Since 2015 The Ghost Story has been hosting international English-language competitions for both full-length short stories and flash fiction that incorporates a supernatural theme or element. This biannual flash-fiction contest—The Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition—opens to online submissions on December 15, with a deadline of January 31.

The winner and two honorable mentions will be announced and published on February 14. Honorable mention winners also receive a $200 cash prize.

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.