Not Quite Write

24/10/2025

The October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction prompts have hit inboxes around the world!

We’re counting on you to bring your A game to this LAST EVER anti-prompt round.

💰AU$4,000 in prizes
📘Print publication
🌱Suitable for beginners
🌏Open to writers worldwide

Remember, the anti-prompt is there to challenge and inspire you, but at the end of the day, we just want to read great stories.

If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time. Head to notquitewriteprize.com or hit the link in our bio to learn more.

23/10/2025

The October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction starts TOMORROW!

This round of the competition has the special distinction of being the LAST EVER anti-prompt round. (The anti-prompt being a challenge to break a specific rule of writing.) It’s been a wild ride through cliches, adverbs and purple prose, but the time has come to say goodbye. And what better way to say goodbye than with (a) Kiss?!

In just over 24 hours, writers around the world will begin to grapple with our prompts to deliver a 500-word story and take home the grand prize:

💰 Cash prizes for the entire shortlist including AU$1,500 first prize
🏆 A pointy trophy for the winner
🎙️ Dramatised reading of the shortlisted stories on the Not Quite Write Podcast
📕 Publication in our annual anthology

Please take a moment to like and share this post to spread the word of you can.

And if you haven’t signed up yet, what are you doing?? It’s your LAST CHANCE to break the writing rules in style (and be rewarded for it!)

Sign up now at notquitewriteprize.com to be notified when the prompts drop!

21/10/2025

The competition is heating up (quite literally, because the weather is forecast to hit 38 degrees here on the Central Coast today… that’s ONE HUNDRED DEGREES for our North American friends). It’s only the middle of spring so there’s a fair chance we’ll be cracking out the ice pack and kerchief look again in the coming months here at NQW HQ.

Anyway, all that is to say that we can’t wait to start reading your stories, and we hope you can’t wait to start writing them!

Here’s a little reminder of what you could win…

🏆 A pointy trophy/murder weapon!
🎙️ A dramatised reading of your story on the NQW podcast (complete with sound effects, courtesy of the EDitor-in-Chief)!
📕 A place in our 2025 anthology (your words in a real book, published in time for Christmas!)
💰 A share in AU$4,000, with a AU$1,500 first prize!
♥️ A place in our hearts and a rent-free spot in our heads forever!

With just over 48 hours until the prompts drop, we’re interested to know how YOU are limbering up for a weekend of prize-winning writing?

21/10/2025

Our old mate PUNCH is here with an important reminder: it’s just THREE DAYS until prompt drop!

That’s right, in 72-and-a-bit hours, writers around the world will be penning 500 word stories in the hopes of winning:

💰 A share in AU$4,000 (1st prize AU$1,500)
🎙️ An on-air reading of their story
📕 Print publication in our annual anthology
🏆 The pointiest trophy in all the land

As to what the prompts will be, Punch here wouldn’t have a CLUE… Do YOU?

We couldn’t do what we do without the word of mouth you so generously share! So if you’ll be competing this weekend, please take a moment to like and/or share this post.

If you haven’t already, head to notquitewriteprize.com for all the details and sign up!

18/10/2025

By this time next week, writers around the world will be wrestling with the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction prompts in the hopes of taking home the AU$1,500 first prize and pointy trophy!

Not only is this your last chance to compete with Not Quite Write for the rest of the year, it’s also the LAST EVER anti-prompt round.

That’s right, we’ll be issuing a BRAND NEW challenge in 2025, which means this is your LAST CHANCE to claim the anti-prompt title.

All 6 shortlisted stories will take home a cash prize and earn publication in our 2026 print anthology, which will appear on library and book shop shelves (locally here on the Central Coast, at least)!

This is a chance you don’t want to miss, so grab your ticket now at notquitewriteprize.com and join us for the ride!

17/10/2025

We made it!

3 years and 100 episodes later, we’re still going strong!

In this special celebration, our EDitor-in-Chief will reveal the stats behind what it takes to edit and produce the podcast, plus we’ll crack open the archive to bring you some of our favourite moments from the past 3 years.

We’ve got voicemails from our faves (including special guest appearances by “Arson” Andy and “Shadow” Sharon!)

And listen, it’s all a bit self-indulgent, but we had a lot of fun putting this together, and we hope you’ll join us on this little “lol” down memory lane.

Search Not Quite Write wherever you get your podcasts or hit the link in our bio to listen now.

And tell us in the comments, what’s YOUR favourite moment from the podcast?

13/10/2025

The October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction is ON in less than 2 weeks!

This will be our FINAL anti-prompt round, so it’s set to be a wild one! Whether you’re a seasoned entrant or just stumbling upon this competition for the first time, we invite you to join us!

✍🏻 500 words of fiction (any genre)
💰 AU$4,000 in cash prizes
📕 Print publication for the entire shortlist
🏆 Trophy for the winner
🌏 Open to writers worldwide!

Prompts drop midday 24 October AEDT and you’ll have approximately 60 hours to write and submit a story for your chance to WIN!

You’ll find all the details at notquitewriteprize.com, or you can hit us up with your questions in the comments below.

For those who have already signed up, this hint is a little taste of what’s to come…

Accepting your accurate and wildly inaccurate prompt guesses in the comments now! 👇🏻

11/10/2025

A brand new and exclusive LEVEL UP article is now available on our site for Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction members!

In it we talk about the matter of disembodied body parts (and no, this is not some Halloween Spooktacular, although it should strike fear into the heart of any writer!)

This is a topic we discussed in a couple of our recent Daredevil episodes, so it’s clearly something we see a lot of. We like to see a lot LESS of it, so log in to our website and head on over to the Articles section to find out how you can avoid this writing trap!

10/10/2025

Join us for our fifth and final daredevil episode, as we critique Marina R. M. Lane’s entry to the July Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction!

The October round of the competition will soon be upon us, so you’re not going want to miss this episode! In it, we dish out some top tips on how to take your own story to the next level.

Search Not Quite Write wherever you get your podcasts to listen now.

03/10/2025

In case you missed it, Daredevil episode 4 for the July round of the Not Quite Write Prize dropped today!

This ep features former shortlister and repeat daredevil offender, , with more tea and dead wives! (This is what happens when you live too close to the moors…)

Search Not Quite Write on your podcast platform of choice to hear our *extensive* critique of Eilish’s creeptastic flash fiction piece 😈

02/10/2025

The Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction is back on 24-26 October!

Join us for a chance to win a share in AU$4,000 cash prizes, with print publication for all shortlisted stories!

How it works:
1. Sign up at notquitewriteprize.com
2. Receive our writing prompts at midday 24 October (AEDT)
3. Write and submit a 500-word story in response to those prompts by 26 October for your chance at the cash and glory!

As a competition entrant, you’ll be invited to listen to the Not Quite Write Podcast Longlist and Shortlist episodes to enjoy judges’ insights and celebrate the winner (it could be you!)

If this sounds interesting to you, head to notquitewriteprize.com for all the details.

And if you’ve already signed up, we’d love it if you’d like and share this post to spread the word!

Participants have 60 hours to submit a 500-word story for a chance to win a share of AU$4,000 in cash prizes. A flash fiction competition with a twist.

02/10/2025

On this account, more often than not, we’re banging on about the Not Quite Write Prize, but there’s a whole other side to us, and that’s the podcast!

When we first started recording, we had no idea we’d end up with thousands of listeners, and we never could have anticipated the extent of our reach!

The truth is, our podcast has a niche audience, so it’s exciting to us when we find more of “our people” and crack charts in far-flung corners of the world.

Thank you for spreading the word and sharing your love of all things Not Quite Write. It quite literally means the world to us! 🫶🏻