Not Quite Write Prize Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ relates to our regular quarterly competition, the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction. Frequently Asked Questions about our erotic fiction competition, the Not Quite Write Prize for FLESH Fiction (also known as FLESH Fiction), can be found at https://notquitewritepodcast.com/fleshfiction/faq/
The Not Quite Write Prize is a quarterly flash fiction writing competition, with rounds commencing in January, April, July and October. Relevant dates are shown below.
It is your sole responsibility to mark relevant dates and times in your calendar, noting the time zone, and ensure that you have all the information necessary to enter the competition before the deadline.
We reserve the right to modify any of these planned dates at our discretion.
Unless otherwise specified, all dates and times associated with the competition are based on Sydney, Australia time (AEST or AEDT as applicable).
2026 Rounds
Round 1 January 2026
| Prompts released | Midday Friday 23 January 2026 AEDT |
| Deadline for entry | Midnight Sunday 25 January 2026 AEDT |
| Judging window | 26 January 2026 – 8 March 2026 AEDT |
| Results announced | Before 5PM Sunday 8 March 2026 AEDT |
Round 2 April 2026
| Prompts released | Midday Friday 24 April 2026 AEST |
| Deadline for entry | Midnight Sunday 26 April 2026 AEST |
| Judging window | 27 April 2026 – 7 June 2026 AEST |
| Results announced | Before 5PM Sunday 7 June 2026 AEST |
Round 3 July 2026
| Prompts released | Midday Friday 24 July 2026 AEST |
| Deadline for entry | Midnight Sunday 26 July 2026 AEST |
| Judging window | 27 July 2026 – 6 September 2026 AEST |
| Results announced | Before 5PM Sunday 6 September 2026 AEST |
Round 4 October 2026
| Prompts released | Midday Friday 23 October 2026 AEDT |
| Deadline for entry | Midnight Sunday 25 October 2026 AEDT |
| Judging window | 26 October 2026 – 6 December 2026 AEDT |
| Results announced | Before 5PM Sunday 6 December 2026 AEDT |
Where are the prompts?
We will email the prompts to all ticketholders when the competition begins, so we recommend adding the domains notquitewritepodcast.com and notquitewrite.com to your safe senders list. You can also find the prompts in the ‘Announcements’ section of the Lounge (you may need to scroll down to find it). You will need to be logged in to our website to access the Lounge.
Word count problems
Our word counter uses spaces to count words, so hyphenated words will be counted as one word, but standalone punctuation – like spaced en dashes – will also be counted as words. The official word count may therefore differ from the word count you see in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and other writing tools.
If you find that there is a large discrepancy with your word count, try pasting it into the entry form as plain text and add any formatting within the form itself.
The official word count is determined by the entry form. We highly recommend checking your entry for completeness before submitting. If necessary, you may need to edit your story to meet the required word count.
Difficulty accessing the website or logging in
We find that many problems can be resolved by clearing your cache (via your web browser’s History settings) or accessing the website using an incognito window.
If the deadline is approaching and you are experiencing technical difficulties, please don’t panic. Simply email us before the deadline and await further instructions from us. Provided we receive your email request before the deadline, we should be able to include your entry for judging. DO NOT attach or otherwise identify the title or content of your story in your email. Note that we may exclude identifiable entries from consideration for monetary prizes if we believe it will impact fairness.
Other
If you are still experiencing a technical problem, email us at contact@notquitewrite.com and we will assist.
Flash fiction is a very short form of storytelling, typically limited to 1,500 words or fewer. The category is defined by its concise word count rather than by genre or narrative style.
Anyone in the world can enter the competition, however we ask that entrants under 18 years of age seek parent/guardian permission to enter. Parents and guardians should note that entries are not censored, and young entrants may be exposed to themes and language deemed inappropriate for their age. Entry is subject to a fee.
Because judging is blind, the competition remains open to friends and family of the judges. Immediate family and household members of the judges and assistant judges will not be eligible for monetary prizes.
You don’t need to have any specific skills or experience to enter this competition beyond the ability to write in the English language. Flash fiction offers the opportunity for all people to freely express their creativity. This competition is unique in that it offers open critique via the podcast, meaning all participants have the chance to gain from the experience regardless of whether they win.
We warmly welcome newbies to enter, and we wish you well in your new unhealthy addiction to flash fiction competitions!
Ticket sales for the upcoming/current round of the competition will open immediately after the previous round closes. You may purchase a ticket to enter a current round of the competition at any time before the deadline. In addition to entry to the competition, your ticket grants you access to the exclusive Not Quite Write Participant Lounge and Community.
You must log in to submit your entry using the entry form in the Participant Lounge. The entry form will be available to current ticket holders only within the competition window (from the release of the prompts until the deadline). Email entries will not be accepted.
It is your sole responsibility to ensure we receive your entry by the deadline.
The entry form will ask you for some basic personal information as well as a pen name if you use one. You will also have the option to briefly explain your approach to the prompts, should you feel the need to do so.
The judges will only access information entered in the Title, Entry, and Brief Explanation fields during the judging window. For this reason, you must not include any information in these fields which could reasonably identify you as the entrant. This includes characters, themes and settings that may identify a writer known to the judges. We may exclude identifiable entries from consideration for monetary prizes if we believe it will impact fairness.
All entrants must accept the Competition Rules before submitting their entry.
There is a total prize pool of AU$4,000 up for grabs in each round of the competition.
- 1st place
2nd place
3rd place
4th place
5th place
6th place
Wildcard
Wildcard
- AU$1,500 and a trophy
AU$1,000
AU$500
AU$350
AU$250
AU$200
AU$100
AU$100
Entries from both Teams will be judged together in a single prize pool, resulting in one longlist (top 40 stories overall), shortlist (top 6 stories overall), and winner.
The shortlisted stories will receive a cash prize, and the overall winner will receive a cash prize and a trophy. Each judge will also award one wildcard prize in recognition of a story from their Team which impressed them in some way. Assistant judges may also award a wildcard prize to a member of either Team.
In addition to receiving cash prizes, the shortlisted and winning stories will feature in a dramatised reading on the Not Quite Write podcast and in the Not Quite Write Prize anthology. More information about publication opportunities and rights can be found in the competition rules.
NEW IN 2026!
We will assign points to each Team based on the following scoring system to determine the Winning Team:
1 point = Longlisting
2 points = Shortlisting
3 points = Win
Note: This is the same scoring system used to determine placings on our Community leaderboard.
All members of the Winning Team who did not receive a cash prize will then be entered into a “Winning Team Prize Draw”. The prize will vary between rounds and may include free entry, critique upgrades, merch, books, or other items of value.
Winning and shortlisted entries are published in the Honour Roll on our website and read aloud on the podcast.
In accordance with the competition rules, if you win a cash prize, you also agree to assign Non-Exclusive Worldwide English Language rights to us in exchange for this prize. This means you assign to us the right to publish your story. Woohoo!
It’s our intention to publish an anthology of winning and shortlisted stories each year via our imprint, Not Quite Write Press. If you win or shortlist, we will contact you for a brief biography as well as some other information to accompany your entry.
Once published, the anthology will be made available for public sale on our website. All contributing authors will receive a free PDF version of the anthology.
We’re very excited to offer our talented authors the opportunity to see their stories in print!
Ed and Amanda will award a wildcard prize to an entry from their respective Team which was not selected for the shortlist. The possible reasons for awarding a wildcard prize are unlimited, and the reasons will be determined during the judging window in response to the entries received.
Past reasons for awarding wildcard prizes include very narrowly missing the shortlist, a clever prompt interpretation, and delivering “all-time favourite” character names.
We may choose to invite assistant judges to award their own wildcard prize to a member of either Team.
At this stage, we do not intend to publish wildcard winning stories.
Yes. Your entry may contain fewer than, but no more than, 500 words. The official word count is determined by the entry form.
Your title is not included in the word count.
Our word counter uses spaces to count words, so hyphenated words will be counted as one word, but standalone punctuation – like spaced en dashes – will also be counted as words. The official word count may therefore differ from the word count you see in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and other writing tools.
If you find that there is a large discrepancy with your word count, try pasting it into the entry form as plain text and add any formatting within the form itself.
Note that stories which exceed our word count will be truncated. We highly recommend checking your entry for completeness before submitting.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties relating to the word count, check the ‘Common technical problems’ section, above.
Put simply, you will choose between two sets of prompts and write and submit a 500-word story based on your chosen set of prompts.
You must choose ONE set of prompts (EITHER the Team Ed prompts OR Team Amanda prompts) and write a story in response to those prompts. You will be required to nominate your chosen Team in the submission form, and your submitted entry must demonstrate that you have addressed ALL THREE of your Team’s prompts.
Each Team’s set of prompts will follow this structure:
- Word prompt: You will be given a word which must appear somewhere in the main body of your story. You must use the word in full, with no spaces or interrupting punctuation, however you may include it within a longer word provided you retain the original spelling. For example, if the word were “ice,” we would accept “iced,” “splice” and “jaundice” but we would not accept “icicle”, “icy” or “I.C.E.”
- Action prompt: You will be given an action which must feature in your story. you don’t need to use the exact wording we use, and you can feature the action prominently or as an aside. The action can happen before the beginning of your story or after it ends provided you reference it directly or by clear implication somewhere in your story or its title.
- The “Kicker”: You will be given one prompt known as the “Kicker”. The Kicker will vary between rounds and could be anything—from a challenge to adopt a particular setting for the story, to a challenge to include a song lyric. More information about how to address the Kicker will be provided at the start of each round.
Provided you meet the above criteria, you can interpret these prompts in whatever creative way you see fit. The judges will consider all entries written “in the spirit of” the prompts. If you’d like to, you can explain your interpretation of the prompts in the Brief Explanation field in the entry form.
Each round, the prompts will be aligned to a central theme and accompanied by an artwork. The theme and associated artwork are NOT prompts and do NOT need to feature in your story.
If you’re concerned about your approach to any of the prompts, we highly recommend jumping into our online Community to discuss your idea with your fellow competitors – they’re a helpful bunch!
Your entry must be written in response to ALL THREE of your chosen Team’s prompts. Entries which do not address all three prompts will be excluded from consideration at the judges’ sole discretion.
Each round, the prompts will be aligned to a theme and accompanied by an artwork. The theme and associated artwork are NOT prompts and do NOT need to feature in your story.
Each Team’s prompts will include one prompt known as the “Kicker”. The Kicker will vary between rounds and could be anything—from a challenge to adopt a particular setting for the story, to a challenge to include a song lyric. We’ll provide more information about how to approach the Kicker at the start of each round.
The Kicker is designed to spark creativity, so we welcome creative, out-of-the-box interpretations along with the more straightforward interpretations.
If you’re concerned about your approach to any of the prompts, we highly recommend jumping into our online Community to discuss your idea with your fellow competitors – they’re a helpful bunch!
At the commencement of each round of the competition, we will email the prompts to current ticket holders and publish them in the Participant Lounge.
We highly recommend adding the domains notquitewritepodcast.com and notquitewrite.com to your email safe senders list so you don’t miss any communications from us.
We love a bit of competition here at Not Quite Write, and your judges, Ed and Amanda, want in on the action! That’s why we’ve adopted a new Team-based prompt format, forcing you to choose between us…
Put simply, you will choose between two sets of prompts and write and submit a 500-word story based on your chosen set of prompts.
Our goal will be to lure you onto our respective Teams with our prompts. While you compete for the Prize, we’ll compete against each other to see whose prompts inspire the biggest Team and the best stories!
Regardless of which Team you choose, all entrants will compete together in a single prize pool, resulting in one overall longlist, shortlist and winner. We will assign points to each Team based on the following scoring system to determine the Winning Team:
1 point = Longlisting
2 points = Shortlisting
3 points = Win
All members of the Winning Team who did not receive a cash prize will then be entered into a “Winning Team Prize Draw”. The prize will vary between rounds and may include free tickets for the Not Quite Write Prize, Not Quite Write merch, or other items of value.
Regardless of which Team you choose, all entrants will compete together in a single prize pool, resulting in one overall longlist, shortlist and winner.
Entries must adhere to the word limit and address all three of their chosen Team’s prompts to be eligible for consideration. Beyond this, the judging process is entirely subjective and is not based on a specific rubric.
The competition is judged blind by the hosts of the Not Quite Write podcast, Ed and Amanda. Where entry numbers exceed our capacity, we may engage the services of an additional assistant judge or judges to help narrow down the pool of entries to be considered. Ultimately, all final decisions regarding the longlist, shortlist and winner will rest with Ed and Amanda.
The Participant Lounge is an exclusive online space available to ticket holders and acts as your portal to the Community forum and competition entry form. From time-to-time, the Participant Lounge may also provide access to exclusive content and discounts.
Access to the Participant Lounge begins as soon as you purchase your ticket and continues into future rounds regardless of whether you purchase a ticket for those rounds. You will need to log in to the website to access the Participant Lounge. We reserve the right to modify access at any time without notice.
Note that access to the competition entry form is restricted to ticket holders for the current round.
The Not Quite Write Community is an exclusive online forum for members to share work, give and receive feedback on their writing, and chat with other entrants.
Current ticket holders also have access to the Community archive from previous rounds.
Not Quite Write is a business, and this competition would not be possible without your financial contribution.
In addition to the prize money, there are many hidden costs associated with running a competition. Think of it like a fun run: it’s free to run around town but, if you’d like to participate in the event, you need to contribute to the costs of hosting it, regardless of whether you win a prize at the end.
This competition is unique in that it offers open critique and general advice via the podcast, meaning all participants have the chance to gain from the experience regardless of whether they win a cash prize.
If you’re concerned about the cost of entry, we recommend choosing one of the many free competitions available online. We also invite you to listen to the podcast and access the free resources on our website.
Absolutely! We support writerly peer pressure.
Yes. Refer to our Refund Policy for details about how and when we offer refunds.
We do not currently offer fee waivers. Not Quite Write is a small business, and your entry fee helps offset the substantial running costs of the competition.
We occasionally run competitions to win free entry. We recommend following us on social media and joining our mailing list to be notified about these opportunities.
If you’re interested in sponsoring a place for writers experiencing financial hardship, please contact us. Our contact details appear at the end of this FAQ.
Yes. We welcome you to email us in advance of the competition to determine reasonable accommodation for a relevant disability.
To be considered reasonable, any accommodations must allow for us to consider your entry without being able to identify you. For this reason, we will likely be unable to offer accommodations after the deadline has passed.
The competition closes at midnight, Sydney Australia time (AEST or AEDT as applicable), however entrants who are already in the submission form by midnight are offered a few minutes’ grace to finalise their submission.
Late entries will not be accepted except in the event of a technology failure on the part of Not Quite Write and at our sole discretion.
Unfortunately, we cannot consider entries received after the deadline unless agreed as a reasonable accommodation for a relevant disability. The only exception to this would be in the event of some catastrophic technical failure on our part (for example, the website being offline for an extended period during the competition window). In that case, we reserve the right to extend the deadline for all entrants. We cannot, however, accommodate late entries for reasons outside our control.
We strongly recommend allowing yourself enough time to account for any last-minute technical difficulties. It is your sole responsibility to ensure we receive your entry via the entry form by the deadline. This extends to ensuring you are aware of the correct time difference relevant to your respective time zone. We note that Sydney time is ahead of most time zones in the world.
If the deadline is approaching and you are experiencing technical difficulties logging on or submitting your entry, please don’t panic. Simply email us before the deadline and await further instructions from us. DO NOT attach or otherwise identify the title or content of your story in your email. Provided we receive your email request before the deadline, we should be able to include your entry for judging.
Our contact details appear at the end of this FAQ.
If you still have time before the deadline, you may resubmit your entry within the competition window using the word RESUBMITTING before the title in the Title field. We will accept your most recent entry.
If you’ve missed the deadline, don’t fret. We’ve all been there, and a typo won’t rule your entry out of consideration. If you win a cash prize, we may fix the typo before publishing your entry.
If you’re having trouble with the entry form, or if you would like more information about how your entry will look to the judges, we recommend reading the article How to Format your Not Quite Write Prize Entry. This article covers some of the common issues our users have experienced with the entry form.
No. Your entry must be written substantially in the English language to allow us to judge it effectively. You may use words and phrases from other languages provided the meaning is clear in the context of your entry.
No. Provided your entry is substantially in the English language, alternative spellings are acceptable. The competition is judged by Australians who are accustomed to reading a mix of Australian, British and American English.
Fuck oath. Sometimes there’s just no better option.
Yes. There is no limit to your creativity beyond the judging criteria, and the judges do not require content warnings.
Yes. There is no limit to your creativity beyond the judging criteria, and the judges do not require content warnings.
Yes. There is no limit to your creativity beyond the judging criteria. Ultimately, your goal should be to tell the best story possible.
In the interests of transparency, the judges have publicly expressed their bias against rhyming stories and ‘hermit crab’ fiction when used as a crutch to disguise lacklustre storytelling.
We nevertheless encourage you to honour your own creative expression and challenge these biases. It is worth noting that well-executed non-traditional pieces have placed highly in previous rounds of the competition.
Your Entry Ticket is linked to your email address and entitles you to a single entry to the current round of the Not Quite Write Prize.
If you wish to enter more than once, you will need to purchase separate tickets linked to different email addresses.
Yes. Provided the ‘someone else’ is another human being (or human beings) and not A.I., we welcome you to submit a joint entry. You will need to choose one person to be the main contact and recipient of any prize money, however you may enter all authors’ names in the Pen Name field. You should only submit the entry once.
We encourage you to share your story privately with others during the competition window for the purpose of giving and receiving feedback (also known as “beta reading”). This includes sharing on the Not Quite Write Community.
You may not publish or discuss any part of your entry (including the title, extracts or key themes) on any public platform until after the final results are announced. This is to preserve the integrity of the blind judging process.
When discussing the competition on social media during the competition window and judging window, we invite you to use the hashtag #NotQuiteWritePrize. Make sure that you do not disclose or hint at any detail that would allow the judges to identify your entry.
Note that we may exclude identifiable entries from consideration for monetary prizes if we believe it will impact fairness.
Yes! However, you must wait until the results are announced to preserve the integrity of the blind judging process.
Even if your story doesn’t win or list, it may gain a new lease on life outside the competition. We strongly encourage you to publish your entries on your personal websites or blogs and to seek publication across a range of paid and unpaid markets.
If you end up finding a forever home for a Not Quite Write Prize entry, let us know! We’d love to share the news of your success with our followers.
If you win a cash prize, you will assign to us Non-Exclusive Worldwide English Language rights including print, electronic and audio rights in exchange for this prize. This is to allow us to publish your entry in a Not Quite Write Prize anthology and possible other works.
As the assigned rights are non-exclusive, all entrants retain the right to publish their entries elsewhere, including paid markets, after the results are announced. More information about rights and publication can be found in the competition rules.
At Not Quite Write, we welcome our new A.I. overlords. Having said that, this competition rewards human talent, not technological prowess. We recognise that A.I. tools have a place in researching and workshopping ideas as well as editing of grammar and basic syntax, so we allow you to use the available technology in this way. However, by entering this competition, you agree that your work is your own creation and not generated in whole or part by A.I. or similar means.
Entrants proven to have generated any part of their entry by A.I. or similar means will be disqualified and forfeit their entry fee and any prize money. Where A.I. usage has resulted in a financial loss or reputational damage for Not Quite Write, we may elect to pursue legal remedies.
No. Listeners to the podcast may have the advantage of additional or early information however it is not essential to listen to the podcast to enter and win the competition. Relevant details will be published on our website and communicated via email and on social media.
We encourage all entrants to follow us on social media for news and updates, promotional campaigns, live judging tweets, and Twitter beefs. Our social media contacts are available in our website footer.
For official updates and reminders, we strongly advise those interested to register for email updates.
If you have a question about the Not Quite Write Prize, please check this F.A.Q. and the Competition Rules before contacting us.
We welcome your feedback to make this competition the best it can be. You can email us at contact@notquitewrite.com. When discussing the competition, DO NOT attach or otherwise identify the title or content of your story in your email. Note that we may exclude identifiable entries from consideration for monetary prizes if we believe it will impact fairness.