Flash Nonfiction for Issue 281, Prime Number Magazine, Jan-Apr 2026
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FLASH NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS FOR PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE, Issue 281
Flash Nonfiction Editor: Shuly Xóchitl Cawood, author of A Small Thing to Want: Stories; Something So Good It Can Never Be Enough: Poems; What the Fortune Teller Would Have Said: Flash Essays
A note from Shuly: Though I do not fact-check, I expect that every nonfiction piece is exactly that—the truth. Please, please, NO FICTION PIECES in this category. I am looking for Flash Nonfiction Essays of up to 750 words.
I love a good micro essay, so please don’t feel a need to pad your piece to hit 750 words. I would rather have a mini piece that packs a good punch. I adore a good story, and I’m a sucker for a strong piece that centers on a relationship. Please, no anecdotes. A good flash essay goes deeper than an anecdote. Find examples of essays I love at these links.
https://brevitymag.com/nonfiction/swerve/
https://brevitymag.com/nonfiction/snowbound/
Submission period: September 1-October 31, 2025 or until we reach 101 submissions (a prime number)
Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Reporting Time: We will do our best to notify writers of acceptance or rejection at least two months prior to publication date. Submissions will be open tri-annually (Jan-Feb; May-Jun; Sept-Oct) and will close either the last day of the second month or when we have received 101 submissions (a prime number).
Reading Fee: None
Submit ONE unpublished flash nonfiction piece of no more than 750 words (please include word count under title), shorter pieces are very welcome. Be sure your story is double spaced with numbered pages, written in English and set in a standard 12-pt. font (Times, Garamond, etc). Please limit your submission to one story per submission period.
This will be a “blind read,” so please DO NOT include your name on your submission.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable but please withdraw your essay immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. You will find the "Withdraw" button in the upper-right corner of your submission. Only original, unpublished works will be considered. Publication includes on a blog, website, or anywhere on social media.
Eligibility: Submissions are open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English.
Rights: Prime Number Magazine will be granted First Worldwide Serial Rights, including the right to permanently archive the accepted work in Prime Number Magazine. After the work is published, all other rights revert to the author.
Payment: Writers living in the United States, UK, and Australia will receive a free book from Press 53. All other writers will receive a PDF version of a Press 53 book.
Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief (kevin @ Press53.com (no spaces)