Attention Teachers! 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.

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 February 2025

Last month we received 529 53-word stories from writers around the world!

"Bake Off" by Magdalena Naziemiec

Her favorite cookie was fussy but simple, elegant but understated, crispy but tender. She practiced folding the batter until it flowed like lava, but not so much that it deflated.

It was about pride in her technique, not winning first place. Still, she didn't expect to be bested by a boxed brownie mix.

~ ~ ~

53-Word Bio
Magdalena Naziemiec loves to bake as much as she loves to write, but is still working on her macaron technique. She is in the middle of moving 1000 miles with her boyfriend and is excited to trade highway traffic for hiking trails. She continues to dream of the day they get a corgi.

Editors’ Note
We congratulate Magdalena on becoming a two-time winner of the 53-Word Story Contest. Her first story, “Innovation,” won the October 2023 contest (prompt: a blend) and appeared in Issue 251, Jan-Apr 2024, of Prime Number Magazine. Her story was also selected for inclusion in our 53-word story anthology, What Dwells between the Lines.

Since Magdalena already has a copy of What Dwells between the Lines: Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction, she was asked to select another book from the Press 53 catalog. She selected Objects in This Mirror: An Anthology of Legacy, edited by Danielle Hanson and Julia Beach. Her story will appear on this page for the month of March and will be published in Issue 271 of Prime Number Magazine on May 1, 2025. Congratulations, Magdalena!

Read More of Our Winning Stories

But first, read your prompt for this month

Enter the 53-Word Story Contest for March 2025

Deadline is the 15th day of the month

Our Prompt for March: Three letters: R-U-N. Simple enough. We all know what it means. Or do we? Of course there is the obvious definition: “to go faster than a walk.” Did you know that there are over six hundred other definitions for “run”? And that is only if you use “run” as a verb. Surprise us!

Write a 53-word story about a run

The winner for March will receive a copy of What Are the Chances? Flash Fictions by Robert Scotellaro, and their 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.

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!