South 85 Journal is relaunching Converse College MFA program’s Julia Peterkin awards, starting with an all-new summer flash fiction contest. Like past awards, the contest will honor Julia Peterkin, an 1896 graduate of Converse College. In 1929, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Novel/Literature for her novel, Scarlet Sister Mary.

We will accept submissions for the Julia Peterkin Award for Flash Fiction June 25 through August 15. We will announce winners in October. One winner will receive a cash prize of $500, and we will name four runners up who will receive no prize. All five stories will appear in the Fall / Winter 2018 issue, which we will release December 15.

Submit your previously unpublished fiction of 850 words or less.  As always, we are especially interested in stories that demonstrate a strong voice and/or a sense of place, but we consider all quality writing.

For more information or to submit, visit our contest page on Submittable.