Small. Brightly colored. Deadly to the touch.
The Blue Frog
What is The Blue Frog?
Born out of celebration for our first birthday, The Blue Frog is Flash Frog’s annual flash fiction contest. Each year the contest features a theme based on what type of stories we would have liked to have seen more of in the past year. The Blue Frog awards a total of $700 in prize money as well as signed books and original art!
2023 Theme: “The Surreal”
We want to see those stories where the real world blends seamlessly with the uncanny, the absurd, the unbelievable. Oftentimes, this blurring of the real and the magical can reveal stronger truths than those stories existing only within the confines of reality.
And as always, we want the theme to be inspiring, not limiting. We are open to your interpretation of “the surreal.”
When?
Contest submissions are open from January 1st – 31st.
Finalists are announced in mid February. Winners are announced in early March.
Rules
Prizes
1st Place: $500, publication in Flash Frog, signed copy of the Guest Judge’s book, and the original painting that accompanies your story.
2nd Place: $150, publication in Flash Frog, signed copy of the Guest Judge’s book, and the original painting that accompanies your story.
3rd Place: $50, publication in Flash Frog, signed copy of the Guest Judge’s book, and the original painting that accompanies your story.
Guest Judge: Aimee Bender
Aimee Bender is the author of six books of fiction, the most recent being The Butterfly Lampshade, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Award. She lives in Los Angeles, and teaches creative writing at USC. http://aimeebender.com/
Guest Artist: Daegan Lunsford
Daegan Lunsford is a Toronto-based fine artist and curator. His work often explores aspects of traditional Americana and his own memories. His artworks are most often created using paint mediums such as gouache or acrylic, but he has also created significant projects using short video, new media and photography. He is currently the chief curator at the Corridor Gallery in Toronto, Ontario, and has been selling his own artwork to independent collectors since 2019. He has been illustrating for Flash Frog since May 2021, and hopes to continue for many more years to come. https://daeganlunsford.com/
Entry Fee
$5 per story.
How to Submit
**Please read all Contest Rules before submitting.**
SIMPLE TWO STEP PROCESS:
You will receive an email confirmation within 24 hours of both items being received.
Contest Submission Fee
$5.00
Other Things to Know
2022 Winners
1st Place: “Press 3 for Random Track” by Dri Chiu Tattersfield
2nd Place: “Alligator Girls” by María Alejandra Barrios
3rd Place: “Why I Say We’re Cousins” by Shih-Li Kow
Finalists
Kathryn Aldridge-Morris
Eleonora Balsano
Rodney Evans
Rosie Garland
Sara Hills
Shareen K. Murayama
Hema Nataraju
Bayveen O’Connell
Maria Poulatha
Pip Robertson
Cherry Lou Sy
2022 Theme: “Around the World”
2022 Guest Judge: Tara Isabel Zambrano
2022 Guest Artist: Rob Kaniuk