I'm Judging Fractured Lit's Ghost, Fable, and Fairytale Contest
I am so honored to be judging Fractured Lit’s Ghost, Fable, and Fairytale Contest! I hope you send something in! As of today’s talk story, the marginalized writers option for free submissions is still open.
Here are the details:
Ghost, Fable, and Fairy Tales Prize
AWARDING $3,500 + PUBLICATION
JUDGED BY
MELISSA LLANES BROWNLEE
February 16, 2026, to April 19, 2026
We invite writers to submit to the Fractured Lit Ghost, Fable, and Fractured Fairy Tales Prize from February 16, 2026, to April 19, 2026.
Fractured Lit is looking for stories of ghosts, fables, and fractured fairy tales in 1,000 words or fewer. Whichever tradition you choose, make sure you find a new way to approach it, to twist and discombobulate it, to push us away from the mundane and into the strange or uncanny. Transport us from the here and now to a new land of discovery, where specific characters take on unique challenges inspired by these tropes. This contest produces some of the most imaginative submissions each year, and we look forward to reading your creations!
Guest Judge Melissa Llanes Brownlee will choose three prize winners from a shortlist. We’re excited to offer the winner of this prize $3,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively. All entries will be considered for publication.
Good luck and happy writing!
Guest Judge: Melissa Llanes Brownlee
“Bring me home with you. Show me your ghosts: in your mother’s broken tea set, your father’s worn wallet, your sister’s half-eaten candy necklace. Or better yet, teach me the fables and fairy tales of your childhood, the ones that warn me to never stray from the path, that advise me to listen to my elders, that preach to me never trust a stranger. Send me into the dark with only a winking flashlight, a fluttering torch, a dying smartphone. Give me fear. Give me love. Keep me reading, and rereading, your labyrinth of sentences, of images, flashy lengths of strings to find my way.”
Here’s the link to Fractured Lit’s Submittable page!
I hope that you are well! Sending light, love and creativity.
