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If you've been missing Writer's Games, you're probably taking part in Leapfest: a 3-Event mini-Games competition. We're announcing winners each week so we'll update this post with Event winner bios every Friday in February.
Event 1: Quest
Travel a great distance to discover something vital.
First place: Charlie Rogers
Charlie Rogers is probably not that interesting but he has a website anyway: charlierogerswrites.com.
Second place: Lisa Short
Lisa Short is a Texas-born, Kansas-bred, Maryland-resident writer of speculative fiction. She can be found online and on Bluesky at lisashortauthor.com and on X and Instagram @Lisa_K_Short.
Third place: Dominique Goodall
Dominique Goodall is an author of fantasy that can be on the darker side; she loves to weave her own life experiences into words. Her works include Runed Legacy.
Event 2: Transhumanism
In a race to be first, use any technology to win.
First place: R.A. Clarke
R.A. Clarke is an author/illustrator from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Her multi-genre short fiction has won international short story competitions including the Writer’s Games, Writers Weekly 24-Hour Contest, and Red Penguin Books’ Humour Contest. She was a 2021 Futurescapes Award finalist, a 2022 Dark Sire Awards finalist, and her work has been featured in various publications. R.A.'s debut sci-fi novel Race to Novus releases in 2024. Visit: www.rachaelclarkewrites.com.
Second place: T.E. Fahlstedt
T.E. is a Swedish writer residing in Stockholm with a background in engineering. Literature, languages and movies are some of his many hobbies. When he's not in front of a book or a screen he spends a lot of his free time in the kitchen.
Third place: MM Schreier
MM Schreier is a classically trained vocalist who took up writing as therapy for a mid-life crisis. Whether contemporary or speculative fiction, favorite stories are rich in sensory details and weird twists. A firm believer that people are not always exclusively right- or left-brained, in addition to creative pursuits Schreier manages a robotics company and tutors maths and science to at-risk youth. Follow at: mmschreier.com
Event 3: Countdown
Within 24 hours, everything changes.
First Place: Elizabeth Hakken Candido
Elizabeth Hakken Candido lives in Kalamazoo, MI with her husband, two daughters and golden retriever. Her fiction and essays have appeared in a variety of publications including Sojourners, Suddenly and Without Warning, Haunted MTL, and Land Beyond the World Magazine.
Second Place: Ej Sidle
Ej Sidle likes to write stories about magic and monsters. When she’s not writing, she spends her time with her dog.
Third Place: Alyssa Beatty
Alyssa Beatty lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Flash Fiction Magazine, Typehouse Magazine, and Spread: Tales of Deadly Flora. She spends her free time unsuccessfully trying to keep her cats off the kitchen counter.
Third Place: Katie Ess
Katie Ess lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, a bulldog, and two ferrets. When she’s not writing, you can generally find her hanging out with one of them. If she ever becomes a world-famous author, it will be entirely due to their support and encouragement. (Well, maybe not the ferrets).
These winners receive early registration for this year's Writer's Games.
Leapfest registration closed in January but you can still try the challenges on your own.