Take a look at our first-ever
53-Word Story Contest Anthology!
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 December 2024
Last month we received 466 53-word stories from writers around the world!
Image by Mike Chai licensed through Pexels
Our Prompt for December was: We had a brief encounter with disaster. We very nearly repeated a prompt; discovered only after combing the story archives. Those unoriginal words were dismissed with a swipe—something about scrub vegetation. We’ll forget about our momentary contact with the stale past and freshen ourselves on the straight and narrow. That was close.
Write a 53-word story about a brush
“I Still Find Them” by Justine Busto
Golden hairs—in the vacuum’s bristles. Work my fingers through to pull out knots of my own hair, skin flakes, dust. Search for short, straight strands. Admire their years-long persistence. Take the filthy cloud outside to let go. What was once a chore—dog shed—now treasured gold, floating free in the breeze.
~ ~ ~
53-Word Bio
Justine Busto doesn’t like vacuuming, but appreciates the meditative quality of housework—how stories can arrive, even in dusty corners, if you pay attention. She is writing a novel-in-stories set in a 1930s era apartment building in her hometown, Charlotte, North Carolina. You can read more about her and her work at justinebusto.com
As our winner, Justine will receive a copy of What Dwells between the Lines: Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction. Justine’s story will appear on this page for the month of January and will be published in Issue 269 of Prime Number Magazine Jan-Apr 2025. Congratulations, Justine!
Read More of Our Winning Stories
But first, read your prompt for this month
Enter the 53-Word Story Contest for January 2025
Deadline is the 15th day of the month
Image by Omer Gulen licensed through Pexels
Our Prompt for January: Today in 1923, American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson was born. He played from age sixteen until his death in 1999. The list of notable vibraphonists is relatively short, so, today especially, we appreciate the resolve to pursue a passion. Like jazz, you can never be quite sure where it will take you next.
Write a 53-word story about a craft
The winner for January 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, and their story will appear on this page for the month of February and will be published in Issue 271 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2025. Note: If our winner already has What Dwells between the Lines, we will send a different Press 53 book.
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!
Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction
edited by Kevin Morgan Watson, Claire V. Foxx, Christopher Forrest, and Ella Watson
ISBN 978-1-950413-81-2
8 x 5.25 inch softcover, 82 pages