Enticing?
It’s a new year, and we’re enthused. We hope you’re as enraptured as we are by the news that YeahWrite is putting together our first ever anthology, and that you’re… you know what, I designed this whole paragraph around a bunch of “en” words and now I’m expanding it a little. Intrigued? It’s the same process as anthology design: a group of related stories and essays bound together by threads of interest.
That’s a hint about our prompts, if you were curious. Anticipatory, even.
We’ve been working for weeks on prompts that flow seamlessly between fiction and nonfiction. With all these related themes in our heads, it made sense to open registration for both challenges at the same time – although the competition weekends will be weeks apart so don’t worry if you want to enter both! In 2023 we’re going to be a well oiled engine, and we’re looking for writing to feed into it. Here’s how it will work: our Super Challenge winners will be guaranteed a spot in the anthology (if they want it; otherwise as always your writing and rights are yours to keep). Then we’ll do an open call to fill out the rest of the anthology, with a related theme that’s refined by the winning pieces. Enthralled yet?
Otherwise, our Super Challenges will be run just like you’ve come to expect: professional judges, high quality anthology style (duh) prompts, lots of feedback, and cash prizes. There’s just, you know, the added thrill of publication. It’s something we’ve wanted to offer for a while, and, well, we’re as excited as you are that the time has come. Speaking of time… make sure you register in time! Head over to the main page for each Super Challenge for more details!
Super Challenge #27 – Creative Nonfiction
- Registration opens: January 6, 2023
- Registration closes: February 8, 2023 at 10pm US Eastern
- Round 1: February 10-12, 2023
- Round 2: March 10-12, 2023
- Winners announced: March 31, 2023
Super Challenge #28 – Flash Fiction
- Registration opens: January 6, 2023
- Registration closes: May 3, 2023 at 10pm US Eastern
- Round 1: May 5-7, 2023
- Round 2: June 2-4, 2023
- Winners announced: June 23, 2023
What is a Super Challenge, anyway?
The Super Challenge is a prompted, 48-hour flash competition alternating between fiction and creative nonfiction (and the occasional microfiction contest). Prompts are released on a Friday night at 10pm US Eastern time, and at that point writers have 48 hours to craft their best response in 1,000 words or fewer. The judges read all entries blind (anonymously) and provide detailed feedback on each piece. The top 10 or so writers move on to a second round with new prompts.
Why should I enter?
There are literally hundreds of writing competitions on the internet (and beyond). Some are even free. So why should you choose ours? Here are a few of the biggest reasons.
- Unique, anthology-style prompts that are fun to write to and broad enough for your work to remain relevant after the competition is over.
- Personalized feedback on every entry from professional editors and writers.
- Cash prizes: $200 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd, and $100 for 3rd! And new for 2023: Winners also receive publication in YeahWrite’s anthology!
- A wonderful and supportive community of writers on Facebook and Discord, plus access to a special Discord channel on our server that’s guaranteed judge-free so you can compare prompts, ask questions, and find beta readers for your stories!
Bonus: you retain ownership of your work, meaning you can turn around, polish it up (based on that professional feedback!), and send it out for possible publication in our anthology or your own favorite markets—like many of our participants have gone on to do. Past Super Challenge entrants have published stories and essays in Luna Station Quarterly, Shoreline of Infinity, Sunlight Press, Tall Tale TV, Fiction on the Web, Pure in Heart Stories, Eucalyptus & Rose Literary Magazine, Gingerbread House Literary Magazine, and more!
How does it work, exactly?
The schedules (and all the details, like the rules) are online here:
But that’s not all – we also have a robust online community on Discord, where participants can ask the admin team questions, find beta readers, and panic in solidarity with other writers. Best of all, no judges are allowed, so you can feel free to speak your mind without worrying about compromising your entry’s anonymity.
Who are the judges?
The YeahWrite team is made up of professional editors, writing instructors, and authors! The judges who read your stories have oodles of experience writing and reading for publications (yes, you’ve heard of some of them) and contests. We believe in paying our judges what their time and thoughtful consideration of your work are worth, which is why we charge a registration fee. This helps us ensure that you’ll always have professional, valuable feedback that helps you take your work to the next level even if you don’t win.
How do I enter?
Registering is a two-step process:
- Fill out the relevant registration form.
- Submit payment via Ko-Fi.
The registration fee for each competition is USD$35.
Wait, what’s this about an anthology again?
That’s right, if you skipped the opening paragraph (for shame), by popular demand, YeahWrite will produce a 2023 themed anthology, loosely based on the nonfiction and fiction Super Challenge prompts. The winners of the 2023 Super Challenges are guaranteed publication (and a chance to edit their work based on their feedback beforehand, because nobody writes something perfect in 48 hours). Later in the year, we’ll open up a general submission call. Super Challenge participants who did not place in the top three are invited to revise and resubmit their entries for consideration, or to write new ones; non-participants are also invited to submit. This will be a paid market; exact rate TBD.
More details are forthcoming!
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
