FLASH NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS FOR PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE, Issue 277

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. 

Sometimes I’ll give a prompt for the submissions*, sometimes I’ll give you a title to write to, and sometimes I’ll ask for a specific type of flash nonfiction piece, so be sure to read the guidelines every time. I will consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding that you will quickly inform us if a piece is accepted by another publication. 

"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."
Can you add this (as its own paragraph--and I am just bolding it for you here--it doesn't need to be bolded):

Please, no anecdotes. A good flash essay goes deeper than an anecdote. Find examples of essays I love here and here.

https://brevitymag.com/nonfiction/swerve/

https://brevitymag.com/nonfiction/snowbound/

*Prompt for Issue 277: Becoming (interpret however you like) 

Submission period: January 1-February 28, 2025 or until we reach 101 submissions (a prime number)

Publication Date: September 1, 2025

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Submit ONE unpublished flash nonfiction piece of no more than 750 words (please include word count under title), shorter pieces are very welcome.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)

2025 PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE AWARD for SHORT FICTION GUIDELINES:

Before entering, please read the following guidelines carefully.

Entry period: January 1 to March 31, 2025 (midnight EASTERN time)

Judge for Short Fiction: Dennis McFadden, author of Jimtown Road, winner of the 2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction

First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025 (a Press 53 online publication)

Two Runners-Up will receive $250 and publication

(Prizes awarded upon publication)

Announcement: Winner, runners-up, and finalists will be announced no later than July 1, 2025 (probably sooner)

Reading Fee: $15

How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Awards:

Entries are only accepted online via Submittable

Submit one unpublished short story, up to 5,300 words in length, double spaced in a standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with your story. This is a blind read.

Multiple entries: Multiple entries are accepted, but you must enter each story individually and pay the reading fee for each entry.

Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your entry via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. You may not replace the withdrawn story with another story. Entry fee is non-refundable.

Editing entry: If you discover an error before the deadline and wish to replace your entry with a corrected version, request "Open Editing" via Submittable. Requests made after the deadline will not be honored.

Judging: All entries are read blind. Judge is asked to disqualify any entry that is recognized, so please use your best judgment.

Eligibility: Contest is open to writers around the world, 18 years of age and older, who write in English.

Note: Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine editors and family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies published by Press 53 or have previously published in Prime Number Magazine are eligible.

Disclaimer: Prime Number Magazine reserves the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Entries withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. All entries must be original to the author.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publish & Editor in Chief of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine.

2025 PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE AWARD for POETRY GUIDELINES:

Before entering, please read the following guidelines carefully.

Entry period: January 1 to March 31, 2025 (midnight EASTERN time)

Judge for Poetry: Molly Rice, author of Forever Eighty-Eights: Poems

First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025 (a Press 53 online publication)

Two Runners-Up will be selected and will receive $250 and publication

(Prizes awarded upon publication)

Announcement: Winner, runners-up, and finalists will be announced no later than July 1, 2025 (probably sooner)

Reading Fee: $15

How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Awards:

Entries are only accepted online via Submittable

Submit one (and only one) unpublished poem, no more than three pages in length in standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with your poem.

Multiple entries: Multiple entries are accepted, but you must enter each poem individually and pay the reading fee for each entry.

Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your entry via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. You may not replace the withdrawn poem with another poem. Entry fee is non-refundable.

Editing entry: If you discover an error before the deadline and wish to replace your entry with a corrected version, request "Open Editing" via Submittable. Requests made after the deadline will not be honored.

Judging: All entries are read blind. Judge is asked to disqualify any entry that is recognized, so please use your best judgment.

Eligibility: Contest is open to writers around the world, 18 years of age and older, who write in English.

Note: Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine editors and family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies published by Press 53 or have previously published in Prime Number Magazine are eligible.

Disclaimer: Prime Number Magazine reserves the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Entries withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. All entries must be original to the author.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publish & Editor in Chief of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine at kevin @ press53.com (no spaces)

POETRY SUBMISSION FOR PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025

Guest Poetry Editor: Terri Kirby Erickson, author of Night Talks: New & Selected Poems and A Sun Inside My Chest: Poems, winner of the 2021 International Book Award for Poetry 

Submission period: January 1 – February 28, 2025 midnight Eastern time (or until we reach 199 submissions)

Publication Date: September 1, 2025

Reporting Time: We will do our best to make sure you receive an acceptance or rejection two months prior to publication date. Submissions will be open the first two months of every quadrimester (four months) with a new guest editor. Poets are encouraged to submit again during the open submission periods (Jan-Feb; May-Jun; Sept-Oct). Submissions will close once we receive 199 submissions).

Reading Fee: None 

Submit ONE unpublished poem of up to three pages, written in English in a standard font (Times, Garamond, etc.) in whatever style you wish to see the poem presented to readers. 

Please limit your submission to ONE poem. Guest editors are instructed to read only the first poem if more than one poem is submitted. Note: Since we allow for simultaneous submissions, our one-poem submission rule eliminates confusion if a poem in a multi-poem submission is accepted elsewhere. This saves us a lot of time and grief. We hope you understand.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable but please withdraw your poem immediately if accepted elsewhere. You will find the "Withdraw" button in the upper-right corner of your submission. Only original, unpublished poems will be considered.

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 poem in Prime Number Magazine. Once the poem is published, all other rights revert to the author.

Payment: Writers living in the United States, UK, and Australia will receive a free copy of the guest editor's poetry book from Press 53. Writers living outside these countries receive publication of their poem as compensation. (Our book printer has facilities in the US, UK, and AU, which allows us to print and ship from those locations. Due to high shipping charges outside those countries, we have to establish these limits.)

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief (kevin @ press53.com (no spaces).

SHORT FICTION SUBMISSION FOR PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025

Guest Short Fiction Editor: Rhonda Browning White, author of The Lightness of Water and Other Stories, winner of the 2019 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction, and a debut novel, Filling the Big Empty, shortlisted for the 2022 Neilson Prize

Submission period: September 1 – October 31, 2024, midnight Eastern time (or until we reach 199 submissions)

Publication Date: September 1, 2025

Reporting Time: We will do our best to notify writers of acceptance or rejection no more than two months prior to publication date. Submissions are open the first two months of every quadrimester (every four months) with a new guest editor. Writers are encouraged to submit again during the open submission periods (Jan-Feb; May-Jun; Sept-Oct). Submissions close once we receive 199 stories. Please limit your submissions to one story per submission period.

Reading Fee: None

Submit ONE unpublished story of no more than 5,300 words (please include word count under title), micro, flash, and short-short stories are 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.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable but please withdraw your story 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.

Please Note: Due to the high volume of submissions, we are now limiting submission to 199 in order to give our guest editor plenty of time to read and consider each submission. Sorry, no exceptions.

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 copy of the guest editor's Press 53 story collection. Writers living outside these countries receive publication of their story as compensation. (Our printer has facilities in the US, UK, and AU, which allows us to print and ship from those locations. Due to high shipping charges outside those countries, we have to establish these limits.)

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, at Kevin @ Press53.com (no spaces)