Mark your calendars – on June 4, our next round of Flash 405 will open for submissions! Our Flash 405 writing contest is a celebration of short-form narratives, accepting work in multiple genres, from prose to poetry to hybrid and experimental forms. This round, we are looking for flash work inspired by the theme “Persona.” The theme was chosen by Expo Associate Editor Madeline Grimm, who will be serving as judge for our June contest!
Learn more about Madeline and this month’s contest theme:
– June 2024 Round –
The Judge: Madeline Grimm
Madeline Grimm is a writer and editor based in New York. She joined Exposition Review as an associate editor in 2020. Her work has been published in Lapham’s Quarterly and The Drift, and you can find her on social @MadelineGrimm.
The Theme: Persona
From Madeline:
“A persona is an image you craft for others: your friends, family, and lovers; the strangers you encounter online or in person. Every writer creates different personas on the page, a range of literary alter egos that tell their stories.
Tell me about the personas you’ve been trying on, playing with, rejecting. Wearing a mask can be oppressive or give us the freedom to explore and experiment (think Ziggy Stardust and online avatars). I want stories about shifting identities and self-fashioning, the personas that help you lie and those that let you speak the truth.”
Before submitting, we encourage you to read the full guidelines, which can be found on our Submittable page (linked below), and check out past contests and winners here.
Good luck!
– Submissions open June 4–July 5, 2024 –
Photo by Maria Lupan