Submissions promo: If you're one of the first twenty writers to submit before end of day 7/13, we'll respond to your submission in 2 weeks (no charge for expedited response).

Area code 704 is our home for West Trade Review (the Charlotte Metro area), but our contest is open to anyone.
 

Send us a flash piece of up to 704 words that engages the reader intellectually but also packs an emotional punch and conveys a deep human truth.
 

For a model story, see Jessica Denzer's "The Silence" from our Spring 2022 print edition. It was selected for Best Small Fictions 2023 (Alternating Current Press).
 

 The  contest is open from June 1, 2025 - August 1, 2025. Entry fee is $7.04   for each individual flash fiction story (one story per entry), with no  limit per writer. Each  writer who submits will be entered into a weekly drawing to receive  either personalized feedback on a piece of writing of their choice  (fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction; prose up to 6000 words or up  to 5 poems) or a copy of our Spring 2023 print edition.
 

Weekly drawing winners will be announced on our social media platforms.
 

Eligibility
 

• This contest is open to emerging writers only who have not yet published a book with a print run over 1,500.
• Only previously unpublished flash stories will be accepted.
• Stories that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible. 
• Unlimited entries allowed. One story per submission. 
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but previously accepted or work published in West Trade Review is ineligible.
• Please withdraw your submission and notify West Trade Review if it is accepted elsewhere.
• No one editorially or financially affiliated with West Trade Review can enter the contest.
   

Guidelines 

• All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on August 1, 2025.
• Entry  fee is $7.04 for each individual story of no more than 704 words (one  story per entry), with no limit per author, and each entrant is entered  into a weekly drawing. The weekly winner receives a copy of our Spring 2023 print edition.
• Submission is one original flash fiction story of no more than 704 words.
• The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript or in the file name.
• Please submit one story per entry in a single Microsoft Word file and list the title of your story as the submission title.
• Please use a standard font, either Times New Roman or Arial in 12 point font size.
• Do not include a cover page. Include your title with your story.
• Please  do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry.  Entries are judged anonymously; the judge will only consider story  quality.
• Please take the judge of the contest into consideration. If you know her personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops she has instructed, please use manuscripts that she would not have seen before.
• Revisions or edits will not be accepted once submitted for judging.
   

​Entries that do no meet guidelines or eligibility requirements will not be considered.
 

$704 and publication in West Trade Review will be awarded to the winning story.
 

The  winning story chosen by our judge will be announced on our website and social media platforms in late August 2025 and then published in the Spring 2026  print issue of West Trade Review.
 

Other entries of merit may be considered for publication.
 

WTR seek poems that perform Olympic feats with language that leave a reader in wonder while still referring back to the basic things that make us human. We want powerful imagery and enjoy the juxtaposition of images in interesting and unexpected ways.
          We want poems that make the reader think and feel, work that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief, or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something important to teach us--something that readers really need to know but might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.




NOTE: Submissions which do not meet the following guidelines will not be considered:
 

• All submissions must be previously unpublished and are limited to five poems per reading period and must be accompanied by a cover letter and a biography of no more than 150 words. Work submitted without a biography will not be considered.
• In your cover letter, please mention your social media handles (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).  If you have a website dedicated to your writing, please include the link in your letter.
• Include a clear title for each poem.
• Submit poems as one reading packet and place what you consider your stronger work at the front of the group.
• Enter the title of each poem as your packet's submission title.
• Work must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file. 

Submit only once per reading period.  


While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).  

You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25 (1.5-2 pages).   The response time for both expedited and personalized options is approximately 2 weeks.


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We look for fiction with a literary focus and prioritize characterization and psychological depth. No genre pieces considered.

​We  want stories that make the reader think and feel, work  that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief,  or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something  important to teach us--something that readers really need to know, but  might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.

Manuscripts are read between April 1 and August 1 & August 15 to December 15.

NOTE: Submissions which do not meet the following guidelines will not be considered:

• All submissions must be previously unpublished and are limited to one entry per submission period.
• While we have no hard limit regarding story length, most pieces we accept are typically less than 5,000 words.
• Work must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file and include a clear title of the work
• Submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter and a biography of no more than 150 words. Work submitted without a biography will not be considered.
• In your cover letter, please mention your social media handles (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).  If you have a website dedicated to your writing, please include the link in your cover letter as well.

Submit Only Once Per Reading Period.

While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).  

You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25 (1.5-2 pages).   The response time for both expedited and personalized options is approximately 2 weeks. 

Please take a moment to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.

We are interested in personal essays, memoir, travel essays, and lyric essays of up to 6000 words that blend style with substance and reach beyond the personal to tell us something new about the world.

We  want creative nonfiction that make the reader think and feel, work that humbles us with its joy, humor, embarrassment, anger, hope, grief,  or all of the above, and gravitate toward writing that has something  important to teach us--something that readers really need to know, but  might not have understood this was a need until the last word of the work.

Manuscripts are read between April 1 and August 1 & August 15 to December 15.

NOTE: Submissions which do not meet the following guidelines will not be considered:

• All submissions must be previously unpublished and are limited to one entry per submission period.
• While we have no hard limit regarding CNF length, most pieces we accept are typically less than 6,000 words. We do accept flash nonfiction, but we find pieces are often undeveloped or unfocused.
• Work must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx). We have had issues with Apple Pages and Google docs. Follow conventional formatting (12pt readable font, double spacing, 1" margins).
• Include a clear title of the work, a brief cover letter, and a short biography no more than 150 words.  Work submitted without a biography will not be considered.  
• Please mention your social media handles in your cover letter.  If you have a personal website for your writing, please provide the link in your cover letter as well.

Submit Only Once Per Reading Period.
 

While we offer free submissions the first week of each month (April to December), general submissions are typically $3 (to cover administrative costs).  

You may also choose to receive a quick decision about your work for $10, and may also receive a quick decision about your work along with personalized feedback from the editors for $25 (1.5-2 pages).   The response time for both expedited and personalized options is approximately 2 weeks. 

Please take a moment to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

You'll also find us on Threads and Bluesky.