Welcome back to the Summer Flash Showdown, where flash fiction writers from all corners of the internet harness their creative wit each week for the most fabulous of prizes. This week’s challenge marks the final preliminary battle before the Grand Prize Round, where each week’s previous victors will square off for the chance to win five Sundress titles of their choosing and publication on the blog!
This week, the stakes are even higher. Our guest judge will determine which winning author will be bestowed with the rare and prestigious responsibility…
OF NAMING THEIR OWN FIREFLY FARMS CHICKEN!
You’re welcome.
The honored judge who will determine the fate of this chicken’s dignity and send two writers to the final round is…
Adam Prince!
Born and raised in Southern California, Adam Prince has since lived in New York, South Korea, Arkansas, Nicaragua, Knoxville, Baltimore, and Charleston, Illinois. He received his M.F.A from the University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. His award-winning fiction has appeared in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and Narrative Magazine, among others. In 2011, Narrative Magazine named him one of the best twenty new writers. He is married to the poet Charlotte Pence and is currently at work on a novel. He served as the 2012-2013 Tickner Fellow at the Gilman School. His first book, a short story collection called The Beautiful Wishes of Ugly Men, is now available from Black Lawrence Press.
The Challenge: Punching Summer Time Clocks
With this challenge, we appreciate the sentiment of the reality of summer: that while some are at the beach bungalow, the amusement park, the bowling alley, or the sold-out concert, just as many are clocking into work to support these enterprises. We want to see the strain of a summer service job affecting your character(s); whether this happens in a positive or negative way, we leave up to you. Try to push past a lifeguard’s wanderlust for anywhere but the high perch and create a well-rounded identity. Bring us your dog walkers covered in muddy paw prints, and bring them brimming with attitude. Send the girl who refuses to wear roller-skates at the drive-in.
Don’t let the slave-to-the-grind tone detract from your effort to form a meaningful narrative! With that being said, this week’s summer job stories will have an extended word limit of 550 words to allow you to move past a narrowed, disenchanted perspective and out into greater revelations.
Please include a concise, publishable third person bio with your submission. Author pictures are also encouraged in case of publication. Send all stories to sundressflashsummer@gmail.com. RTF or DOCX file format preferred. Stories must be submitted by Monday, August 10th at midnight EST! Best of luck, and thank you for your work!