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FICTION POTLUCK
October Challenge:
A Very Speculative Holiday
up to 6,000 words
Deadline: November 20
Find submission links below the rules
A Tip from Lisa:
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)!
Submission links are below the submissions guidelines.
One entry per person.
Read past winners here:
October Guest Judge
Lisa Fox
Lisa Fox is a pharmaceutical market researcher by day and fiction writer by night.
She survives—and sometimes thrives—in the chaos of suburbia with her husband, two teenage sons, and quirky Double-Doodle dog. She is an award-winning author with two published short fiction collections: Core Truths and Passageways: Short Speculative Fiction, and is frequently a top-placer in The Writer’s Games. You can find Lisa and her work via her website: lisafoxiswriting.com. Connect on Twitter/X @iamlisafox10800.
Core Truths: https://a.co/d/6rhiO1n
Passageways: https://a.co/d/11qodTR
The Basics
Fiction Potluck is free to enter and open to fiction writers of all ages around the world. One entry per person per challenge.
Submissions are accepted through Dropbox, Duosuma, and email (submissions [at] writersworkout.net).
Submissions are accepted six weeks at a time, starting in January, April, July, and October. The challenge and guest judge will change each open period. The guest judge picks the challenge—we never know what we'll get!
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.
The Writer's Workout is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by volunteers.
We provide accessible, free creative writing education through competitions, workshops, and publication opportunities. Check our donations page to learn more about how The Writer's Workout strengthens the global writing community.
General Rules
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All entries must be in English and original works of fiction.
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The competition runs on UTC time, beginning and ending at midnight.
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You must keep your entry private until after we post the top three winning stories.
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The judges' decisions are final.
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The judges will contact everyone who includes the Title Information listed below.
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The judges cannot provide feedback for every piece submitted.
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Winning entries will be published as received.
The following are not accepted:
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Simultaneous submissions
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Previously published works
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AI-generated content
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Fanfiction, erotica, religious, or political content
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Pieces longer than the word count limit
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Pieces submitted outside the competition month
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Pieces submitted in .pdf or pasted into the body of the email
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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.
Rights
Your submission grants The Writer's Workout (WW) exclusive electronic rights for 90 days. WW reserves non-exclusive rights to digitally publish winning entries indefinitely. Winning pieces will be published as received.
Seth Cupery
Seth is a freelance writer and editor with a bachelor’s degree in the humanities and a history minor, hoping to help other writers improve and find their audience. Born and raised in rural Wisconsin, Seth still tries to learn as much as he can about the wider world so that he can better understand the people he shares a planet with. He enjoys works of fiction, historical facts, weird information from around the globe, and a well-drawn illustration or map.
Theresa Green (emergency only)
Theresa is a co-founder of The Writer's Workout, a crime fiction writer, and the editor at Premier Literary Services.
premierliterary.com
Sofie Leggett
Sofie is a recent college graduate studying literature. She enjoys playing instruments, hanging out with her dogs, making art, watching TV, and of course, reading and writing. The historical fiction and mystery genres are her current favorites, but she likes to experiment in every genre of writing. While her current experience is limited to short stories and poetry, in the future, Sofie hopes to expand her horizons by working in different types of media such as television and video games.
Cassell Presnell
Cassell is an undergraduate studying creative writing, rhetoric, and psychology. In addition to being a full-time student and writing consultant, she’s a fantasy writer and wannabe poet. Every free moment of her day is spent writing, reading, or playing with her little black kitten, Mosi—he rather enjoys watching people type! Cassell also enjoys teaching and helping others, which led her here, and will inevitably lead her to law school in the near future.
Be our guest!
Do you have a big release coming soon? Spread the word by being a guest judge.