2nd SUSPECT Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: September 30th, 2025
Awards: USD300, 200, and 100
No entry fee
In conjunction with Gaudy Boy’s November 2025 publication of Sharmini Aphrodite’s THE UNREPENTANT, SUSPECT is holding its 2nd flash fiction contest with a call for submissions inspired by the title of this bold story collection. We are looking for flash fiction of 100-150 words on the theme of unrepentance interpreted in any imaginative way. When should we repent and why don’t we? When should we not repent? What do we hope to obtain by not repenting? Integrity? Praise? Or just plain sustenance?
In 14 thrilling stories about desire, faith, and ideology, THE UNREPENTANT (Gaudy Boy, November 1, 2025) captures the revolutionary fervor of Malaya at a formative time for Southeast Asia. Braiding together the diverse perspectives of Chinese and Malay communists, Tamil estate laborers, Soviet movie-makers, and leftist Christian movements, THE UNREPENTANT pulls the reader into a recent past that still echoes into the present.
Awards of USD300, 200, and 100 will go to the top three winners. In addition, winners residing in the United States will also be awarded a copy of Sharmini Aphrodite’s THE UNREPENTANT. The winning pieces will be published in SUSPECT; non-winning pieces will be considered for publication as well. The contest is open to everyone. The use of AI is prohibited.
Our judge is Philip Holden. Philip Holden’s life has spanned three continents, with its center of gravity in Singapore, where he taught and researched Singapore and Southeast Asian writing at university in a career spanning three decades. He now works at the intersection of storytelling and mental health. An updated edition of his short story collection Heaven Has Eyes will be published by Gaudy Boy in 2026.
Contest entry is free. Please submit a maximum of three pieces of flash fiction. Make sure that each piece is between 100-150 words. Only unpublished works will be considered. No simultaneous submissions, please. Please email your submission to Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org. The flash fiction must be pasted into the body of the email, together with a short cover letter giving your name, mailing address, and a brief biographical note.
The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2025. Results will be announced in November, and the winning pieces published in December. We ask for exclusive first rights only. After publication, all rights return to the author.
Judging will be based solely on literary merit. We reserve the right not to make any or all awards, should the quality of entries not merit them.