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    • ArticlesA collection of articles and miscellany.
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  • Short Story Competition1500 words max. Deadlines : – Jan | Apr | Jul | Oct
    • Rules – Short Story
    • Enter – Short Story
    • Lists & Winners
  • Flash Fiction Competition500 words max. Deadlines : – Feb | May | Aug | Nov
    • Rules – Flash Fiction
    • Enter – Flash Fiction
    • Flash Lists & Winners
  • Writing Prompt Competition700-1000 words. Deadlines : – Mar | Jun | Sep | Dec
    • Rules – Prompt Competition
    • Enter – Prompt Competition
    • Prompt Lists & Winners
  • BookshopBuy our limited edition print anthologies.
    • 2nd Short Story Anthology
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    • 1st Short Story Anthology
  • Winning StoriesAll our winning competition entries are published here.
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Welcome...

Cranked Anvil runs writing competitions throughout the year – our subs are always open.

Flash Fiction Competition

Our quarterly Flash Fiction Competition is open all year round. Your story/stories can be any theme or genre, but must be a maximum of 500 words (not including the title). The deadline for each competition is midnight (UK time) on the last day of the following months: February May August…Continue reading “Flash Fiction Competition”

1Aug 2022

4 for 3 special offer now applies to ALL our competitions

We’re delighted to announce: Our ‘4 for 3’ offer now applies to ALL of our writing competitions… …and will continue…

8Jun 20221 Aug 2022

Order our latest short story anthology NOW!

July 2022 saw the publication of our latest anthology of short stories, How Far The Distance. It features winning and…

What people said…

Thank you for providing opportunities like this for writers from around the world

Scott Hallarn – competition entrant

Thank you for having such affordable entry fees – it’s especially appreciated at present!

Taria Karillion – competition entrant

Writing Flash Fiction? Discover brilliant places to submit including … Cranked Anvil

Rae Cowie – writer & blogger

I want to give a shout out to some people who have shown much kindness and generosity to me and my writing this year: … Paul Dunn at Cranked Anvil, for the competitions and the anthology. ~ From Cath’s website. Read her On The Shelf article.

Cath Barton – anthology contributor

A great place to submit your work… Thanks Cranked Anvil for this Ash Wednesday retweet for my 3rd place story Nothing But Ashes from their first competition two years ago.

Jason Jackson – competition winner and anthology contributor

News

4 for 3 special offer now applies to ALL our competitions

1 Aug 2022
We're delighted to announce: Our '4 for 3' offer now applies to ALL of our writing competitions... ...and will continue to run throughout 2022. Entry fees for just 1 or…
Prompt Lists & Winners

June 2022 – Prompt Long List

22 Jul 2022
Another excellent quarter for our prompt competition, and the judges have really enjoyed reading the qualifying entries. If you fancy trying your hand at a 'dialogue only' story and would…
Flash Lists & Winners

May 2022 – Flash shortlist and winners

17 Jul 2022
Since our flash competition started a year and a half ago, this quarter saw the highest number of entries - possibly due to our 4 for the price of 3…
Flash Fiction…

THE WALL by Mandy Wheeler (1st place, Flash May22)

17 Jul 2022
The Man picks at the wallpaper. He wants to get underneath it, to bring the whole lot off in one.'I thought you might like …'A mug appears.'Thank you,' the Man…
Flash Fiction…

THE SEVEN YEAR SPELL by Rowan Evans (2nd place, Flash May22)

17 Jul 2022
Caroline Richardson hasn’t moved for seven years. Today is her thirteenth birthday, but she’s still only five years old. When it rains, she’s beneath the puddles she would have liked…
Flash Fiction…

POST MORTEM: THE PROLIFERATION OF LIFE AFTER DEATH by JP Relph (3rd place, Flash May22)

17 Jul 2022
There are five discrete stages of decomposition that summarise post-mortem physiochemical changes. For the entomologist, there’s a predictable succession of arthropods. Orders Diptera (true flies) and Coleoptera (beetles) provide the…
News

Writing Prompt competition – special offer!

1 Jul 20221 Aug 2022
For this new quarter, we have extended our special offer of FOUR ENTRIES FOR THE PRICE OF THREE to our new prompt competition. Entry fees for just 1 or 2…
Flash Lists & Winners

May 2022 – Flash Long List

24 Jun 202224 Jun 2022
There were more entries than we've ever had in this quarter's flash fiction competition, and judging has been tough. But, we're pleased to say that the long list can finally…
News

Exclusive video! Box opening of our anthologies, direct from the printers

23 Jun 20221 Jul 2022
WATCH THE VIDEO ON OUR WEBSITE HERE! Our latest print anthology has arrived from the printers, and we wanted to share with you our first glimpse of the copies. So…
Lists & Winners

April 2022 – shortlist and winners

9 Jun 2022
It's a busy time here at CAHQ, and we have some fantastic offers for writers and readers... We've extended our special offer of '4 for the price of 3' on…
Short Stories…

SOME OPENING SENTENCES by Rachel Robbins (1st place, Apr22)

9 Jun 2022
“I don’t know where to start.”  Felicity’s fingers found Michael’s hands across the table. “Me neither,” said Michael. “I’ve been thinking in fragments most of my life. You know, short…
Short Stories…

THIS IS HOW IT WILL BE by David Hartley (2nd place, Apr22)

9 Jun 2022
A few hours after his birth, the child was shown his whole life in a picture book. The title was This is How it Will Be, and the author was…
Short Stories…

LINDISFARNE, 793 by Alex Hawksworth-Brookes (3rd place, Apr22)

9 Jun 2022
It was the dawn of an age of wolves and ravens. It was the eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord 793. The bells tolled out across…
News

Order our latest short story anthology NOW!

8 Jun 20221 Aug 2022
July 2022 saw the publication of our latest anthology of short stories, How Far The Distance. It features winning and short-listed entries from our competition, submitted between August 2020 and…
News

Extending our Flash Fiction special offer

6 Jun 20221 Aug 2022
The cost of living crisis... Everyone is talking about it, and everyone is affected by it. Individuals, families, businesses. (We are no exception: the cost of producing our upcoming print…
Lists & Winners

April 2022 – Long List

16 May 202216 May 2022
The latest deadline for our short story competition closed last month, and today on the website we announce the long list. With the launch of our new prompt competition in…
Prompt Lists & Winners

March 2022 – Prompt short list and winners

11 May 2022
The short list and winners of our first ever Prompt Competition have been decided, and we're delighted to announce and publish them on our website today. We had some fantastic…
Prompt Stories…

INSERT VAGUE INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE HERE by Keith Henderson (1st place, Prompt Mar22)

11 May 202211 May 2022
It’s a pencil keeping him from sleep tonight. Not an actual pencil, obviously, a metaphorical one. Or should that be a metaphysical one? One or the other, anyway. There are…
Prompt Stories…

PAWN TAKES KING by Jonathan McLaughlin (2nd place, Prompt Mar22)

11 May 2022
As I sat in my office, stumped over a crossword puzzle asking me for a six letter word for a legendary Greek king, my leg couldn’t stop shaking. My eyes…
Prompt Stories…

EMILY AND THE GIRLS by Alison Wassell (3rd place, Prompt Mar22)

11 May 2022
Emily’s colleagues, not one of them under forty, refer to themselves as the girls, as in "girls’ night out", "all girls together" and "girl talk". Girl talk, as far as…
Prompt Lists & Winners

March 2022 – Prompt Long List

20 Apr 2022
Last month saw the launch of our brand new Prompt Competition, and today we announce the first long list. We had some fantastic entries - from regular entrants as well…
Writing Exercises

PROMPT GRID: Snooker Loopy

16 Apr 20226 Jun 2022
Today sees the start of the 17-day World Snooker Championships in Sheffield, England, with Mark Selby - 'The Jester From Leicester' - defending his title. (It's a favourite of our…
Flash Lists & Winners

February 2022 – Flash shortlist and winners

13 Apr 2022
With our new Prompt Competition now fully up and running, our judges are being kept busy constantly, with submissions open all year round and a new competition to judge every…
Flash Fiction…

LONELINESS IS BEIGE AND TASTES OF MUSHROOMS by Emma J Myatt (1st place, Flash Feb22)

13 Apr 202213 Apr 2022
It’s a yellow Friday and I’m about to finish when I see a man in the closest aisle, prodding different packets of biscuits. His mask is the right colour and…
Flash Fiction…

TIM’ROUS BEASTIE by Charlotte Mitchell (2nd place, Flash Feb22)

13 Apr 2022
Maisie Gibbins went to make banana bread and discovered that a mouse had shit in her flour. “The wee fucking bastard, it never has! Jesus, can’t I have anything to…
Writing Exercises

TEA BREAK EXERCISE: It’s Written In The Stars

16 Mar 2022
An oft-suggested tip is that daily horoscopes can provide all kinds of inspiration for short stories or flash fiction. But so can the actual signs of the zodiac. For this…
Flash Lists & Winners

February 2022 – Flash Long List

15 Mar 2022
If you haven't already heard, we've made some exciting improvements to our writing competitions within the past month or so. First of all, we announced our brand new Prompt Competition.…
Miscellany…

Saboteur Awards 2022 – vote for Cranked Anvil now!

10 Mar 202216 Apr 2022
The brilliant Saboteur Awards - from Sabotage Reviews - are now open for voting. Their 2022 Awards Festival ticket sales are now live, and you can find out all the…
Lists & Winners

January 2022 – shortlist and winners

9 Mar 20229 Mar 2022
The judges have found this shortlist one of the most difficult they've had to select, such has been the high standard of entries. The three placed entries are, of course,…
Short Stories…

ANGELA BARR TAKES EARLY RETIREMENT by Abigail Williams (1st place, Jan22)

9 Mar 2022
There had been drinks at Angela Barr's retirement party. Half mugs of warm Prosecco and a shop-bought cake. 'Early retirement' was what they said, but she knew the truth. Her…

Posts navigation

Older Posts
Next Flash Fiction Deadline31 Aug 2022
17 days to go.
Next Prompt Comp Competition1 Oct 2022
47 days to go.
Next Short Story Deadline31 Oct 2022
78 days to go.

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