hurry! Closes today, opens up the first of next month. 

Teeth of the Sky - Myths and Monsters competition, first place

Fire and Ice - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words competition, first place

Monster - Survivor competition, first place

verbal
Kaiju-adjacent
0 likes
Quote by Mendalla

Don't have any cosmic horror lying around right now. The ones I have on here are too long. Will keep this in mind for the future, though. Cosmic horror is pretty much my favorite sub-genre.

Pretty fond of the genre too.  

They take "cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird" so you can still enter. 

Teeth of the Sky - Myths and Monsters competition, first place

Fire and Ice - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words competition, first place

Monster - Survivor competition, first place