Introducing Our Twelfth Playground Challenge:
A Fiction Short Story Competition
January 8 - January 18, 2026
The Winning Stories are Listed Below!
Read the Winning Stories from our Last Challenge!
We are currently in the process of sending out the individual feedback…
The Winning Stories!
1st Place: “Graduation Cake” - by Charlie Rogers
2nd Place: “Have You Seen Me?” - by Sarah Newman
3rd Place: “A Single Source of Truth” - by Michael J. Vowles
4th Place: “A Prayer in the Caldarium” - by Brian Ross
5th Place: “Heart of Steel” - by Jonathan Tolstedt
6th Place: “What Good Men Do” - by RP Mickler
7th Place: “The Lies in Tootsies Journal” - by Ginger Marcinkowski
8th Place: “To See With Blinding Sight” - by H.L. Rutkowski
9th Place: “Half-Life” - by Jordan Beckett
10th Place: “Ava with a Side of Supervision” - by Rachael Buckallew
Honorable Mentions
“Ashes, Ashes” - by Alissa Rodriguez
“Male Diction” - by Eve Cran
“Beautiful. Alia” - by James Mulholland
“Half Baked” - by Justin Creps
“Sorta Sisters” - by Sarah Bank
“Billy Dreams” - by Ashley Ahearn
“Sweet 1.6” - by Daniel Clark-Mudge
“Queen of the Ashes” - by Kelli Johnson
“Like a Rock” - by Rodney D. Lopez
“Half-Butler” - by Michael Barbato-Dunn
These stories will be posted and available to read in the coming days…
Featured Story:
Gordon navigates the social complexities of a new family dynamic. Meanwhile, astronauts explore new frontiers in space... “One Small Step for a Man” won 7th Place, out of 642 entries, in our Ninth Playground Challenge... Erin Brandt Filliter is a talented writer from New Brunswick, Canada, and you can follow Erin on her website, erinfilliterature.squarespace.com so check out more of her work there… You can also listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
$3500 in Prizes
Choose Your Character
Choose Your Setting
You Have 10 Days to Write Your Story
10+ Winners
$28 Entry Fee
Every Entry Receives Feedback
“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