We had an excess of coasters (pictured here) for the bar at the flash fiction festival and somebody (I think it was team member Sara Hills) had the good idea of running a festival contest for a story, short enough to fit on the back of the coaster. Then we remembered that distinguished writer and teacher, Pamela Painter, ran a half an hour workshop for the whole assembly at the first ever flash fiction festival in Bath, in 2017, on how to write a story encapsulated in a title. ‘When the Title of the Story is the Story.’ And this is what we asked writers to do. I think we had about 50 or more entries and three team members had a fun late night session on Saturday to choose the winners. Many congratulations to Anne Howkins, Judy Dawson and Sonora Hills whose excellent compact stories will feature in this year’s Festival Anthology. They’ve also won free entries to Bath Flash Fiction Award.
First Prize
The Transformative Significance of the Use of Black and White and Birds and Fish in Escher’s Sky and Water When the End of Civilisation Is Imminent and Your Artist Boyfriend Stands You in Front of This Linoprint Instead of Monet’s Lilies or Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and All He Can Prattle on About Is Looking at the Change in Perspective.
by Anne Howkins
Bio: Anne also won first prize in the June 2026 Bath Flash Fiction Award with her story ‘The egg-wife easy-jogs to market.’ She lives near Nottingham, UK. Recent stories can be found at Dribble Drabble Review, Paragraph Planet, Bulb Culture Collective, and NFFD and Bath anthologies. Trying to assemble words into something meaningful is what she does when not sitting about prevaricating, or being stupidly busy. Bluesky: @anneh23.bsky.social
Two runners-up
The importance of having a chainsaw license
by Judy Dawson
Bio: Judy Dawson has lived and worked in Mexico for many years. She has always written fiction in her spare time but has only recently discovered Flash Fiction. This was her first time at the festival and she attended with her mother. Judy has been lucky enough to meet two strong women who do actually have chainsaw licences.
The last letter to your mother sits unopened behind an empty bottle of Xanax
by Sonora Hills
Bio: Flash Fiction Festival team member, Sonora Hills, is a writer, scientist, and daydreamer. She loves experimenting with genre and is always finding new, wacky mediums to tell stories with. Her work has been published in FlashFlood, The Quarterday Review, and the 2024, 2025 and 2026 NFFD anthologies. When not working on her debut novel, Sonora can be found curled up with her cats watching the sun set over the Peak District.
Thank you to everyone who donated prizes and bought tickets for the raffle in aid of the national Penny Brohn Cancer Help centre, based in Bristol. £454! 
We’d thought we’d highlight a few new novellas in flash and flash fiction collections that will be available at the festival bookshop. We’ve two on this post and more to come on other posts soon. Quite a few authors coming have new books out!
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