Congrats to 2025 Elsewhere Prize Winners: David Ryan and Megan Lui!

[Fractured Lit]

Submit to the Ghost, Fable, and Fairy Tales Prize, Awarding $3,500!‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­‌   ­

One of the things I love about spring as a writer is that I’ve often attended a conference or two and have hung out with other writers for a bit, and it reminds me of why I love to write, why I love to read, and why I love to find the best flash fiction in the world to publish at Fractured Lit! So whatever motivation and inspiration you can find, in the greening grass in the warmer temperatures, or the call of the birds, I hope you have a fruitful and productive second quarter of 2026! The best way to know a bit about what a literary magazine wants in its queue is to read widely through its archive. We love every story that we publish, and we hope you find something to love as well as you consider Fractured for the home of your writing, too! And don’t forget our microfiction! We have so many opportunities for writers to submit to, including our contests as well as our always-open, always-free regular queue that also pays writers for the right to publish their work! Our current contest of the year is one of my personal favorites: our Ghost, Fable, and Fairy Tale Prize, which Guest Judge Melissa Llanes Brownlee will choose three winners for, with a total payout of $3500.  Next, we’re excited to announce a new challenge: the Ekphrastic Hopper Challenge. Here, we want writers to be inspired to create stories ripped from the canvases of their favorite Edward Hopper paintings, a personal favorite of mine! This will be followed by our ever-popular Flash Fiction OPEN, with one grand prize winner and 15 finalists! Definitely bookmark our calendar page so that you can keep track of all of our deadlines! We’re committed to continuing our industry-leading first prize-winning payouts in 2026!  We find value in the pursuit of writing craft, of having fun, playing with words and sequences until they form inspiring and surprising narratives. We hope that you will continue to find time to write, to pursue your art, and to share it with us when it is ready! Tommy Dean, Editor in Chief ­ OPEN: Ghost, Fable, and Fairy Tales Prize We invite writers to submit to the Fractured Lit Ghost, Fable, and Fractured Fairy Tales Prize from February 16, 2026, to April 19, 2026.   Fractured Lit is looking for stories of ghosts, fables, and fractured fairy tales in 1,000 words or fewer. Whichever tradition you choose, make sure you find a new way to approach it, to twist and discombobulate it, to push us away from the mundane and into the strange or uncanny. Transport us from the here and now to a new land of discovery, where specific characters take on unique challenges inspired by these tropes. This contest produces some of the most imaginative submissions each year, and we look forward to reading your creations! Guest Judge Melissa Llanes Brownlee will choose three prize winners from a shortlist. We’re excited to offer the winner of this prize $3,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively. All entries will be considered for publication. Good luck and happy writing! ­ Submit Now ­ Add to Calendar ­ ­ New Flash Fiction Hypnagogia by David Ryan You’re moving through the lasts. When you lived for a time with farmers in the northern country. You and your wife and daughter had a little room above a cottage beside one of the barns that had begun to buckle like a foal. A wooden bucket in the barn opened like a flower, oiled tool stamens, thick rats scaling wall shadows; pigs rooted, floating behind split elm boards. ­ Read It New Flash Fiction Rock Dove by Megan Lui The pigeon first flew to me the same morning that a stranger found my grandfather melting into the midsummer pavement in a mirage of dementia. My mother texted me that his hospital room had sealed windows facing a brick wall and was daubed with longitudinal streaks of bird droppings. She sent a video of him. ­ Read It Learn More › New Flash Fiction Something in the Water by Jessica Klimesh When all three of the neighbor girls became pregnant at the same time, my mother gave me a stern look and said, “There’s something in the water, Mabel.” I only guessed from her tone and from what my teacher called “context clues” what she meant. Because it seemed that everyone was pregnant. And when I say everyone, I’m talking grandmothers, too. Even a man at church. ­ Read It Be sure to keep up with our Instagram for the latest author readings and writing advice on Fractured Lit. Listen to writer Greg Tebbano as he reads an excerpt of his piece "Portable Television." Check out his website at www.gregtebbano.com and his Instagram  @kiteperson. ­ FOLLOW INSTAGRAM ­ FOLLOW THREADS Dialogue has a way of adding extra energy to a scene, and especially a story in the flash form, because there isn’t much page/time to convey all of these craft elements, only so many words to make a dynamic impact on the main character, and therefore the story at large. Give these characters their best lines, their best ways of revealing themselves in subtle but exciting ways that impact the story. Learn More › ­ Send us your stories ­ Submit Your Work ­ con...@fracturedlit.com 70 SW Century Drive, Suite 100442  97702,Bend ­ ­ ­ Unsubscribe