2025 FLASHBACK FICTION CHALLENGE
PRIZE: £1,000
For this challenge, writers will be assigned a specific decade—the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, or early 2000s—and must craft a contemporary short story that includes at least one flashback set in that assigned decade! We’d love the flashbacks to feel unmistakably of their time. From the language or cultural references to the setting or mood, we’re looking for stories that capture the essence of their decade and transport readers into that world.
FLASHBACK FICTION CHALLENGE 2025
Prize: £1,000
Words: 3,000 (max, no minimum)
Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) 21st July, 2025
Winner Announced: 18th August, 2025
Tickets:
How the Tickets Work:
To keep our competition accessible and fun, we offer two types of tickets: lucky dip tickets and golden tickets.
Lucky Dip Tickets:
Lucky dip tickets are the standard option. With these tickets, you’ll be randomly assigned a decade from the list below. If you don’t want to spend much and you’re happy to write whatever is assigned, simply buy one lucky dip ticket to join the competition.
If there are some decades that interest you and others that don’t, you could buy a couple of lucky dip tickets to ensure you get something that appeals to you while still keeping the cost affordable.
You can even buy multiple lucky dip tickets if you want to submit a few different stories.
You can buy as many lucky dip tickets as you want; each one will give you a different decade, and then you simply submit the story or stories that appeal to you from the selection. You certainly don’t have to submit a story for each ticket.
Golden Tickets:
Golden tickets are more expensive, but they let you choose your own decade from the list. So, if there’s a decade you really want to write about, the golden ticket is perfect for you.
You can also combine both ticket types! For example, you can buy one golden ticket to guarantee your preferred decade and one or more lucky dip tickets to try your luck with other random assignments. This way, you can focus on the story you want to write, while still exploring the surprise the lucky dip tickets offer, thus allowing you to submit multiple entries while still ensuring you get to write that one story that really excites you.
Ticket Prices:
Early Bird Lucky Dip Ticket: £4 (You will be randomly assigned a decade from the list below)
Early Bird Golden Ticket: £15 (This ticket allows you to choose your own decade from the list)
These tickets will be available until 30th June!
General Lucky Dip Ticket: £8 (You will be randomly assigned a decade from the list below)
Golden Ticket: £20 (This ticket allows you to choose your own decade from the list)
These tickets will be available from 30th June until 21st July!
THE CHALLENGE:
All writers retain full ownership of their stories, including the winner. We only publish the winning story on our website. We welcome international entries!
It's time for another Globe Soup writing challenge!
For this challenge, writers will be assigned a specific decade—the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, or early 2000s—and must craft a contemporary short story that includes at least one flashback set in that assigned decade!
We want the flashbacks to feel unmistakably of their time. From the language or cultural references to the setting or mood, we’re looking for stories that capture the essence of their decade and transport readers into that world.
OK, so let’s just clarify a few things:
What do we mean when we say a “contemporary story”?
We’re asking that part of your story—the part that frames or contains the flashback or flashbacks—is set in the present day. That doesn’t mean you need smartphones or Instagram references, but the story should exist in our current era. The characters should feel like they live in today’s world, whether that’s 2025 specifically or a more loosely contemporary moment. Think of the flashback as a window into the past, but the story itself should live in the now.
That being said, you don’t need to worry about convincing the judges of the contemporary nature of this part of the story. We simply want to avoid entries that, for example, flash back to the 1970s but have the other part of the story clearly set in the 1980s. This would muddy the parameters of the contest, because now the story is covering two different decades from the assignment list. This would make it harder for the judges to confidently say it meets the brief. Keeping the “present” part of the story contemporary helps maintain clarity and ensures your assigned decade remains the focal point.
How much of the story should be flashback, and how much should be contemporary?
This is completely up to you and the needs of the story. That being said, the title of this contest is Flashback Fiction, and the assignments are based on specific decades. This means the flashback element is very important, and the judges will be looking for stories where the decade isn’t just a passing reference or throwaway moment. So, all other things being equal, we think they might favour stories where the flashback (or flashbacks) take centre stage. That doesn’t necessarily mean the flashback needs to dominate the story in terms of word count; what matters most is its weight and resonance within the story and how immersed the reader feels in the past.
Can we submit frame stories, where the main narrative takes place in the assigned decade, with only brief scenes set in the present day as bookends to the flashback?
Yes, but a word of caution. The contemporary frame should probably be an integral part of the story, not just a thin device to introduce and close the flashback. If your story would work just as well—or better—without the present-day frame, then it might be seen by the judges as a weak or unnecessary addition. The judges will be looking for stories where the contemporary narrative adds meaning, context, or emotional weight, and isn’t simply there to bookend the flashback. Our advice is to ensure the present-day part of your story feels essential and connected to the assigned decade’s flashback, not just an afterthought.
What exactly is a flashback?
In fiction writing, a flashback is a narrative device where the story temporarily shifts from the present timeline to depict events that occurred in the past.
To constitute a proper flashback in fiction, it generally needs to:
Interrupt the present timeline – The story has to be grounded in a "now," and then deliberately jump back in time.
Be dramatised – Rather than just being told in summary or exposition, a flashback is often shown as a scene (with action, dialogue, setting, etc.) as if it's happening in real time. That being said, a scene can be just a few sentences long. The key thing is that it immerses the reader in that moment.
Be clearly signaled – Through transitions, scene breaks, verb tense shifts, or other cues, the reader should know they’re leaving the present and entering the past.
Have narrative purpose – The most important thing is that the flashback serves the story.
What isn’t a flashback?
A quick line like “She remembered the summer they met” isn’t a full flashback unless it leads into a scene from that summer.
Backstory told purely in exposition or summary doesn’t quite count unless it's fleshed out into an immersive past moment.
Any other tips for participants?
Although we’re asking for short fiction that brings the decades to life and feels representative of the period, the most important thing the judges are looking for is a compelling story. A narrative that nails the fashion, slang, or politics of the 1980s but isn’t a good story in its own right won’t land as well as one that weaves those era-specific moments into a gripping, meaningful narrative. The nostalgic flavour should enhance the story, not replace it.
Crucially, too, the immersive details of the decade are probably not the part of your story that will stand out most, because that’s the one thing all the entries should have in common. So, it’s your specific characters, your unique plot, the story’s emotional or thematic core, the originality of your premise, the strength of your voice, and the way your story resonates that will really set it apart.
The decades are:
1. 1950s (1950-1959)
2. 1960s (1960-1969)
3. 1970s (1970-1979)
4. 1980s (1980-1989)
5. 1990s (1990-1999)
6. Early 2000s (2000-2009)
PLEASE NOTE: PARTICIPANTS IN THIS COMPETITION ARE NOT ALLOWED TO EXCHANGE TICKETS WITH OTHER WRITERS TAKING PART. WE HAVE ALLOWED THIS IN THE PAST, BUT IT’S CREATED A LOT OF EXTRA ADMIN FOR US. AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF ADMINISTRATION WORK WILL ONLY RESULT IN US HAVING TO INCREASE THE PRICE OF ENTRY, AND WE’D RATHER NOT DO THIS.
How to Enter:
Buy a ticket. If you want to choose your own decade from the list, select the golden ticket option. If you prefer a lucky dip, you’ll need to pick one of the eight lucky dip tickets, labeled A, B, C, D, and so on. Each letter corresponds to a decade from the list, but the assignments are random, so you won’t know which one you’re getting until after purchase! You can buy as many tickets and submit as many stories as you want, and you can even buy a combination of golden and lucky dip tickets. You don’t have to submit a story for every ticket you purchase.
After you select your ticket and make the purchase, you’ll be sent a link to download your ticket. This download will contain your assigned decade and the submission instructions. Submissions are done by email.
You then have until the deadline to write and submit your story.
Join the Community and Get Feedback on Your Story:
All participants can join our Members-Only Facebook Group. You’ll receive the link when you purchase a ticket. Here, you can meet other writers taking part in the challenge, ask questions, and get advice. The Globe Soup team is also on hand to offer any support and guidance you may need. At the end of the challenge, you can even receive extensive peer feedback on your story or stories.
Please consider joining—the community aspect of these challenges is often the best part!
Plus, we run free monthly mini writing contests in the group, exclusively for members, with additional cash prizes up for grabs. Once you're a member, you stay a member for as long as you like. This means you'll have access to a network of like-minded writers and free entry to our mini contests for life.
Feedback From Previous Challenges:
"This was tremendous motivation to continue writing and I will always be grateful for the encouragement that Globe Soup has provided me. Globe Soup has also managed to create a wonderful community of writers who motivate and inspire each other. I'm very thankful to be a part of this community." — Nimisha, Mumbai, India
"This competition helped me reignite my passion for writing, so much so that it has started some new writing projects for me.” — Rachel, United Kingdom
“Really enjoyed that it gave me a steady and clear writing goal!” —Fódhla, Ireland
“I wouldn’t have been confident enough to start my MA in Creative Writing if it hadn’t been for Globe Soup. Such a great group to be a part of." — Fhionna, Clyde Valley, Scotland.
“I won’t ever forget that first win, it was an amazing feeling!! (I was in floods of tears, my husband didn’t get why!) You set me on my writing journey and so so much has grown from that first seed of belief, thank YOU!!! — Katrina, Llanfairpwll, U.K.