Attention Educators! If you are using the 53-Word Story Contest in your classroom, please send an email to our publisher at Kevin@Press53.com for a free copy of What Dwells between the Lines. We created this anthology especially for you!

Our FREE Monthly 53-Word Story Contest

It's free, it's fun; the winner gets published in Prime Number Magazine and receives a free book from Press 53. Be sure to subscribe to our email updates for free. You’ll receive an email on the first day of each month with our winning story and the prompt for our next contest.

Open to writers around the world who write in English

Congratulations to Our Winner for March 2025

Last month we received 488 53-word stories from writers around the world!

“Election Day” by Susan Prause

Jillian’s mouth falls agape, the empty ballot box looming large in front of her. The recount had confirmed George Hillman’s victory. A bet is a bet… She saunters toward him—his puckered lips protruding in the air—to concede the race for Fourth Grade Class President. The cooties, alone, will likely kill her.

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53-Word Bio
Susan Prause is thrilled to have her first short story publication in the 53-Word Story Contest. Susan works at a large academic health center in Minneapolis and is mom to an extraordinary fifteen-year-old and two very spoiled cats. Writing has long been a passion she is now ready to share with the world.

Editors’ Note
As our winner for March, Susan will receive a free copy of What Dwells between the Lines: Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction. Her story will appear on this page for the month of April and will be published in Issue 271 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2025. Congratulations, Susan, on winning with your first published story!

Read More of Our Winning Stories

But first, read your prompt for this month

Enter the 53-Word Story Contest for April 2025

Deadline is the 15th day of the month

Our Prompt for April: Meaning a blending of idioms, we get the word “malaphor” by combining “malapropism” and “metaphor.” To win this month, authors will want to make sure their stories stick out like a sore throat. We editors can’t wait to read through all the submissions, but we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

 Write a 53-word story about a slip

The winner for March will receive a copy of What Dwells between the Lines: Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction, and their story will appear on this page for the month of May and will be published in Issue 271 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2025.

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Please read our guidelines carefully

DEADLINE is the 15th day of the month
NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE!
Paste your story in the body of your email to 53wordstory@gmail.com

HINT: Each month, when we offer a new prompt, we introduce it with a short 53-word description that suggests several ways you might consider the prompt. Even the photo can offer a different way to look at it. What are we looking for? A story that surprises us in its approach to the prompt, something unusual and creative. The first idea that pops into your head probably popped into the heads of others too, so you might want to take another look at how your story can be different. Challenge yourself to find an unusual way to write a 53-word story about the prompt, and don’t think you have to use the prompt in your story, literally; implying the word works too. Surprise us! That’s what we are looking for.

Here’s how to enter (please read our guidelines carefully before sending us your story):

–Your story must be 53 words—no more, no less—titles are not included in the word count. Stories with fewer than or more than 53 words will be disqualified. Send only stories; poetry with line breaks will not be considered.
–There is no age limit. This is a FREE contest, so there is no age restriction.
–Be careful of word count. Hyphenated words count as one word. 
–Titles are not included in the word count. If your story is not titled, we will create a title for publication.
–One submission per person. 'Nough said.
–NO ATTACHMENTS! Paste your story into the body of your email. Stories sent as attachments, or images embedded in the email, will not be considered.
–By entering this contest the author grants Press 53 First Serial Rights to publish the story in Prime Number Magazine and to archive it permanently on our website. All other rights remain with the author.
–Email your story directly to 53wordstory@gmail.com by the 15th  day of the month, midnight Eastern Time. NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE!

Our judges for the 53-Word Story Contest are the editors of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine. Our winner for this month’s contest will receive a free book from Press 53, and the winning story will appear here on the 53-Word Story Contest page for the entirety of the month following the contest, and will also be published, along with the author’s *photo and 53-word bio, in the next issue of Prime Number Magazine.

(*we will request your photo and 53-word bio if your story is our winner, so be prepared!)

Available now!