THE VIRTUE OF finishing a story in a 1,000 words or fewer is the way attention becomes microscopic: pointing toward a gesture, facial expression, or action that in the hubbub of a longer work might be a mere background detail, remarked on but not noticed. The editors look for writing that wrangles the expressive features of prose & verse. A good quite short story may deploy the recognizable point-of-view & informational detail of fiction, with a poem’s ephemerality & forceful diction & rhythm.

We accept multiple & simultaneous submissions.

Also looking for submissions of original translations. These stories should also hew to the 1,000-word limit, & be accompanied by a copy of the source text & that text’s date of original publication.

Send $3.00 with each story. All stories submitted for the award will be considered for publication. The winner, selected by our editors to receive $300, will be announced in December 2009.