Every year, QSF holds a flash fiction contest to create an amazing new anthology of queer speculative fiction stories. We ask authors to do the nearly-impossible – to submit a sci fi, fantasy, paranormal or horror LGBTIQA story that has no more than 300 words.
Our 2021 contest closed on May 1, 2021. The theme for 2021 was “Ink.”
These are alpha by author:
Amarilys Acosta – Heart Ink
Emilia Agrafojo – Mixology – 3rd Place
Addison Albright – Cave Drawing
Tam Ames – The Autograph – HM
RE Andeen – The Skinchanger’s Art
Laura Antoniou – A Most Rewarding Quest – HM
Blaine D. Arden – Mending
R.H. Argent – Impending Affair
K. Aten – Power
Ryley Banks – Right Place, Right Time – HM
Jorane G. Barton – Alternate Endings
Joe Baumann – Babbler – HM
Brooke K. Bell – Temporary/Permanent
David Berger – Indelible
Eytan Bernstein – I Never Knew – Judge’s Choice, Devon
Gordon Bonnet – Nexus
Die Booth – Faith and the Thorncutters – HM, Judge’s Choice, Devon
Charlie Boynton – He Bleeds Ink
Ryan Breadinc – The Ink Reader – HM
A.M. Burns – The Final Line – HM
Meghan Byers – Unmoored
Aron Caer – Writer’s Blood
Elsa M. Carruthers – I Am Happy to Be Here Today – HM
Foster Bridget Cassidy – Unfamiliar Waters – HM
Minerva Cerridwen – Not Alone
Amanda Cherry – Signed
Gwen Coholan – Ballpoint
J. Comer – Her Very Comfy Couch
Georgia Cook – Butterfly
Elliot Cooper – The Collection
Bryan Crystal-Thursdton – Fluid – HM, Judge’s Choice – Ben
Monique Cuillerier – The Present
Claire Davon – Squid on the Beach
Nicole Dennis – Hidden Spell
Toshi Drake – Indelible Ink
James Dunham – Lydia’s Back – HM
Allen Dyen-Shapiro – To Share the Sky – HM
K. Eason – On the Conjoined Practice of Demonology and Scribal Longhand – HM
J. P. Egry – Confessions of an Inkaholic
J.B. Eyre – A Prisoner and a Captain
Kim Fielding – Devil and Advocates
Sheila Finch – Love is Blind
Steve Fuson – Blank as the Page
Jasie Gale – Pandora’s Row
Magaly Garcia – rough draft #9/grocery list
Isobel Granby – The Date Book – HM
Jacqui Greaves – A Dish Served Hot
Sacchi Green – S/He Who Remembers – HM
M.D. Grimm – Companions
Kaje Harper – The Pen is Mightier
Brenna Harvey – EduTron 6000 + Principal Vertner 4Ever – HM, Judge’s Choice, Angel
Kelly Haworth – Off Spectrum
Sheryl R. Hayes – Panagram
Chisto Healy – The Fine Print
S. A. Hunt – Untitled
S R Jones – So Let it Be Written, So Let It Be Done
W. Dale Jordan – The Summoning – HM
Kim Katil – Heart Bound in Ink – HM
April Kelley – How to Create a Monster
Ava Kelly – Soullink – 1st Place
Laura J. Kelly – Rougarous Inc.
M. X. Kelly – To Have and to Hold and to Hold and to Hold – HM
Adrik Kemp – Meet Cute
Jessica M. Kormos – The Tattooist
Barbara Krasnoff – The Inker, The Cat and The Parrot – HM
Jamie Lackey – Inksticks and Paper Swans
Benoit Lafortune – Dragon Blood
Tris Lawrence – Soul Afire
Anja Hendrikse Liu – Stranger Stories – HM
Ainslie Lloyd – Off the Wall
Nathan Alling Long – It’s What’s Inside That Counts – HM
Lily Luchesi – The Angel With Demon Blood
M.K. Mads – The Dragon’s Price – HM
C.L. McCartney – Risotto Nero – HM
Paula McGrath – Free Hugs
Helen M. Merrick – The Rose Tattoo
Lynn Michaels – Battleground
A.R. Moler – Ink is Memory
Fiona Moore – The Muse’s Gift – HM
E. W. Murks – Just a Nudge
K.S. Murphy – Love’s Portrait
RJ Mustafa – Shadowbird
Mary Newman – Graven Images – HM
Rory Ni Coileain – All Myths Are True (but some are truer than others)
Thea Nishimori – Glossaderma
K.L. Noone – Openings
Raine Norman – The Morning After
Orion O’Connell – The Midnight Librarian
Bradley Robert Parks – Guilty Pleasure Reading
Dale Parnell – Belonging
Terry Poole – Sign on the Dotted Line
Brooke Prado – Cursebreaker
Taylor Ramage – Inkshader
Robin Reed – Printed Love – HM
L.S. Reinholt – Colours of Union – 2nd Place
Jen Rivers – The Aerium – HM
Jeff Ronan – Inked
Herminia Root – Aedan
Taylor Roth – For Death Doesn’t Part
Jamie Sands – Toby’s Tattoo
Rodello Santos – Told – HM, Director’s Choice, Scott
E. F. Schraeder – Spider Legs – HM
Ziggy Schutz – Renaming – Judge’s Choice, Lisa
RJ Scott – Blood
Alex Silver – Summoned – HM
Alex Sobel – Tense
Ada Maria Soto – The Marks of a Knight
Anna Stacy – Livename – HM
Susan Stradiotto – Moon Child – HM
Lou Sylvre – The Flight of the Telorites
Nathaniel Taff – For Posterity’s Sake
Naomi Tajedler – Oddities – HM
Sara Testarossa – Subversion
Lauren Triola – The Unmarked – HM
Geneva Vand – The Colors of Fate – HM
K.M. Walker – The Hurt Patch
Dean Wells – A Flacon of Ink
P.T. Wyant – Future Perfect
Rina Youngblood – Proof in the Telling – HM
Aubrey Zahn – Jumper – HM
Rainie Zenith – Blind Date
Previous Editions
For our first year, the theme was “Endings”. To see the top three stories and the three honorable mentions from 2014, click here.
To see the rest of the submissions from 2014 (where the authors gave us the go-ahead to post them), click here.
For the second year, the theme was “Discovery”. To see the winners and honorable mentions from 2015, click here. A selection of the stories from 2015 are available in eBook form here.
For the third year, the theme was “Flight”. To see the winners and honorable mentions from 2016, click here.
For the fourth year, the theme was “Renewal”. To see the winners and honorable mentions from 2017, click here.
For year five, it was “Impact.” To see the winners and honorable mentions from 2018, click here.
For year six, it was “Migration.” To see the winners and honorable mentions from 2019, click here.