Current Contest

The Current Mini-Contest

Mini-Contest #60 launched on Sunday, April 14, 2024.

THE HAT

For this mini-contest, tell, show, or evoke a complete story between 25 and 50 words long in which a hat of some kind matters to the story. We’re going with the fairly traditional definition of “hat” for this one. Scarves, hijabs, earmuffs, wigs, hoods, and other head coverings do not qualify. I’m going to say that even helmets don’t qualify. Caps are okay; they’re an informal hat. The judges will not care if anyone wears the hat in the story, so that’s up to you.

Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern US time, Friday, May 3, 2024.

Publication: Winners will be published on or around Sunday, May 12, 2024, when the next contest launches.

Length: The story needs to be 25 to 50 words long.

Hyphenated Words: Words that are normally hyphenated, but generally considered one word, are considered one word for this contest. (Examples: “Twenty-three”, “Jack-o-lantern”, and “Father-in-law” are each one word.) However, stringing a bunch of words together with hyphens for artistic effect will result in each connected word being counted separately. (Example: “It was a get-out-of-my-way day.” That hyphenated phrase counts as five words.)

Prizes: First place pays $35, second pays $25, and third pays $15, all in US dollars. Honorable mentions get published, but make no money.

One entry per author. There is no fee for entering this contest.

To submit an entry, click the button below and follow the instructions. If you don’t already have a (free) Submittable account, you’ll be prompted to make one.

Submit Your Entry

 

 

By the way, please don’t give your mini-contest entry a title. We never publish titles for mini-contest entries, just the entries themselves.

If you have questions, ask us at Questions@OnThePremises.com.