Four weeks. Four stories. The only limit is your word count!
Write and submit a new flash fiction story each week, learn a variety of critique methods, exchange critiques with peers, and receive guidance to sharpen your storytelling skills—all in a supportive, small-group setting with this year’s Flash Mastermind Juan Martinez (CW Instructor ‘25).
Dates: June 3 – July 3, 2026
Structure:
- Small writing groups (5-7 writers)
- Four weekly pre-recorded video lectures covering writing and how to give feedback
- Four weekly emailed story prompts to ignite your creativity
- Access to a private Discord channel for a seamless story-sharing experience.
- Back by popular demand: First week stories (submit your first story on June 12th)
New this year:
Included in registration are two live office hour sessions with this year’s Flash Fiction Mastermind Juan Martinez. These drop-in sessions are designed to give you a chance to ask questions, talk about your writing, and meet other participating writers. We’ll have small group breakout rooms based on genre and timezone available.
- June 13, 2:00 - 3:30 PM Pacific
- June 27, 10:00 - 11:30 AM Pacific
This program provides flexibility and accountability: watch classes and write stories on your own time, while getting the challenge of meeting deadlines. Plus, giving and receiving feedback strengthens your storytelling skills—refining your ability to identify key elements that make stories stick with you.
Whether you're looking to polish your flash fiction skills, connect with other writers, or enjoy the thrill of weekly creative challenges, join the Flash Fiction Groups and write with us this summer!
About this year's Flash Fiction Mastermind
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is the author of the novel Extended Stay, released in January 2023 from the University of Arizona Press’s Camino del Sol series. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, called it “a fresh and stunning debut.” The novel was shortlisted for the Chicago Review of Books prize, was a New York Public Library book of the day, and was one of Crimereads and Tor.com’s best horror novels of the year. His short-story collection Best Worst American was released in 2017 by Small Beer Press and won the inaugural Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for debut speculative fiction. His work has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, including EPOCH, McSweeney’s, Ploughshares, The Believer, The Chicago Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Conjunctions, NIGHTMARE, Huizache, Small Odysseys, The Sunday Morning Transport, NPR’s Selected Shorts, Ecotone, Shenandoah, Sudden Fiction Latino, and Norton's Flash Fiction America, and is forthcoming in the Latinx horror anthology Ghosts Where We Are From.
He taught at the Clarion West Six-Week Workshop in 2025.
How it works:
After registering, you’ll receive a survey that asks you to tell us a little about your writing and what you hope to get from the experience. Using this information, writers will be placed into small cohorts in Discord.
Over the course of four weeks, participants will:
- Write a new flash fiction story (1000 words or less) every week
- Critique 4-6 other stories every week (feedback will be coordinated within the group)
- Be self-led and follow critique and discussion guidelines
- Each week, you’ll receive a pre-recorded video lectures on writing, critiquing, and story generation—plus a story prompt!
Note: You are not required to write to any of our prompts, but they will be there to inspire you to finish (or start) your story!
Every week, Flash Fiction Workshop participants who submit stories meeting the word count requirement by the deadline can choose to enter a lottery to receive a personal critique from this year’s Flash Fiction Mastermind, Juan Martinez.
Weekly Schedule:
Monday-Tuesday
Writing and reading days
Wednesday
Starting June 17, Story critiques are due by midnight Pacific Time
Thursday
Writing and reading day
Friday
Stories and lottery entries due on Fridays by noon Pacific Time, starting June 12th.
Craft talk video and story prompt via Teachable (the first lecture will go out on Friday, June 5, all subsequent lectures will be released on Friday)
Note: Lottery selection for critique from Juan Martinez will be announced on or before the following Monday.
*You must have submitted a flash story of 1000 words or less, by midnight PT on Friday evening for your story to qualify for the lottery that week. Participants are eligible for only one story to be selected for a lottery throughout the Flash Fiction Groups.
Requirements:
You will need access to Teachable and Discord to participate in the groups. You can access Teachable via a web browser. We ask that you commit to the entire four week experience. Story submission is not mandatory, but you should aim to critique the stories submitted by the rest of your group every week. You may only submit one story per week.
Read and follow our Code of Conduct
- Adhere to our anti-harassment policy
- Embrace diverse writers and stories and conduct yourself with kindness and respect for others
- Do your best to submit stories and feedback on time
- Be prepared to give and receive feedback
- Attend critiques (if done in a group) and be prepared to give and receive feedback
- The Clarion West staff reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to remove anyone from the critique group for not following our Code of Conduct or anti-harassment policies.
Note: For this program, we are considering flash fiction to be a complete story told in 1,000 words or less. If you choose to submit a longer story or a piece of a longer story, your group members will not be asked to read past the word count. Additionally, longer or incomplete stories will not be eligible for the weekly lottery.
FAQ
Who is this program for?
We think writers of all levels can learn from our instructors and each other. You’re welcome to join us whether you’re new to flash or a seasoned flash fiction writer. We recommend having a basic understanding of common elements of storytelling—plot, character, setting. If you’re more advanced, bring a willingness to explore familiar concepts in new ways. Beginning and intermediate writers might get the most out of recorded lectures. We encourage advanced writers to bring their specific questions to the live office hours sessions.
We hope everyone will benefit from the structure, deadlines and accountability provided by the small group format. That said, these groups are self-led. Our program will provide structure and guidance, but ultimately you get out of it what you put in so come prepared to be an active participant in creating your group dynamic!
How many writers participate?
Your small group of 5-7 writers will be one of many. We usually average 11-17 groups, depending on signups! While your focus will be your small group, we will also offer opportunities for all writers to interact, including Discord channels, writing sessions, and office hours with Juan.
How do I interact with the instructor?
You’ll have access to one prerecorded lecture from Juan per week. You can watch them on your time, as many times as you like. We also have two live office hours sessions with Juan during the course of the program. We encourage you to use the time to follow up with any questions you have after the lectures or other writing questions. We’ll record these sessions to watch later, but if meeting and talking with the instructor is important to you, plan to attend at least one!
Who leads my group?
Just like an independent writing group, flash fiction groups are self-directed —that means you and the members of your group must take responsibility for agreeing on things like your preferred ways to exchange critiques and coordinating virtual meet ups to write or give feedback.
We provide the structure, the deadlines, and the space to meet. We will also offer writing sessions for writers of all groups to get a chance to work with each other. You must take the initiative to work with the other writers in your group. And your group is depending on you to do the writing and reading!
Will I get personal feedback from Juan Martinez?
Our office hours sessions are an opportunity to ask more general questions about your writing and process. Depending on attendance you may not receive personal feedback on your story.
If you are looking for guaranteed personal feedback we offer small group classes in the fall and spring!
What’s the time commitment?
The exact time commitment may vary depending on how fast you read (and write!) and if you are familiar with giving feedback on stories. Each lecture is about 15 minutes long, and we suggest expecting to spend 30 minutes per story reading and giving feedback every week. How long you take to write your story is up to you!
Thank you, Flash Fiction Sponsors!
For contributing access to your classes to the Flash Fiction Class Bundle and Membership.
Amy Bishop-Wycisk
Marie Brennan
Ashley Christine
Robin Jeffrey
Fonda Lee
Henry Lein
Sarena Ulibarri
Susan J. Morris
Benjamin Rosenbaum
Emma Törzs
Dawn Vogel
More coming soon....