Season Challenges

Each year we run four main seasonal challenges. Every season has a theme, but any genre, style, and experience level is welcome. Submission details live on the homepage.

Season 1 challenge poster: Connection.

Season 1: Connection

27 January 2026 – 28 April 2026

Tell a story about two people connecting, missing each other, or connecting in the wrong way. Any genre is welcome, including comedy, romance, drama, or something darker.

Ideas that fit this theme

  • A reunion that goes well, or goes terribly.
  • Two people keep just missing each other, by minutes, by years, by pride.
  • A connection that feels perfect, until one detail breaks it.
  • Someone reaches out, and gets the response they didn’t expect.
  • A “wrong person” connection, mistaken identity, mixed messages, crossed wires.
Season 2 challenge poster: Pressure.

Season 2: Pressure

28 April 2026 – 28 July 2026

A character under pressure, physical, emotional, moral, or social. Big stakes or small, as long as it feels real. Any genre is welcome.

Ideas that fit this theme

  • A deadline, a promise, or a ticking clock.
  • Someone keeping it together in public, falling apart in private.
  • A choice that costs something, and there’s no perfect option.
  • A plan that unravels fast, and improvisation takes over.
  • Pressure from a boss, family, a crowd, or their own expectations.
Season 3 challenge poster: Dread.

Season 3: Dread

28 July 2026 – 27 October 2026

Something is wrong, and it won’t go away. Horror and thriller are welcome, but dread can live in drama, comedy, or realism too.

Ideas that fit this theme

  • Something ordinary becomes unsettling, slowly.
  • A character knows something is coming, but can’t stop it.
  • A place that feels “off”, even when nothing is happening.
  • A secret that won’t stay buried, or keeps resurfacing.
  • A harmless routine that turns sinister through repetition.
Season 4 challenge poster: Traditions.

Season 4: Traditions

27 October 2026 – 22 December 2026

A tradition that comforts, suffocates, or breaks someone. Festive stories are welcome, but the theme is bigger than Christmas.

Ideas that fit this theme

  • A family ritual that brings people together, or drives them apart.
  • Someone trying to keep tradition alive, while everything changes.
  • A tradition that means different things to different people.
  • Breaking a tradition, and dealing with the fallout.
  • A straightforward Christmas story, Santa, presents, expectations, or the pressure to make the day “perfect”.