SmokeLong’s Grand Micro Contest (The Mikey) is a biennial competition that celebrates and compensates the best microfiction online.
The grand prize winner of The Mikey is automatically nominated for The Best Small Fictions and any other prize we deem appropriate. In addition, we will also pay the grand prize winner $1500. Second place: $500. Third place $300. Finalists: $100. All finalists and placers will be published in the fall ’23 issue of SmokeLong Quarterly.
Guidelines:
Open to anyone on the planet over the age of 18.
Your entry may be previously published. If you submit a previously published micro, please do NOT indicate where. Micros previously published by SmokeLong are not eligible.
You may write in English or in any other language as long as an English translation accompanies your entry. Our decision will be based on the English translation. Winnings, if any, will be split evenly between the translator and writer.
Your entry must be 400 words or fewer, excluding the title. There is no minimum word count requirement.
You may enter as many times as you like, but an entry fee must accompany each entry.
Your name must NOT appear on the entry itself. This includes the filename, headers and footers. Your name and contact information should appear ONLY in the cover letter.
Judging
This competition will be judged by a team of SmokeLong readers and the quarter’s guest editor. As Christopher Allen will be judging the flash fiction category of The Bridport Prize, he will not be involved in the judging of The Mikey this year. Our process is similar to our general submissions workflow. We send rejections as soon as we can so that your work is not tied up for the entire entry period. This means you will receive a response within about a week if we have decided to decline the entry. If we are taking longer than one week, this is a great sign.
You may enter this competition starting in June 2023. Please watch this space and our social media (@smokelong) for details in 2023.
