The Spoken Verse Flash Fiction Contest
As part of The Spoken Verse Project, a Girl Scout Gold Award initiative, this free 300-word flash fiction contest invites you to explore storytelling in a short and powerful format. Open for anyone 18+. Includes money prizes!Want deadline reminders and contest updates? Fill out this form!
About the Contest
Hi there! The Spoken Verse Flash Fiction Contest is part of a Girl Scout Gold Award project, which hopes to encourage people to use writing as a tool for creativity, reflection, and connection. It is fully supported and vetted by Girl Scouts.Your challenge: write a complete, original story in 300 words or fewer inspired by this year’s theme:“A World Without…”What happens when something we take for granted no longer exists?How you interpret the phrase is entirely up to you.All entries will be judged blindly (without author names attached), so every submission is considered solely on the strength of the writing.
Prizes
First Place – $25 Amazon Gift Card
*Second Place – 🔐
*Third Place – 🔐(All winning stories will be shared on the Spoken Verse website and social media)Timeline
Contest opens: January 15th, 2026
Submissions close: March 15th, 2026
Winners announced: May 4, 2026Contact
Questions? Email us at [email protected]Want to know more about the project? Visit thespokenverse.carrd.co
for more information!
*A second-place prize will only be awarded if more than 50 entries are received. A third-place prize will only be awarded if more than 100 entries are received.
Contest Guidelines
Submission GuidelinesLength: Maximum 300 words. There is no minimum word limit.Originality: Entries must be your own original, unpublished work. Plagiarism, AI-generated work, or previously published pieces (online or print) will be disqualified.Entry Amount: An individual may submit as many entries as they would like.Language: Your story must be written in English or include an English translation. Stories containing discriminatory or hateful content may be disqualified. Please try and keep stories suitable for a general audience.Rights: Authors retain all rights to their work. By submitting, you grant The Spoken Verse permission to share your story (with attribution) on its website, podcast, and social media if selected as a winner or finalist.Eligibility: Participants must be above the age of 18 and have an active email address. The winners will be emailed their prizes.Donations: Donations are NOT required and do not affect judging. However, they are deeply appreciated. Donors will be recognized on multiple platforms.
Failure to follow these guidelines may result in disqualification.
Submit Your Story
When you submit, you are confirming that:
- You are 18 or older.
- Your work is original, unpublished, and written by you.
- You have read and agree to the contest guidelines.
Dear The Spoken Verse Flash Fiction Contest Participants,We are so deeply grateful for every single submission we received for the 2026 Spoken Verse Flash Fiction Contest. The theme- "A World Without…"- inspired some incredibly moving, creative, and memorable pieces, and picking the top five was one of the hardest things we've had to do. Please know that every submission was read with care and appreciation.With that, we are thrilled to announce our winners:
🥇 1st Place: Mridusmita Borah, "A World Without Your Circle: A Daughter's Story to Her Father"🥈 2nd Place: Victoria E. Orantes, "A World Without Sweet Songs and Bright Eyes"🥉 3rd Place: Angela Martinez (Untitled)🎖️ Honorary Mentions: Christopher Loeffler, "Don't Worry" and Sienna Vo, "A Treeless World"
To every participant who submitted: your courage to write and share is never lost on us. Please remember that these results are simply a snapshot of one contest, and they are not a measure of your worth or talent as a writer. We hope you'll keep writing and creating, no matter what.All winners are eligible for a digital certificate. Email [email protected] if you have not recieved one.With gratitude,
The Spoken Verse Team
🥇 1st Place: Mridusmita Borah, "A World Without Your Circle: A Daughter's Story to Her Father"Dear Papu (Daddy),
I am writing this story with a heart full of gratitude, reflecting on the invisible circle of love and protection you and Ma created around me. When I left for college, I stepped into a world without that quiet shield. Back home, life felt gentle, predictable, and safe, and my days filled with study, laughter, and the warmth of family. The world had edges, but I never felt them.Then I left.College was my first glimpse of a world without your protection. It wasn’t always kind, but I was never truly unguarded—because you had already prepared me. You taught me to make the right choices, to value time, and to think before I act.Time, I now understand, shapes everything. It does not wait or return; it simply moves, carrying us through life.Today, nearly 8,000 miles away, I am a mother of two—one stepping into adolescence, the other close behind. As I watch them grow within the same circle of love, I see life come full circle.One day, they too will leave. And when they do, I will pass on what you gave me:
Make the right choices, even when no one is watching.
Respect time.
Carry kindness, even when the world feels otherwise.Because while family may not always be near, its strength always remains within.
Papu (Dad), I am writing this not only to thank you, but to carry your lessons forward.With love,
Your Babu (daughter)
-🥈 2nd Place: Victoria E. Orantes, "A World Without Sweet Songs and Bright Eyes"There was a village, half was of peasants, half of riches.
Yet the prettiest things were not on the side with silks scarves but among the burlap britches.The peasants were full of scraggly sweetness. Their teeth were yellow but their smiles were sincere. The birds sang loudly but divinely. The women, strong and sweaty but oh so heavenly.The wealthy however had white smiles but were full of spite. Their birds flew a lonely flight. The women’s eyes were dull instead of bright. The wealthy never admitted to their soulless side, still when it was time for pleasure they were not stopped by their pride, it was to the peasants they went for a song and a bride.Every Sunday, the rich men's pastime was to wander among the poor, to compete and find birds with the sweetest, loudest song. Sadly, when the rich men brought the birds to their homes, their sweet songs would not last long. When their songs turned flat, the men set them free, but sadly when the birds flew back, they were not recognized by their families. The rich did not care about the damage they did, so onward bird capturing they went.A wealthy man named Mane found a bird that beautifully sang. It was perched upon a birch in the garden of a curly-headed girl. Her name was Sky; she was strong, sweet, but oh so naive. Mane was greedy and determined to capture both the bird and young lady.It took months but eventually caught both, gained their trust to have them for his own.He took them to his manor; the bird was caged and the girl was wed. And just as we’d guess, the bird notes went flat and the girl’s glistening eyes turned from bright to dull black.
-🥉 3rd Place: Angela Martinez (Untitled)Time ticked forward, the hand moving with every click. Everyone seemingly moves on like nothing has happened and perhaps, nothing did, yet her body remained stuck to the desk she’s been sitting at. All sorts of items scattered all over. Lockets, handmade bracelets, cards, polaroid photos, and old bouquets of red poppies, everything that looked like came from a valentine day sale section.Her heart starts to feel an unfamiliar ache, one that she couldn’t pinpoint the exact source of. She could take a vague guess though, strained eyes picking apart all the things on the wooden desk. Head pounding from the lack of sleep, questions eating away at her.Where have you gone?Why can’t I remember?Who are you?All the photos seemed to be nothing more than selfies of herself, yet she was never in the center of any of them. There was always some empty space next to her, as if something, or someone, was meant to be there. Lockets with her picture on one side but nothing on the other, bracelets and cards she never remembered receiving or making herself and the damn poppies. She didn’t even like poppies, why on earth did she go and buy a whole bouquet of them? It just felt right to her, as if instinctual. She felt as though she had gone insane, trying to find whoever these flowers were meant for, the one responsible for this empty void in her heart.Yet no one else seemed to notice. Friends and family continued on with their lives like nothing was missing while she was stuck here. She rubbed her eyes, a groan leaving her lips as she began to set everything back into the old cardboard box.Perhaps it would be better to simply burn it instead.