At the heart of our publication is one simple belief: Great stories can come from anyone. 

Whether you’ve been writing for years, you’re preparing your first-ever submission, or you’ve never shared your work with another person before. Our competitions are designed to celebrate creativity above all else. We believe writing should be exciting, accessible, and encouraging– not intimidating. 

Our goal is to build a community where writers of every background, genre, and experience level feel welcome. Winning is wonderful, we can all agree, but our greatest hope is that each competition inspires someone to write something they otherwise never would have. 

Every competition we host is built around creative freedoms. We intentionally choose themes with plenty of room for interpretation. Allowing for all perspectives to shine, and helping each writer to tell a story only they could. 

Competition Guidelines 

To ensure our competitions are as fair and enjoyable as possible. We have established the following general guidelines. Individual competitions may occasionally include additional rules, but unless otherwise stated, the following applies to every competition. 

Age categories: 

To give younger writers a chance to go against their peers rather than someone with possibly decades of experience, every competition is divided into two categories:

• Under 18 
• Over 18 

Entries are judged within their respective age groups. If you would like to be evaluated with the over 18’s as an under 18, send us an email, and we can discuss it. 

Content Warnings and Sensitive Material 

We know fiction should never be limited by difficult subjects. Writers are welcome to explore mature themes, darker stories, horror, violence, grief, mental health, or other potentially triggering content. 

However, if your submission contains NSFW material or themes that may be distressing to readers, these must be declared on the submission form. 

This allows us to include an appropriate content warning on the page before your work, helping readers to make informed decisions and ensuring our platform remains safe for all ages and comfort levels. 

While we will evaluate each piece ourselves, failure to disclose significant mature or triggering content may result in your submission being removed from consideration until warnings have been provided. 

Word Counts

Unless a competition specifically states otherwise, any published minimum or maximum word counts apply only to prose submissions. 

Poetry is exempt from minimum word count requirements. 

We recognize that poetry often achieves its greatest impact through brevity. 

Anonymous Submissions

Sharing creative work can be incredibly personal. For that reason, every competition offers the option to publish anonymously. Or under a chosen Pen Name. We will happily respect your privacy no matter the reason.  

Submission Periods

Unless a competition announcement states otherwise, submissions will be open for one month from the date of the competition's beginning. 

We hope this strikes a healthy balance– giving writers enough time to plan, draft, edit, and polish their work while allowing us to host multiple competitions throughout the year.

Specific opening and closing dates will always be listed on the specific competition's blurb. 

Recognition & Prizes 

At the moment, our greatest prize is simply the opportunity to share your work with our growing community. 

Each competition winner will receive: 

• A featured place on our Competition Winners page 
• A spotlight on the front page of our website (??? Maybe idk) 
• A dedicated feature on our social media channels 

If you are an anonymous submission, we will keep you anonymous while still sharing your work. 

As our publication grows, we sincerely hope to introduce physical prizes, cash awards, and other exciting opportunities. For now, our focus is on building a supportive community that celebrates writers. 

AI Content 

Each piece will be run through an AI detector. While these are not foolproof, they will give us an idea. If it scans AI, we will review the piece ourselves and decide from there if we think it is human or not. If we cannot reach a decision, it is likely your piece will not be counted. If this happens, we will send you an email informing you that your piece was scanned for possible AI content. If this happens multiple times, you will eventually be barred from submitting. 

Rights, Originality, and Fair Play 

We want our competitions to be fair. By submitting a piece, you agree to the following conditions. 

Copyright and Publishing Rights 

You ALWAYS retain full copyright of your work. 

By submitting to one of our competitions, you grant us non-exclusive permission to publish your submission on our website and associated social media channels, should it be selected for publication or chosen as a winner. 

Because this permission is non-exclusive, you remain free to publish your work elsewhere. 

If your work is published by us, we simply ask that any future republication acknowledge that we published it initially, if applicable. 

Original Work 

All submissions must be entirely your own original work. 

Fan fiction, direct adaptations of copyrighted material, or work that substantially copies another person’s writing will not be accepted. 

By entering, you confirm you are the sole creator of the work you submit. 

Plagiarism in any form will result in immediate disqualification.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying another person's work in whole or in part.
• Presenting another writer's ideas or wording as your own.
• Submitting work generated by someone else without appropriate disclosure where required.
• Using substantial portions of previously published material without permission.

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the work will be removed from our website, and we reserve the right to prohibit future submissions from the author.

Simultaneous Submissions

We understand that many writers submit their work to multiple opportunities.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome unless a specific competition states otherwise.

If your piece is accepted for publication elsewhere before judging is complete, we simply ask that you notify us as soon as possible so we can withdraw your submission from the competition if necessary.

Previously Published Work

Unless a competition specifically states otherwise, submissions should not have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or online publications.

Personal blogs, private writing groups, or unpublished manuscripts generally do not count as prior publication, though individual competitions may include additional guidance.

Last But Not Least 

Write the story only you can tell. Experiment. Take risks. Surprise yourself. Make us laugh, cry, wonder, or think. 

It matters not if your piece is 30 words or 3,000, your first story or your hundredth, we are excited to read it. 

We can’t wait to see where your imagination takes you.