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 2024
Last month we received 482 53-word stories from writers around the world!
Photo by urtimud, licensed through Pexels
Our Prompt for March was: John Philip Sousa died this month in 1932. He lived a life dedicated to music and military service, first joining the U.S. Marine Corps as an apprentice at age 13. The sousaphone that bears his name was created under his direction and has been echoing off streets, fields, and parade grounds since 1893.
Write a 53-word story about a march
“Tactics” by Steve Nathans
An hour of ultimatums had failed. Desperate, they marched up the stairs in lock step, tooting invisible trombones. The child smiled through tears and ran to bring up the rear. Although they had won the battle, they knew they lost the war, for their little soldier would be short on shuteye come morning.
~ ~ ~
53-Word Bio
Steve is an advertising copywriter living in Miami who’s used to working with word counts and briefs. In fact, the only thing that made this contest not feel like work was not having a marketing client second-guess what he wrote. Oh, and the not being paid part. But hey, money isn’t everything, right?
As our winner, Steve will receive a copy of Damn Sure Right by Meg Pokrass. His story will appear on this page for the month of April and will be published in Issue 257 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2024. Congratulations, Steve!
Read More of Our Winning Stories
But first, read your prompt for this month
Enter the 53-Word Story Contest for April 2024
Photo “Two bands” royalty free from pxhere.com
Our Prompt for April: Of the many collective nouns used for animals—crash, herd, conspiracy, business, murder, prickle, fever, shiver, and galaxy, to name a few—one obvious one seems to be missing. Humans use it often in unifying places: marriages, people, music, colors and striations, even machinery, and anything else we need just a bit tighter.
Write a 53-word story about a band
The winner for April will receive a free copy of Instructions for My Imposter by Kathleen McGookey, and their story will appear on this page for the month of May and will be published in Issue 257 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2024.
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. Since this is a free contest, there are no age restrictions.
–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.
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!)