53 Words, No More, No Less

Winston, the Press 53 mascot

The small indie publishing house Press 53 runs a monthly writing competition, offering a different prompt each month and inviting short stories of exactly 53 words. I often enter the competition, for the fun of devising a new story within the word limit.

This is the first time I have won, with a retelling of the Philemon and Baucis legend. I’m convinced it would have been the husband who jumped in and asked the gods that the couple might die at the same time. Trust a man to go for the grand gesture. Whereas the wife would have asked for something more practical. 

Photo by David Tip on Unsplash

You can read my story here.

Madeleine McDonald enjoys the challenge of writing flash fiction. Her short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio and published in various anthologies. Her novels include the contemporaries Enchantment in Morocco and The Rescued Heart, and the historical A Shackled Inheritance.