Introducing Our Tenth Playground Challenge:
A Fiction Short Story Competition
January 9 - January 19, 2025
The winning stories are listed below!
Individual feedback is currently being sent out! This process will take a few days.
Read the Winning Stories from our Ninth Playground Challenge!
Congratulations!!!
The Winning Stories
1st Place: “The Vocabulary of Love” - by Alyssa Beatty
2nd Place: “What Happens Now” - by Elysia Rourke
3rd Place: “When the Soul Catcher Knocks” - by MM Schreier
4th Place: “Tracy” - by Cosette de Lorenzo
5th Place: “Maybe Next Year” - by Rachael Miller
6th Place: “The Haunting of Clement Hart” - by Riel Rosehill
7th Place: “Somewhere Between” - by Russell Mickler
8th Place: “Caballito” - by Kelsey Goforth
9th Place: “The Wild Comet Infantino” - by Michael J. Vowles
10th Place: “The Vulture” - by Stephanie Whitelaw
Honorable Mentions
· “I Am Jakob Miller” - by Galen Gower
· “With the Nightjars” - by ML Strijdom
· “The Farmer Hunter” - by Drew M
· “Holler Calls” - by Katie Garner
· “The Girl in the Well” - by Alan Falkingham
· “Eventide” - by Landon Miller
· “The Distance Between” - by Maxwell Thorne
· “What We Carry” - by Sonja Faul
· “The Long Road Home” - by David Roe
· “Overwhelming Gravity” - by Charlie Rogers
These stories will be posted to the website in the coming days…
$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