International Micro Fiction Writing Contest 2026 with a USD 1,000 Prize

SmokeLong Quarterly announces the SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2026 (The Mikey), an international writing competition dedicated to micro fiction and very short creative writing.

The contest is open to writers from around the world and accepts fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid narrative works, with each entry limited to 250 words, excluding the title. Both previously published and unpublished works are eligible, giving writers the opportunity to submit short pieces that may have appeared elsewhere before.

Entries may be originally written in English or in any other language, including Arabic, provided that an English translation is included. Judging is based on the English version. For translated works, the writer and translator share the prize equally if the entry wins.

Accepted Works

The contest accepts:

• Micro fiction.
• Micro creative nonfiction.
• Hybrid narrative works.
• Works with poetic elements that retain a narrative component.
• Previously published works.
• Unpublished works.
• Works translated from other languages into English.

Submission Requirements

Each submission must follow these requirements:

• Maximum length of 250 words, excluding the title.
• Use a clear, dark, readable font.
• Either single or double spacing is acceptable.
• The writer’s name must be removed from the manuscript, filename, headers, and footers.
• Entries are judged anonymously.
• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but the work must be withdrawn if accepted for publication elsewhere.
• Works previously published in SmokeLong Quarterly itself are not eligible for the contest.