Call for Entries: Flash 405, August 2021: "House Party"

When it comes to rounding out our Flash 405 season this year, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with, well, a party theme. As we prepare for a new season at Expo and celebrate seasons past, Barrelhouse fiction editor Christopher Gonzalez knows how to kick off the festivities with the theme “House Party” for our August Flash 405 contest.

Entries for this round will be accepted until September 5, 2021 via Submittable. We also encourage you to visit our Flash 405 page where you will find the full guidelines and can read past contest winners.

Read on to learn more about this month’s contest:

– August 2021 Round –

The Judge: Christopher Gonzalez

Christopher Gonzalez is the author of the forthcoming story collection I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat. A 2021 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction, his writing has appeared in the Nation, Catapult, Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, Forward: 21st Century Flash Fiction, and elsewhere. He serves as a fiction editor at Barrelhouse and lives in Brooklyn, NY, but mostly on Twitter @livesinpages.

The Theme: House Party

From Christopher:

“Take me to your best friend’s house, the band Grouplove sings in their 2011 smash-hit “Tongue Tied.” Roll around this roundabout. Oh yeah…

Take me to a house party. Bodies and sweat, all that hazy potential, against the steady thump of that year’s song of the summer. Lead me to the bathroom where you helped your best friend snap a thirst trap they could post on their Instagram story. Let’s go to the kitchen where your aunt and cousin got into a heated argument after months of not talking. Let’s kick it in the backyard where all the uncles and cousins play dominoes on a folding card table and sneak beer from the cooler and smoke way too many cigarettes while we talk about how great it is that we’re getting out of here. Or take me on a joy ride— pack me into a backseat with five other people I’ll never see again. Give me a night that feels like the last one ever.”

Ready to start writing? Please reach out to expositionreview@gmail.com with any questions.

Good luck!

– Submissions open from August 4–September 5, 2021 –

Photo Credit: Photo by Samantha Gades.