Introducing Our Thirteenth Playground Challenge:
A Fiction Short Story Competition
July 16 - July 26, 2026
Registration is Open!
Read the Winning Stories from our Twelfth Playground Challenge
$4000 in Prizes
Choose Your Character
Choose Your Setting
You Have 10 Days to Write Your Story
10+ Winners
$34 Entry Fee
Every Entry Receives Feedback
Featured Story:
A woman finds strength in an unexpected place after a tragic loss... “Something You Can Touch” won 6th Place, out of 642 entries, in our Ninth Playground Challenge... Cathee Phillips is a talented writer from Barboursville, Virginia and she is currently working on a volume of short stories with the working title: “Spilled Milk.” Instead of writing a memoir exploring the generational trauma of her ancestry and life, she is writing stories that explore how such trauma entrenches raw emotions deep within the mind, soul, and body. It is not about the facts and the details, as much as it is about understanding the source of those emotions, and how exploring the roots of these things through her writing, and through these stories, can help find even the smallest bit of healing, which is what really matters…. Make sure to follow Cathee on her website, catheejp.weebly.com - You can also listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
“This was a great contest! I loved the time frame, it allowed for some real thought and work to be put into a new piece while also pushing me because deadlines just work. I loved the prompts, feedback and critiques. I’ll be signing up again!”
-Marissa Isch, Denver, CO, USA
“I was so happy to come in 4th in this fascinating competition. Great prompts and probably the most helpful and encouraging feedback I’ve ever had.”
Katja Sass, Wellington, Somerset, UK
“This was a ton of fun to do. Great setup with the prompt choices and quick time frame. Thanks for doing this and for the feedback as well. That’s a great motivator. Looking forward to the results and the next challenges!”
Dan Scamell, Salem, NY, USA
“I have participated in both of these rounds and have loved this challenge both times, along with the feedback. I am eager for the third round. This has been a great catalyst and spark to my dream of improving my writing. It is a major life goal to create stories that I would like to read!”
Molly Valentin, Forest Lake, MN, USA