To celebrate Brittle Paper’s debut Literary Festival, on 29 August 2026, we are holding a Flash Fiction competition! Go here to learn more about this festival celebrating emerging African writers.

Inspired by our Keynote panel theme Does the Writer Still Have a Role? we are asking you to imagine a world in the year 2158. 200 years after Achebe published Things Fall Apart, what does the role of the writer look like? What does that world look like for the writer? How has the writer’s audience changed? Are there still writers, and if there are, what are their inspirations and motivations? What is the 22nd century writer?

Your mission is to write a 22 word story, no more or less, about the writer in the 22nd century. You can make it any genre or form, from romance to horror to dystopian, the world is yours to create.

The top 10 pieces will be published on Brittle Paper, and the top three will be awarded a cash prize! First place will receive $100, and second and third will receive $50.

Deadline: 28 August 2026

Winners will be announced on 31 August 2026 on the Brittle Paper site.

Submission Guidelines:

  • All submissions need to consist of unpublished work
  • Submission word limit: 22 words
  • Include an author photo and biography, along with nationality
  • Writers can only submit one submission each.
  • Submissions need to be in Word format
  • AI use to construct work is not allowed.
  • Selection process will take place after the deadline, and late submissions will not be included in the selection process.
  • Email subject heading: Flash Fiction Competition Submission
  • Email your submission to submissions@brittlepaper.com

*Submissions that do not follow the correct guidelines will be omitted from the process.