For the past few years we’ve asked you to stretch your massive writing muscles by creating some the tiniest stories for our annual flash fiction contest. The response has always been outstanding, and it is almost time for you amazing writers to do it again!

Get out of the way! Run for cover! Because it is time for Apex’s Christmas Invasion!

That’s right. This year our flash fiction contest is all about Christmas invasions. Whether your invaders are robots, aliens, or sentient Christmas ornaments is completely up to you, but if you want to win, you must write us a story no longer than 250 words that deals with an invasion and Christmas.

If writing a short tale about a Christmas invasion isn’t enough for you, then you are in luck! As an early Christmas gift from us at Apex to all of you, everyone who enters will receive a free issue of Apex Magazine. All you need to do is let us know which issue you would like to receive and we will send you a download link.

But what about winners? It is a contest, so there has to be a winner. From all of the submissions, we will select not one, but three winners. The winning stories will be featured in the December issue of Apex Magazine, and the authors will be paid 6 cents per word. In addition to being published in Apex Magazine, they will also win 3 Apex books of their choice. Check out our full catalog of titles here.

The nitty, gritty:

• Submissions open on 12:01am EST, October 15th and close at 11:59pm EST, November 16th.
• Stories must be 250 words or fewer. If a story is longer than that, it will be deleted unread.
• You may submit up to 3 times, but please submit each entry in a separate email.
• Submissions should include a brief cover letter, including which issue of Apex Magazine you’d like to receive, as well as the story.
• Stories should be in the body of the email. Do NOT send attachments.
• Send all submissions to apexwritingcontest@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or would like to query about the status of your submission, email our managing editor Lesley Conner at lesley@apex-magazine.com.

>via: http://www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/frontpage/46103937-apexs-annual-flash-fiction-contest