The 250-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 kicks off on December 4th, and registration is open! The 8th annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create very short stories in 48 hours. Learn more, register, and read previous winning stories at www.nycmidnight.com/250. Happy writing!

The 250-word Microfiction Challenge — nycmidnight

The 250-word Microfiction Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create very short stories based on genre, action, and word assignments in 48 hours.

nycmidnight.com

The 1st Round of the Two-Story Writing Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of writers, both prompt assignments, and a countdown until the submission deadline at nycmidnight.co/4bmDufm. Best of luck to the 2,100+ writers participating over the next 72 hours!

1st Round Assignments 2026 — nycmidnight

The 1st Round of the Two-Story Writing Challenge 2026 is underway! This page contains the 1st Round assignments, the countdown to the submission deadline, details on how to upload your submissions,…

nycmidnight.co

The inaugural Two-Story Writing Challenge kicks off at 11:59 PM (NY time) TONIGHT, July 30th, and registration is still open! When the competition begins, writers will have 72 hours to write two stories in different genres. Learn more & register at www.nycmidnight.com/two-story. Good luck, writers!

Two-Story Writing Challenge — nycmidnight

The Two-Story Writing Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create two original short stories in 72 hours.

nycmidnight.com

The winners of the Screenwriting Challenge 2026 have been announced at nycmidnight.co/4bk3KqE! Congratulations to MD Lazić (Belgrade, Serbia) for winning the competition with her final round screenplay, “Two Squeezes Means I Love You,” and thanks to everyone who participated!

Final Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The Final Round results from the Screenwriting Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

Here we go! (I'm fine 😅. How are you?)

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Alt: An orange cat types AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

static.klipy.com

NYC Midnight@nycmidnight.bsky.social · 3w ago

The Final Round of the Short Story Challenge 2026 is underway! The final assignment of the competition is Open (genre), Overindulgence (subject), and an ingrate (character). Best of luck to the 35 finalists over the next 24 hours!

The Final Round of the Short Story Challenge 2026 is underway! The final assignment of the competition is Open (genre), Overindulgence (subject), and an ingrate (character). Best of luck to the 35 finalists over the next 24 hours!

The 3rd Round results for the Short Story Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/3Rwdojh! Congratulations to the top five in each group for advancing to the Final Round, which kicks off this Friday, July 24th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

The Scary Story Challenge is back and will kick off on October 16th! The 2nd annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create short scary stories in 48 hours. Learn more and register at nycmidnight.com/scary. Happy writing!

Scary Story Challenge — nycmidnight

The Scary Story Challenge is a creative writing competition that challenges writers worldwide to create scary short stories based on assigned prompts in 48 hours.

nycmidnight.com

The 2nd Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of 2nd Round writers, prompt assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at nycmidnight.co/4w5VVND. Best of luck to the participating writers over the next 48 hours!

2nd Round Assignments 2026 — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! This page contains the 2nd Round assignments, the countdown to the submission deadline, details on how to upload your submission, and…

nycmidnight.co

The 1st Round results for the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/4x86BeX! Congratulations to the top 10 in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, July 17th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

The 2nd Round of the Flash Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of 2nd Round writers, prompt assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at nycmidnight.co/4vsHWAq. Best of luck to the participating writers over the next 48 hours!

The 1st Round results for the Flash Fiction Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/44RTLoH! Congratulations to the top seven in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, July 10th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the Flash Fiction Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

The Rhyming Story Challenge 2026 kicks off on September 15th, and registration is open! The 5th annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create short rhyming stories based on three prompts. Learn more, register, & read previous winners at www.nycmidnight.com/rhyme. Happy rhyming!

The Final Round of the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 is underway! The final assignment of the competition is Open (genre), applauding (action), and below (word). Best of luck to the 144 finalists over the next 24 hours!

The 2nd Round results for the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/4alWiea! Congratulations to the top eight in each group for advancing to the Final Round, which kicks off this Friday, June 26th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

2nd Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round results from the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

The Final Round of the Screenwriting Challenge 2026 is underway! The final assignment of the competition is Open (genre), an alibi (subject), and a third wheel (character). Best of luck to the 30 finalists with their 5-page screenplays over the next 24 hours!

The 2nd Round results for the Screenwriting Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/43sERos! Congratulations to the top three in each group for advancing to the Final Round, which kicks off this Friday, June 12th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

2nd Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round results from the Screenwriting Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

We're happy to introduce the Two-Story Writing Challenge, a new competition that will challenge writers worldwide to create two short stories based on genre, action, & word assignments in 72 hours. It all kicks off on July 30th. Learn more & register at www.nycmidnight.com/two-story. Happy writing!

Two-Story Writing Challenge — nycmidnight

The Two-Story Writing Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create two original short stories in 72 hours.

nycmidnight.com

The 3rd Round of the Short Story Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of 3rd Round writers, prompt assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at www.nycmidnight.com/shortstory/2.... Best of luck to the participating writers over the next 48 hours!

Did this over the weekend. It was a great example of the magic of the prompt system - at first, I had no idea how I was going to use the prompts I got, but I just relaxed, let my mind wander, and ended up with a story I never would have written otherwise. I'm quite proud of it. Fingers crossed!

NYC Midnight@nycmidnight.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The 1st Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of participating writers, genre/action/object assignments, and a countdown until the submission deadline at nycmidnight.co/4uCDfEv. Best of luck to the 3,400+ writers participating worldwide over the next 48 hours!

The 2nd Round results for the Short Story Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/4ugr5jB! Congratulations to the top 5 in each group for advancing to the 3rd Round, which kicks off this Friday, June 5th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

2nd Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round results from the Short Story Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

The 1st Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of participating writers, genre/action/object assignments, and a countdown until the submission deadline at nycmidnight.co/4uCDfEv. Best of luck to the 3,400+ writers participating worldwide over the next 48 hours!

1st Round Assignments 2026 — nycmidnight

The 1st Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2026 is underway! This page contains the 1st Round assignments, the countdown to the submission deadline, details on how to upload your submission, and…

nycmidnight.co

The 4th annual 500-word Fiction Challenge kicks off at 11:59 PM (NY time) tonight, May 29th, and registration is still open! Participants will have 48 hours to write a story no longer than 500 words based on a genre, action, and object assignment. Learn more at nycmidnight.com/500. Happy writing!

500-word Fiction Challenge — nycmidnight

The 500-word Fiction Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create short stories based on genre, action, and object assignments in 48 hours.

nycmidnight.com

My story that won @nycmidnight.bsky.social is here! I'm so proud of this story. Thank you to the team at NYC Midnight and to Yevgenia Nayberg for this incredible illustration for my story. I am so emotional right now. ❤️ Click below to read Roo Sprayers! 🦘

NYC Midnight@nycmidnight.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We're proud to present the winning story from last year's 500-word Fiction Challenge! Read "Roo Sprayers" by @chloepaige.bsky.social (Australia), at nycmidnight.co/roo-sprayers. Original Illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy, and get ready for this year's 500-word Fiction Challenge on May 29th!

We're proud to present the winning story from last year's 500-word Fiction Challenge! Read "Roo Sprayers" by @chloepaige.bsky.social (Australia), at nycmidnight.co/roo-sprayers. Original Illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy, and get ready for this year's 500-word Fiction Challenge on May 29th!

Roo Sprayers — nycmidnight

Roadkill kangaroos are spray-painted to indicate their pouches have been checked for survivors. And there’s an unsprayed dead roo on the B79 needing its pouch checked. Length: 499 words Year: 2025 -...

nycmidnight.com

In anticipation of this year's 500-word Challenge starting May 29th, we'll be publishing the top two stories from last year. Today, we're happy to publish "Simmering" by Autumn Bettinger at nycmidnight.co/simmering, which placed 2nd overall in 2025. Original illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy!

Simmering — nycmidnight

Sunday’s Menu: Authentic Bolognese, Full-Bodied Chianti, Fresh Sunflowers, and Dying Peonies. Length: 484 words Year: 2025 - 2nd Place Overall

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The winners of the 250-word Microfiction Challenge 2025 have been announced at nycmidnight.co/4tRLmvM! Congratulations to Maria Rosasco (Cambridge, MA, USA) for winning the competition with her final round story, “Outcomes Vary,” and thanks to everyone who participated!

Final Round Results 2025 — nycmidnight

The results are in for the Final Round of the 250-word Microfiction Challenge 2025! This page contains the top 10 stories and honorable mentions from the final round of the competition.

nycmidnight.co

The 2nd Round of the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 is underway! View the list of 2nd Round writers, prompt assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at nycmidnight.co/4tBn1du. Best of luck to the participating writers over the next 24 hours!

2nd Round Assignments 2026 — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round of the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 is underway! This page contains the 2nd Round assignments, the countdown to the submission deadline, details on how to upload your…

nycmidnight.co

The 1st Round results for the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026 are up at nycmidnight.co/42CCTkS! Congratulations to the top 15 in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, May 15th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results 2026 — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2026.

nycmidnight.co

The 4th annual 500-word Fiction Challenge begins on May 29th and will challenge writers worldwide to create short stories no longer than 500 words in 48 hours. Learn more, register, and read previous winning stories at www.nycmidnight.com/500. Happy writing!