BOMB Magazine 2025 Fiction Contest

BOMB Magazine is a not-for-profit quarterly publishing conversations between artists, writers, actors, directors & musicians since 1981. They are currently hosting our 2025 Fiction Contest. Manuscripts may contain no more than 5,000 words and must consist of a single work of short fiction.

Work must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but the organizer asks that you notify them if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

FAQ
If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it’s your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid
We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free.