F – Fiction Potluck Contest Seeking Submissions on the Theme: A Very Speculative Holiday

A Very Speculative Holiday

up to 6,000 words

Holidays abound across cultures and worlds—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s on Earth; myriad celebrations in far-off planets or kingdoms waiting for discovery. Craft your short speculative story around a holiday that has meaning in whatever world you choose; in whichever speculative fiction genre you choose. Give us characters to care about, settings and conflicts that leave the reader breathless, strong voices, and luscious prose that stops us in our tracks—tales that stick long after that all-important final line is read.

Prizes!

This quarter is officially sponsored by Duotrope; the first place winner of this quarter’s challenge receives Duotrope service for free for two years (valued at $100)!

General Rules

• All entries must be in English and original works of fiction. 

• The competition runs on UTC time, beginning and ending at midnight.

• You must keep your entry private until after we post the top three winning stories.

• The judges’ decisions are final.

• The judges will contact everyone who includes the Title Information listed below. 

• The judges cannot provide feedback for every piece submitted.

• Winning entries will be published as received.

The following are not accepted:​

• Simultaneous submissions

• Previously published works

• AI-generated content

• Fanfiction, erotica, religious, or political content

• Pieces longer than the word count limit

• Pieces submitted outside the competition month

• Pieces submitted in .pdf or pasted into the body of the email

• Pieces without the correct Title Information (below) will be rejected unread. 

Submissions

October: up to 6,000 words

Keep formatting professional. You can find recommended settings on the submissions page.

Entries must include this Title Information in this order at the top of the document body, aligned left: 

Name or Pseudonym, email

Entry Title

Fiction Potluck

Word Count 

Accepted file types: .doc, .docx, .odt

Live, unlocked Google Docs or Microsoft Word links are accepted via email (submissions [at] writersworkout.net). We must be able to download your file. We will not request access and we are not responsible for locked docs.

The selection team reads all entries that follow the submissions guidelines as explained below. Entries are read blind. The team chooses the finalists and contacts everyone. 

Finalist author names and bios are posted on this page and announced in our monthly mailer. 

The guest judge reads the finalist pieces and chooses three winners. Each of the three winning pieces is published on our blog and linked through this page. Winning entries will be published as received.