April 2026 Contest Submissions

Submission Timeline

• Submissions Open: April 01, 2026
• Submissions Close: April 26, 2026
• Results Announced: Week of April 27, 2026

If I am ever late with the results announcement, I apologize. I have a baby at home, and I have several chronic conditions that I manage. If I'm ever delayed, there's a good chance it is due to one of these.

How to Submit

There are four ways to submit your work. Please pick the one that is most convenient for you. (Note: Neobook has been down for a few weeks. I recommend submitting through one of the other three options.)

• Via Email:
  • email your submission to contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com
  • include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, a brief bio, and your pronouns
• Via Neobook:
  • publish your completed work on Neobook
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • direct message the contest moderator (@LauraWrites), (include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, and your pronouns)

• Via Booksie:
  • publish your completed work on Booksie
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • direct message the contest moderator (@LauraWrites), (include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, and your pronouns)

• Via Wattpad:
  • publish your completed work on Wattpad
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • drop the link to your submission in the comment section of the appropriate chapter in the 2026 Writing Contests Book (or email me the link if you have difficulty posting the link: contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com)

Rules of Participation

• Be respectful of one another.
• Please no NSFW.
• Please submit work written in English or bilingual. For example, I've received some submissions written in Spanish and translated to English (or vice versa). I have released both as separate posts with links to the other post to read it in the other language.
• No AI generated stories. (I'll accept works that use AI for brainstorming, researching, or conceptualizing, but the story itself must be your own and must be written by you in your voice.)
• Your work must be complete at the time of submission.
• Winners: please include the name you would like to be credited under, your bio, pronouns, and content warnings (if applicable).
• Submissions should generally be under 2,000 words. I can be somewhat flexible on this, (up to around 3,000), but this allows me to make sure I have enough time to give every submission a fair shot.

Quick Notes

• You retain all the rights to the stories you submit to these contests. If your work is featured on this platform, you are still able to publish it in other formats (just be sure to check the submission/publishing rules for other platforms, publishers, etc.).
• Winners have the option to have their work featured on Underground Bookshelf. Please make sure I have the name you would like to be credited under, bio, pronouns, and content warnings (if applicable) so that I can assemble your feature.