Prompted Writing

We are delighted to open submissions for a brief window, accepting flash fiction pieces for publication on the Floodgate Press website only.

What we are doing

Author and Floodgate Friend, the excellent Kit de Waal has provided us with two prompts to kick start your writing based upon the identity and motto of the city of Birmingham.

Prompt 1: the city’s motto is FORWARD.

Prompt 2: Birmingham was once called the City of a Thousand Trades.

Use these as your prompt and craft a piece around them. Feel free to combine both in any way that inspires you. Your piece does not have to contain these prompts word-for-word in the body of the text - they are provided for inspiration only.

What we want

We want prose. No poetry please.

We want either fiction or creative nonfiction.

We want NO MORE than 1000 words (not including title). There is no minimum word count.

We want a short biography of who you are including how you are linked to the region (see below)

We want original work - no reprints.

We want only ONE submission per person.

It must be all your own work. NO AI SLOP.

Attach your submission as a Word document to the email (see below), and provide a short biography in the body of the email.

Who are you?

We want submissions from individuals with a tangible link to the British West Midlands. What the definition of tangible means we’ll leave to you, but passing through New Street on the way to somewhere else won’t cut it.

Not only do we want you to have that link, we’d like for you to explain it to us. Please include some details in your submission email.

We know this sounds restrictive but our mission is to provide a space for creative output from and about the West Midlands region and Britain’s Second City. We trust you understand.

What we will do

We will read each submission and choose three pieces which we think are the best.

We will notify the writer and publish these pieces on our WEBSITE ONLY.

We will do whatever minor edits to your piece we deem appropriate before publication.

We will offer a prize to the three winners, chosen from the below options:

1. A copy of either Digbeth Stories or Night Time Economy, delivered to your UK address.

2. A voucher for use at Voce Books in Birmingham for the amount of £10.

What we will NOT do

We won’t be doing much in the way of editing for this submission window. We don’t have time. As mentioned above, if the piece needs some fixing up, we’ll do that. In submitting you agree that this is ok by you.

We won't post outside of the UK. We really can’t afford it.

We won’t be considering anything that exceeds the word count, is not tangibly related to the West Midlands, or we feel does not fit the brief as determined by the prompts. Writing prompts are provided to inspire you, not to be ignored.

We won't be asking for any rights to your work other than to publish it once on our website (floodgatepress.co.uk). Feel free to do whatever you want with it after we’ve used it.

We won’t be in touch if you are not successful. Sorry but it’s a time thing again.

Where to send

submissions@floodgatepress.co.uk

Make your subject line read like this:

SUBMISSION - PROMPT - [YOUR NAME] - [YOUR PIECE'S TITLE]

When to submit by

Midnight uk time, Sunday 16th March.

We know that’s tight but deadlines can focus the mind.

You have three weeks. Get writing!

Best of luck.